Philadelphia Facts: February 2012
Tocqueville and Philadelphia
Arguably the most brilliant work on the unique American character—Alexis de Tocqueville’s classic work “Democracy in America”—owes its publication to Philadelphia’s famed Eastern State Penitentiary.
The idea for the “penitentiary” came from a group of citizens that met in 1787 in the home of Benjamin Franklin. The group was spearheaded by an Anglican bishop, William White, who wanted to design a system of incarceration that promoted penitence and not merely punishment. A generation later, in 1831, Tocqueville reported glowingly on Eastern State’s success to the French government (Charles Dickens, who visited in 1842, was less enthusiastic). Tocqueville ended up spending nearly two years in America, writing a master work of sociology that influences American leaders to this day.
Alan Crippen and the spring 2012 John Jay Fellows will visit the penitentiary on March 23 in a tour that is open to friends of the Institute. Click here for more information.
