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Read the archive   of Wattenberg's   syndicated column     Is there a terrorist threat in Canada? This week, Think Tank with Ben Wattenberg takes a look at the threat of a terrorist attack coming across the Canadian-American ... more Vietnam Revisited: The Myths of the War In 1971, the New York Times published the so-called ’Pentagon Papers’ -- excerpts from a government study called ’History of the ... more   Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America main page Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America Aired 10/4/2001 In May of 1831, twenty-six year-old Alexis de Tocqueville landed in Newport, Rhode Island, then a city of fewer than 16,000 residents. From there he began a ten-month journey across America. Tocqueville sought to answer the political riddle of the era: Why was it that democracy flourished in America? What was the secret of American success, and could it be brought home to France, where Tocqueville’s own aristocratic family had been jailed during the French revolution of 1789. Tocqueville’s observations on the American experiment in Democracy, and his predictions for its future, are considered among the most insightful and prophetic ever recorded. Can we still learn something about democracy from a twenty-six-year-old, French aristocrat who visited America a hundred and seventy years ago?   Read the full transcript   Harvey Mansfield     Harvard University professor of government; author and translator of the most recent English edition of Tocqueville’s Democracy in America Originally Aired: 10/4/2001     Be sure to also check out: Here are some previous Think Tank programs that may be of interest. Ford’s Fundamentals, Part Two   aired 8/24/2006 Ford’s Fundamentals, Part one   aired 8/17/2006 Civil Rights, Then and Now, Part One   aired 3/30/2006 Send us your thoughts Think Tank is made possible by generous support from the Smith Richardson Foundation, the Bernard and Irene Schwartz Foundation, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, the John M. Olin Foundation, the Donner Canadian Foundation, the Dodge Jones Foundation, and Pfizer, Inc. ©Copyright Think Tank. All rights reserved.     Web development by Bean Creative.