The people reign over the American political world as God rules over the universe. It is the cause and the end of all things; everything rises out of it and is absorbed back into it.
~ Alexis de Tocqueville

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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.
~ Alexis de Tocqueville

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In politics, shared hatreds are almost always the basis of friendships.
~ Alexis de Tocqueville

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In a revolution, as in a novel, the most difficult part to invent is the end.
~ Alexis de Tocqueville

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The regime which is destroyed by a revolution is almost always an improvement on its immediate predecessor, and experience teaches that the most critical moment for bad governments is the one which witnesses their first steps toward reform.
~ Alexis de Tocqueville

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History, it is easily perceived, is a picture-gallery containing a host of copies and very few originals.
~ Alexis de Tocqueville

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