Trailer: Tocqueville Road Trip

Alexis de Tocqueville’s 1831 journey through the United States produced *Democracy in America*, a seminal text that framed the young nation as a unique, rule-bound society driven by a secular faith in democratic ideals. Two centuries later, as the U.S. approaches its 250th anniversary, this foundational "faith" faces unprecedented skepticism regarding the country's right to lead. John Prideaux, U.S. editor for *The Economist*, retraces Tocqueville’s original route to determine if the Frenchman’s insights remain relevant or have reached their expiry date. By engaging with a broad spectrum of modern Americans—ranging from New York’s elite and political insiders to prisoners at Sing Sing and victims of government overreach—the investigation explores whether the core identity of the American experiment still exists. This contemporary road trip examines the tension between the historical vision of a kingless land and the current reality of a fractured constitutional landscape.