Letters from America / Alexis de Tocqueville ; edited, translated, and with an introduction by Frederick Brown

Object Details

Author: Tocqueville, Alexis de 1805-1859; Beaumont, Gustave de 1802-1866; Brown, Frederick 1934-
Subject: Tocqueville, Alexis de 1805-1859 Travel; Beaumont, Gustave de 1802-1866 Travel; Beaumont, Gustave de 1802-1866

Includes excerpts from traveling companion Gustave de Beaumont.
Contents: The crossing -- In New York -- Upstate New York and west -- New England -- From Philadelphia to New Orleans -- The last leg : from New Orleans to Washington and New York -- Appendix: Tocqueville on civil law in Pennsylvania
Summary: Alexis de Tocqueville arrived in the United States for the first time in May 1831, commissioned by the French government to study the American prison system. For the next nine months he and his companion, Gustave de Beaumont, traveled and observed not only prisons but also the political, economic, and social systems of the early republic. Along the way, they frequently reported back to friends and family members in France. This book presents the first translation of the complete letters Tocqueville wrote during that seminal journey, accompanied by excerpts from Beaumont's correspondence that provide details or different perspectives on the places, people, and American life and attitudes the travelers encountered. --from publisher description

2010

C2010

19th century

1783-1865

Smithsonian Libraries

Topic: National characteristics, American; Description and travel; Social life and customs; Politics and government