Alexis de Tocqueville and American Intellectuals

In this groundbreaking new work, Matthew Mancini tells the surprising story of Alexis de Tocquevilles reception in American thought and culture from the time of his 1831 visit to the United States to the turn of the twenty-first century. The author uncovers an historical record that is replete with unmistakable evidence of Tocquevilles continuing importance to American intellectuals throughout the post-Civil War period of his supposed oblivion, and also of his reputation being exaggerated by recent historians referring to the post-World War II decades. Through comprehensive analysis of Tocquevilles published works, Mancini critically examines the ways in which Tocquevilles ideas have been received and, at times, misunderstood. Mancini challenges almost every element of the common understanding of Tocquevilles reception into American intellectual culture while recovering and re-examining many important intellectuals of the last 150 years. In doing so, Mancini inscribes an important chapter in American cultural history, namely the idea of Tocqueville himself.