“No German I know could have analyzed public life as I have done, having had the advantage of a practical citizen’s life for many years, in a vast republic.” Francis Lieber, the stocky, thick-accented German to whom this bold statement belonged, was basking in the positive reception of his recently published Manual of Political Ethics. He considered himself—along with his friend Alexis de Tocqueville—as one of a select few gifted with special insight into a nation’s political life. Joseph Story praised Lieber as even greater than Tocqueville, saying…
This is a preview. Read the full article here.