In the literature on Alexis de Tocqueville, his analysis of racism in the USA has long played a subordinate role (Lawlor 1959, 100–130; Martel 1954; Resh 1963; Reinhardt 1997). In fact, it was only during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s that Tocqueville was perceived as a critic of racism. Since then, the last chapter of the first volume of De la démocratie en Amérique has occupied an increasingly important place in debates about Tocqueville and the relationship between racism and democracy (Stokes 1990; Smith 1993; Connolly 1994; Nimtz 2003; Tillery 2008; Wolin 2009).