Tocqueville in AmericaIn his magisterial Tocqueville in America, George Wilson Pierson reconstructs from diaries, letters, and newspaper accounts the Frenchman's nine-month tour and his evolving analysis of American society. Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America (1835) has become a touchstone for almost any discussion of the American polity. Taking as its topic the promise and shortcomings of the democratic form of government, Tocqueville's great work is at or near the root of such political truths as the litigiousness of American society, the danger of the "tyranny of the majority," the American belief in a small government that intrudes only minimally into the daily lives of the citizenry, and Americans' love of political debate. Democracy in America is the work of a 29-year-old nobleman who, with his friend Gustave de Beaumont, traveled the breadth of Jacksonian America to inquire into the future of French society as revolutionary upheaval gave way to a representative government similar to America's. In his magisterial Tocqueville in America, George Wilson Pierson reconstructs from diaries, letters, and newspaper accounts the two Frenchmen's nine-month tour and their evolving analysis of American society. We see Tocqueville near Detroit, noting the scattered settlement patterns of the frontier and the affinity of Americans for solitude; in Boston, witnessing the jury system at work; in Philadelphia, observing the suffocating moral regimen at the new Eastern State Prison (which still stands); and in New Orleans, disturbed by the racial caste system and the lassitude of the French-speaking population. |
Contents
A CELEBRATED BOOK | 3 |
PART I | 11 |
THE EDUCATION OF AN ARISTOCRAT | 13 |
THE DECISION TO VISIT AMERICAAND A GOOD EXCUSE | 27 |
PREPARATIONS FOR ESCAPE | 34 |
PART II | 41 |
HAVRE TO NEW YORK38 DAYS | 43 |
RECEPTION IN NEW YORK | 58 |
PREPARATIONS FOR ESCAPE 34 | 34 |
PART II | 41 |
HAVRE TO NEW YORK38 DAYS 43 | 43 |
RECEPTION IN NEW YORK 58 | 58 |
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE AMERICANS 67 | 67 |
SOCIETY AND THE CITY AUTHORITIES 84 | 84 |
SING SING THE PRISON 93 | 93 |
SING SINGREFLECTIONS ON AMERICAN SOCIETY 107 | 107 |
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE AMERICANS | 67 |
SOCIETY AND THE CITY AUTHORITIES | 84 |
SING SING THE PRISON | 93 |
SING SINGREFLECTIONS ON AMERICAN SOCIETY | 107 |
FINDING A PHILOSOPHYAND LOSING IT | 120 |
JUNE IN NEW YORK | 132 |
TAKING STOCK OF IMPRESSIONS | 149 |
PART III | 169 |
TO ALBANY BY SLOOP AND STEAM | 171 |
A STATE WITHOUT A GOVERNMENT? | 185 |
WHERE ONCE THE IROQUOIS | 189 |
THE EXILE OF LAKE ONEIDA | 197 |
AUBURNWHERE HUMANITY MEANT THE WHIP | 206 |
ENCOUNTER WITH A GOVERNOR A SQUIRREL AND A JURIST | 214 |
PART IV | 227 |
FORTNIGHT IN THE WILDERNESS | 229 |
FORTNIGHT IN THE WILDERNESS cont | 260 |
ON THE UPPER LAKES | 290 |
THUNDER OF WATERS | 309 |
A LOST EMPIRE? | 314 |
PART V | 347 |
TO STOCKBRIDGE BOSTON AND BAD NEWS | 349 |
THE CHILLINESS OF BOSTONAND THE POLES | 355 |
THE ARISTOCRATS UNBEND | 362 |
PART VI | 455 |
THE HEAVENLY PRISON OF THE PHILANTHROPISTS | 457 |
SOUNDING THE PENNSYLVANIA MIND | 474 |
BALTIMORE | 489 |
BEAUMONTS Marie | 511 |
PHILADELPHIA AGAIN | 524 |
PART VII | 541 |
THE HAZARDS OF STAGE AND STEAM | 543 |
CINCINNATI | 552 |
OHIOOR REFLECTIONS ON THE MANUFACTURE OF AN AMERICAN STATE | 566 |
WINTER ROAD TO MEMPHIS | 570 |
TENNESSEE REFLECTIONS | 581 |
ENCOUNTER WITH CHOCTAW INDIANSAND AN ACCIDENT | 593 |
TWO FAMOUS BOOKSAND AN EXILE NAMED HOUSTON | 602 |
PART VIII | 617 |
24 Heures à la Nouvelle Orléans | 619 |
FROM MOBILE TO THE CHESAPEAKE | 635 |
MR POINSETT EXPLAINS | 643 |
WHAT MAKES A REPUBLIC BEARABLE | 656 |
WASHINGTON RECEIVES THE COMMISSIONERS | 663 |
FEDERAL STUDIES AND THE RETURN | 671 |
THE PRISON REPORT AND A PRISON CRUSADE | 700 |
THE MATERIALS FOR TOCQUEVILLES BOOK | 718 |
THE DESIGN OF THE Démocratie | 739 |
ITS DEFECTS | 755 |
ITS ENDURING | 768 |
APPENDIX | 779 |
TABLE OF ABBREVIATIONS | 787 |
BOSTON cont SOCIAL OBSERVATIONS AND LESSON ON | 808 |
E BIBLIOGRAPHY | 825 |
F INDEX | 835 |
TABLE OF CONTENTS I A CELEBRATED BOOK 3 | 3 |
PART I | 11 |
THE EDUCATION OF AN ARISTOCRAT 13 | 13 |
THE DECISION TO VISIT AMERICAAND A GOOD EXCUSE 27 | 27 |
FINDING A PHILOSOPHYAND LOSING IT 120 | 120 |
JUNE IN NEW YORK 132 | 132 |
TAKING STOCK OF IMPRESSIONS 149 | 149 |
PART III | 169 |
TO ALBANY BY SLOOP AND STEAM 171 | 171 |
A STATE WITHOUT A GOVERNMENT? 185 | 185 |
WHERE ONCE THE IROQUOIS 189 | 189 |
THE EXILE OF LAKE ONEIDA 197 | 197 |
AUBURNWHERE HUMANITY MEANT THE WHIP 206 | 206 |
ENCOUNTER WITH A GOVERNOR A SQUIRREL AND A JURIST 214 | 214 |
PART IV | 227 |
FORTNIGHT IN THE WILDERNESS 229 | 229 |
FORTNIGHT IN THE WILDERNESS cont 260 | 260 |
ON THE UPPER LAKES 290 | 290 |
THUNDER OF WATERS 309 | 309 |
A LOST EMPIRE? 314 | 314 |
PART V | 347 |
TO STOCKBRIDGE BOSTON AND BAD NEWS 349 | 349 |
THE CHILLINESS OF BOSTONAND THE POLES 355 | 355 |
THE ARISTOCRATS UNBEND 362 | 362 |
JURY 373 | 373 |
WITH THE LEADERS OF CHURCH AND STATE 390 | 390 |
SPARKSAND LOCAL SELFGOVERNMENT 397 | 397 |
MR ADAMS AND DR CHANNING 417 | 417 |
TWO MASSACHUSETTS PRISONS 426 | 426 |
SEEN AND NOT SEEN IN CONNECTICUT 440 | 440 |
CONNECTICUT AFTERTHOUGHT 450 450 | 450 |
PART VI | 455 |
THE HEAVENLY PRISON OF THE PHILANTHROPISTS 457 | 457 |
SOUNDING THE PENNSYLVANIA MIND 474 | 474 |
BALTIMORE 489 | 489 |
BEAUMONTS Marie 511 | 511 |
PHILADELPHIA AGAIN 524 | 524 |
PART VII | 541 |
THE HAZARDS OF STAGE AND STEAM 543 | 543 |
CINCINNATI 552 | 552 |
OHIO OR REFLECTIONS ON THE MANUFACTURE OF AN AMERICAN STATE 566 | 566 |
WINTER ROAD TO MEMPHIS 570 | 570 |
TENNESSEE REFLECTIONS 581 | 581 |
ENCOUNTER WITH CHOCTAW INDIANS AND AN ACCIDENT 593 | 593 |
TWO FAMOUS BOOKSAND AN EXILE NAMED HOUSTON 602 | 602 |
PART VIII | 617 |
24 Heures à la Nouvelle Orléans 619 | 619 |
FROM MOBILE TO THE CHESAPEAKE 635 | 635 |
MR POINSETT EXPLAINS 643 | 643 |
WHAT MAKES A REPUBLIC BEARABLE 656 | 656 |
WASHINGTON RECEIVES THE COMMISSIONERS 663 | 663 |
FEDERAL STUDIES AND THE RETURN 671 | 671 |
THE PRISON REPORT AND A PRISON CRUSADE 700 | 700 |
THE MATERIALS FOR TOCQUEVILLES BOOK 718 | 718 |
THE DESIGN OF THE Démocratie 739 | 739 |
ITS DEFECTS 755 | 755 |
QUALITIES 768 | 768 |
APPENDIX | 779 |
TABLE OF ABBREVIATIONS 787 | 787 |
E BIBLIOGRAPHY 825 | 825 |
835 | |