The Chicago companion to Tocqueville's Democracy in America / James T. Schleifer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schleifer, James T., 1942-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Tocqueville, Alexis de, 1805-1859. De la démocratie en Amérique.

Tocqueville, Alexis de.

Physical Description:

xi, 199 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Chicago ; London : The University of Chicago Press, 2012.

Summary:

With The Chicago Companion to Tocqueville's "Democracy in America," James T. Schleifer has provided the background and information readers need in order to understand Alexis de Tocqueville's masterwork. Drawing upon his intimate knowledge of the author's papers and manuscripts, Schleifer explains why Democracy in America is so important, how it came to be written, and how different generations of Americans have interpreted it since its publication. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part I What Are the Contexts of Tocqueville's Democracy'?

1 Who Was Tocqueville? 9

What Are Some Essentials of His Life and Background? 9

How Was He Able to Write Such a Brilliant Book? 11

What Kind of Man Was Tocqueville? 12

2 How Was Democracy in America Written? 15

Tocqueville's Journey to America 15

Why Did Tocqueville Visit the United States in 1831? And What Did He Do There? 15

How Did Tocqueville and Beaumont Work? 17

What Is the Importance of Tocqueville's Travel Diaries and Letters Home? 20

What Were the Weaknesses of Tocqueville's Journey? 21

Intellectual Encounter with America 25

Tocqueville's Second Voyage to America 27

How Did Democracy in America Take Shape? 27

Tocqueville's Working Papers 27

Help from Others 28

What Were the Sources of Tocqueville's Book? 31

The Style and Structure of Tocqueville's Democracy 38

Tocqueville's Ways of Writing: How Does He Address His Readers? 38

How Is Democracy in America Organized? 41

The Shape of the 1835 Democracy 42

The Shape of the 1840 Democracy 44

Part II What Are Some of the Major Themes of Tocqueville's Democracy?

3 What Are Some of Tocqueville's Basic Convictions? 49

4 What Does Tocqueville Mean by Equality, Democracy, and Liberty? 56

Equality 56

Democracy 60

Liberty 64

How Are Equality, Democracy, and Liberty Related? 68

5 How Does Democracy Threaten Liberty? 72

Democratic Materialism 72

Democratic Individualism 77

Centralization 83

Where Would Power Accumulate? 84

6 How to Preserve Liberty? 101

Decentralization 103

Associations 105

Self-Interest Well Understood 108

Religion 112

What Is Tocqueville's Essential Message? 115

7 What Are Some of Tocqueville's Other Major Themes? 118

Economics and the Role of Government 118

A Partisan of Democracy? 126

Democracy and Religion 129

Democracy and Intellectual Creativity 130

Democracy and Morality 133

Democracy and Revolution 136

Democracy and War 138

The Democratic Character 139

Tocqueville's Major Themes Reconsidered 142

8 What Else Does Tocqueville Have to Say about America? 146

What Is Specific to America? 146

The American Setting 147

The Federal Constitution 148

The Future of the Three Races 150

American Exceptionalism 153

Other Functions of America 154

Tocqueville and the American Example 157

Part III American Readings of Tocqueville's Democracy

9 How Has Tocqueville's Democracy Been Read in America? 161

Conservative Readings 163

Liberal Readings 164

Libertarian Readings 166

Communitarian Readings 167

Concluding Reflections 170

Part IV Tools for Use

Glossary: What Are Some of the Key Terms in Tocqueville's Democracy? 175

Guide to Key Chapters and Passages: Which Parts of Tocqueville's Democracy Are the Most Famous and Essential? 179

Suggestions for Further Reading 185.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780226737034

0226737039

9780226737041

0226737047

OCLC:

756045437