Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy In America is renowned as one of the best examinations of early American society and politics, and remains one of the most insightful commentaries ever written on the practice of democracy in the United States. In this edition of Radio Free Acton, we are joined by John Wilsey, Assistant Professor of History and Christian Apologetics at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, to discuss Tocqueville’s masterwork and its continuing relevance for modern America.
We also discuss the work of Tocqueville’s traveling companion, Gustave de Beaumont, who wrote another important work that perhaps should be seen as a companion to Democracy In America: a novel entitled Marie, or Slavery in the United States, which examines the darker side of 1830s America.
Wilsey is also the author of books examining the ideas of “Christian America” and American Exceptionalism, both of which are highly recommended: One Nation Under God?: An Evangelical Critique of Christian America and American Exceptionalism and Civil Religion: Reassessing the History of an Idea.
You can listen to the podcast via the audio player below.
