During his travels in America, Tocqueville was directly confronted with the issue of slavery (see Chap. 100). In De la démocratie en Amérique, however, his primary concern was not the continued existence of slavery in the southern states but the growing racism in American society (see Chap. 92), which affected him as much as it affected his companion Beaumont. Later, as a member of the Chamber of Deputies in Paris, Tocqueville fought a long battle against slavery in France.