Ambivalent Democracies. Uses and Misuses of Tocqueville Within the Abolitionist Debate (1839–1865)

Abstract

In this essay, I investigate the ways in which abolitionists and pro-slavery forces use Tocqueville before and during the Civil War, drawing on the major black and white abolitionist newspapers ( The Liberator, National Anti-Slavery Standard, The National Era, The North Star, and The Colored American). By focusing on the dissemination of Tocqueville’s ideas within a specific audience of white abolitionists, and on the impact of blacks’ criticism on this process, I challenge Tocqueville’s abolitionist arguments. Thus, using Tocqueville as a prism through which to discuss some of the key issues surrounding the abolitionist struggles, I show that the author’s reception depends on the relevance of these struggles and claims for the definition of democracy itself as an endless and potentially unmanageable process.