This thesis is a study of Matthew Arnold's "democracy" as it is defined and explained in select examples of his critical essays, especially in Culture and Anarchy. This first part of the thesis sets forth some of the literary theories and attitudes which have bearing on Arnold's views of society, for behind every critical judgment of literature that he will make lies a social and political judgment. It covers the "Preface to the First Edition of Poems, 1853," the essay on "Literary Influence of Academies," the political pamphlet on "England and the Italian Question," and the essays entitled "Democracy" and "Equality." It attempts to show the ideas, influences, and methods present in these essays which bear fruit in Culture and Anarchy and which contribute to an understanding of Arnold's "democracy". I have also made brief mention of his views on America and on religion. The second part of the thesis is a discussion of Culture and Anarchy, the work which ranks as a political and educational classic, and the one in which Arnold presents his famous notion of the State, and his discussion of Hebraism, Hellenism, and culture. The conclusion attempts to make clear, finally, what "democracy" finally is to Matthew Arnold.