1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910813424903321

Autore

Jaher Frederic Cople

Titolo

The Jews and the nation : revolution, emancipation, state formation, and the liberal paradigm in America and France / / Frederic Cople Jaher

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Princeton, N.J., : Princeton University Press, c2002

ISBN

1-282-15761-2

9786612157615

1-4008-2526-1

Edizione

[Course Book]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (304 p.)

Disciplina

944/.004924

Soggetti

Jews - France - History - 18th century

Jews - Emancipation - France

Minorities - Legal status, laws, etc - France - History

National characteristics, French

Jews - United States - History - 18th century

Liberalism - United States - History

Minorities - Legal status, laws, etc - United States - History

Multiculturalism

France Politics and government 18th century

France Social conditions 18th century

France Ethnic relations

France History Philosophy

United States Politics and government 18th century

United States Social conditions To 1865

United States History Philosophy

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 239-284) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- PREFACE -- PART I. Introduction -- PART II. The Account -- PART III. Conclusion -- NOTES -- INDEX

Sommario/riassunto

This book is the first systematic comparison of the civic integration of Jews in the United States and France--specifically, from the two countries' revolutions through the American republic and the



Napoleonic era (1775-1815). Frederic Jaher develops a vehicle for a broader and uniquely rich analysis of French and American nation-building and political culture. He returns grand theory to historical scholarship by examining the Jewish encounter with state formation and Jewish acquisition of civic equality from the perspective of the "paradigm of liberal inclusiveness" as formulated by Alexis de Tocqueville and Louis Hartz. Jaher argues that the liberal paradigm worked for American Jews but that France's illiberal impulses hindered its Jewish population in acquiring full civic rights. He also explores the relevance of the Tocqueville-Hartz theory for other marginalized groups, particularly blacks and women in France and America. However, the experience of these groups suggests that the theory has its limits. A central issue of this penetrating study is whether a state with democratic-liberal pretensions (America) can better protect the rights of marginalized enclaves than can a state with authoritarian tendencies (France). The Tocqueville-Hartz thesis has become a major issue in political science, and this book marks the first time it has been tested in a historical study. The Jews and the Nation returns a unifying theory to a discipline fragmented by microtopical scholarship.