The aspect of American society is animated, because men and things are always changing; but it is monotonous, because all the changes are alike.
Alexis De TocquevilleRead
The only authors whom I acknowledge as American are the journalists. They, indeed, are not great writers, but they speak the language of their countrymen, and make themselves heard by them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
De Tocqueville emphasizes the significance of journalists in American society as the true voice of the people, despite their literary limitations.
In this quote, Alexis De Tocqueville highlights the unique role of journalists in American culture, contrasting them with traditional authors. He suggests that while journalists may not achieve the heights of literary greatness, they effectively communicate and resonate with the everyday experiences and language of the American populace, thereby fulfilling an important social function.
Themes
JournalismLanguageCommunicationSocietyAmerica
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the role of media in democracy.
More from Alexis De Tocqueville
All quotes →Democratic communities have a natural taste for freedom: left to themselves they will seek it, cherish it, and view any deprivation of it with regret. But for equality their passion is ardent, insatiable, incessant, invincible: they call for equality in freedom; and if they cannot obtain that, they still call for equality in slavery.
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Religion, which never intervenes directly in the government of American society, should therefore be considered as the first of their political institutions
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The surface of American society is covered with a layer of democratic paint, but from time to time one can see the old aristocratic colours breaking through.
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The Indian knew how to live without wants, to suffer without complaint, and to die singing.
Alexis De TocquevilleRead
Grant me thirty years of equal division of inheritances and a free press, and I will provide you with a republic.
Alexis De TocquevilleRead
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