The expansion of empires in the nineteenth century accompanied the cross cultural spread of democratic ideals. This article identifies three existing approaches that seek to reconcile Alexis de Tocqueville’s democratic thought with his imperial advocacy, arguing that none has adequately resolved the moral dilemma inherent in his endorsement of empire. Through an analysis of administrative centralization, national honor, and the doctrine of interest rightly understood, this paper elaborates two moral imaginations of the French Empire articulated in Tocqueville’s political thought.