Ep. 227 - The Genius of America - A Journey Into Our Republic: Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy In America

In 1831, a 26 year-old French member of the aristocracy arrived in New York City to examine our prison system.  Alexis de Tocqueville would do that and so much more.  Over 9 months, he and his travel companion, Gustave de Beaumont, traveled extensively and in 1835, he published “Democracy in America.”  De Tocqueville studied and answered what it took to perpetuate our political institutions, what the “habits of the American heart” are and what it means to be an American.  In fact, it was De Tocqueville who coined the term American Exceptionalism.  To guide our student panel as we discuss this seminal work, we are pleased to welcome Dr. Dorothea Wolfson, program director and senior lecturer in the MA in Government Program at Johns Hopkins University.