Trailer: Tocqueville Road Trip

Alexis de Tocqueville’s 19th-century masterpiece, *Democracy in America*, serves as the foundational lens for examining the current state of the United States as it approaches its 250th anniversary. While Tocqueville originally viewed America as a revolutionary idea with the power of a secular religion, contemporary society faces a profound crisis of faith in its democratic institutions and global leadership. This exploration involves retracing Tocqueville’s original 1831 route to determine if his insights remain relevant or have reached an expiration date. Perspectives from New York high society, incarcerated individuals at Sing Sing, political acolytes, and victims of government overreach reveal a nation grappling with systemic failures and constitutional erosion. These diverse encounters investigate whether the unique society Tocqueville once described—a land where citizens make the rules without monarchs—still exists in a modern, fractured landscape.