The Democratic Family in Tocqueville's America

Alexis de Tocqueville''s political masterpiece,
Democracy in America, remains the most important
contribution to the study of modern democracy to
date. Though Tocqueville scholars have exhausted
the work''s most popular themes like ''the tyranny of
the majority'' and ''democratic despotism'' they have
overlooked a feature of American life central to the
survival of the nation: the democratic family. The
Democratic Family in Tocqueville''s America examines
the greatest dangers of democratic life and shows
how the family remediates these through the new
roles of American women;as domestic ''keepers of
morals'' women take on an instructive role held by
men in ages past, and in doing so, exemplify a novel
recognition of difference in the age of equality.
The book argues for stronger attention to women and
family as features key to understanding how American
democracy thrived in Tocqueville''s day, and gives us
reason to hope that it can survive today. The
Democratic Family sheds considerable light on an
understudied aspect of Tocqueville''s work and can be
enjoyed by both academic audiences as well as
readers with general interest in American democracy.

Autorentext
M.A. Political Science, University of New
Hampshire. Nick has recently worked for the Political Studies
Department at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and is
currently a Departmental Fellow in Political Science at Indiana
University Bloomington studying political philosophy and
comparative politics.

Klappentext
Alexis de Tocqueville's political masterpiece, Democracy in America, remains the most important contribution to the study of modern democracy to date. Though Tocqueville scholars have exhausted the work's most popular themes like 'the tyranny of the majority' and 'democratic despotism' they have overlooked a feature of American life central to the survival of the nation: the democratic family. The Democratic Family in Tocqueville's America examines the greatest dangers of democratic life and shows how the family remediates these through the new roles of American women;as domestic 'keepers of morals' women take on an instructive role held by men in ages past, and in doing so, exemplify a novel recognition of difference in the age of equality. The book argues for stronger attention to women and family as features key to understanding how American democracy thrived in Tocqueville's day, and gives us reason to hope that it can survive today. The Democratic Family sheds considerable light on an understudied aspect of Tocqueville's work and can be enjoyed by both academic audiences as well as readers with general interest in American democracy.