In the book “A Magnificent Catastrophe” author, Edward J. Larson examines all aspects of the events that occurred during the First Presidential Campaign in the 1800s. Larson discusses the Presidential Election rivalry battle between Thomas Jefferson of the Republicans and John Adams of the Federalists. In 1776 both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were sent to Philadelphia as delegates to the second continental congress, they joined a five-member committee, which drafted a Declaration of Independence for the United States. They later then voted to adopt and sign the document their committee drafted which was the Declaration of Independence. Adams was more active when promoting independence and argued the longest and the most effective, but it was Jefferson himself who wrote the Declaration of Independence. For a long period of time Adams and Jefferson were under the advice of Hamilton and Franklin where they built a strong friendship while they worked together to form a sovereign nation within the thirteen dependent colonies. In 1797 Adams succeeded as president of the United States after George Washington retired from the seat. Jefferson accompanied Adams and became the vice president of the United States. Shortly after that, beginning of the 1800s’ tension rose between Adams and Jefferson, which soon put an end to their friendship due to all of the animosity that was going on between the two. Adams and the Federalist Party were afraid that Jeffersonian rule would cause politician, social and religious upheaval. Jefferson doubted whether the nation’s democratic institutions could survive another four years under Adams rule. With this happening, United States citizens began to fear that the country was falling apart. Larson’s book...
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...t. This was a good book to read to learn about what was going on during the 1800s Presidential Campaigns. I would rather someone learn about the Presidential Campaigns from reading this book than learning it in a textbook. Textbooks are too straight to the point when it comes to politics and they don’t fully go into detail. For example Larson talked about events leading and during Presidential Campaigns in chronological order and he thoroughly described everything from the animosity to the letters that were written and newspaper articles that were distributed out. Larson wrote this book as if it was movie and that’s what I liked most about this book, therefore I would definitely recommend this book.
Work Cited
Larson, E. J. A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential Campaign. New York: Simon & Schuster Audio, 2007.
He focuses on the delegates that were sent by each state to the debate and talks about the various compromises that were made. He discusses the compromises that were also made during the debates. He also gives us a sense of the atmosphere of how peaceful the black protesters’ actions were against the document. The book Slavery’s Constitution focuses on the 13 colonies which were the beginnings of the United States. He also states that the reason for certain silences were to keep the peace between the two divisions, which were the Northern and Southern
Parsons, L. H. (2009). The Birth of Modern Politics: Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and the Election of 1828. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
In this book, Kolbert travels to many places to find out what is happening with global warming. Quite often she ran into the same fear at the places she went, the fear for loss before the next generation. When she went to Alaska, many people were fleeing from their homes because the sea ice surrounding them, creating a buffer zone for storms, was melting and that was causing houses to just be swept away.
Based on the following doctrines, I believe the extent of characterization of the two parties was not completely accurate during the presidencies of Madison and Jefferson, because of key pieces of evidence that proves inconsistencies during the period between 1801 and 1817. In the following essay, I will provide information supporting my thesis, which describes the changing feelings by each party and the reasoning behind such changes.
In the book Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis, the author relates the stories of six crucial historic events that manage to capture the flavor and fervor of the revolutionary generation and its great leaders. While each chapter or story can be read separately and completely understood, they do relate to a broader common theme. One of Ellis' main purposes in writing the book was to illustrate the early stages and tribulations of the American government and its system through his use of well blended stories. The idea that a republican government of this nature was completely unprecedented is emphasized through out the book. Ellis discusses the unique problems that the revolutionary generation experienced as a result of governing under the new concept of a democracy. These problems included- the interpretation of constitutional powers, the regulation of governmental power through checks and balances, the first presidential elections, the surprising emergence of political parties, states rights vs. federal authority, and the issue of slavery in a otherwise free society. Ellis dives even deeper into the subject by exposing the readers to true insight of the major players of the founding generation. The book attempts to capture the ideals of the early revolutionary generation leaders and their conflicting political viewpoints. The personalities of Hamilton, Burr, Adams, Washington, Madison, and Jefferson are presented in great detail. Ellis exposes the reality of the internal and partisan conflict endured by each of these figures in relation to each other. Ellis emphasizes that despite these difficult hurdles, the young American nation survived its early stages because of its great collection of charismatic leaders and their ability to ...
The first political parties in America began to form at the end of the 18th century. "The conflict that took shape in the 1790s between the Federalists and the Antifederalists exercised a profound impact on American history." The two primary influences, Thomas Jefferson a...
These two documents of Jefferson and Lincoln’s are different in more ways than they are similar. More specifically, the clear difference between the two in organization and contradiction of arguments that each expresses are what show that the Gettysburg Address and the Declaration of Independence were two documents written on completely different ends of the spectrum. Because of this, the two are just as significant to each other as they are individually to the construction and shaping of America and its rich history. The fact that these two documents are so different from one another is what makes them such great pieces of history. Jefferson’s idea of decentralization and freedom versus Lincoln’s theory of one centralized, unified, and indivisible nation and government represents the change and difference of opinion between two people of different eras in American history. This change and difference of opinion was the result of a growing country and is what was needed in order...
In the United States during the late 18th century, the American Colonies were struggling with their identity. The Revolutionary War had won Americans their collective freedom, but the best way to exercise it was the subject of much debate. One American, Alexander Hamilton, felt a need for a common, strong economic and political base for the states. This ideology stemmed from both his boyhood on the Island of St. Croix, and trying events during the Revolutionary War- influences that would later be instrumental in his publishing of the Federalist Papers.
Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, two of the most distinguished leaders in United States history began to lay the foundation the future generations would build the government upon in the 18th century. After successfully becoming an independent country after the American Revolution, America faced the challenge of building a strong economy and constructing a stable government. Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson sought to develop ways to overcome these issues while building a strong Nation, however, these two influential leaders disagreed on the main issue concerning where the government's power should lay. From this issue, stemmed the disagreements on how to recover the Nation out of debt,
By the late eighteenth century, America found itself independent from England; which was a welcomed change, but also brought with it, its own set of challenges. The newly formed National Government was acting under the Articles of Confederation, which established a “firm league of friendship” between the states, but did not give adequate power to run the country. To ensure the young nation could continue independently, Congress called for a Federal Convention to convene in Philadelphia to address the deficiencies in the Articles of Confederation. While the Congress only authorized the convention to revise and amend the Articles the delegates quickly set out to develop a whole new Constitution for the country. Unlike the Articles of Confederation, the new Constitution called for a national Executive, which was strongly debated by the delegates. There were forces on both sides of the issue trying to shape the office to meet their ideology. The Federalists, who sought a strong central government, favored a strong National Executive which they believed would ensure the country’s safety from both internal and external threats. The Anti Federalists preferred to have more power in the hands of the states, and therefore tried to weaken the national Executive. Throughout the convention and even after, during the ratification debates, there was a fear, by some, that the newly created office of the president would be too powerful and lean too much toward monarchy.
Ferling, John. “1796: The First Real Election.” In Visions of America’s Past, edited by William
However, the author 's interpretations of Jefferson 's decisions and their connection to modern politics are intriguing, to say the least. In 1774, Jefferson penned A Summary View of the Rights of British America and, later, in 1775, drafted the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (Ellis 32-44). According to Ellis, the documents act as proof that Jefferson was insensitive to the constitutional complexities a Revolution held as his interpretation of otherwise important matters revolved around his “pattern of juvenile romanticism” (38). Evidently, the American colonies’ desire for independence from the mother country was a momentous decision that affected all thirteen colonies. However, in Ellis’ arguments, Thomas Jefferson’s writing at the time showed either his failure to acknowledge the severity of the situation or his disregard of the same. Accordingly, as written in the American Sphinx, Jefferson’s mannerisms in the first Continental Congress and Virginia evokes the picture of an adolescent instead of the thirty-year-old man he was at the time (Ellis 38). It is no wonder Ellis observes Thomas Jefferson as a founding father who was not only “wildly idealistic” but also possessed “extraordinary naivete” while advocating the notions of a Jeffersonian utopia that unrestrained
Adams started out as the Vice President to George Washington, and it was contested by many who should take his position instead as Adams held monarchical principles that many in the opposition party viewed as non-representative of the principles of the American people, and dangerous to the republicanism ideals that the country was founded on, specifically how the United States separated from the monarchy of Great Britain to turn around and have leaders that promote such ideas. During Adam’s election, the Federalists viewed him as a liability for their cause, and the Hamiltonian Federalists, the majority at the time, decided to promote another candidate, Thomas Pinckney. Adams became everyone’s second choice in the election because, while he might be a danger to the federal interests, he was seen as the middle ground candidate between Jefferson and Pinckney. Adams held a pessimistic view of the future of the republican government; that corruption would end the republic early on in the United State’s life. He was elected to president in 1796, and had a notable presidency, with Jefferson as Vice President, of Hamiltonian Federalists versus Adams Federalists versus Jeffersonian Republicans fighting over power. It was this election that marked the beginning of the end of the Federalist proto-party, as
During the election of 1800, Thomas Jefferson succeeded in defeating the incumbent, John Adams, and assumed the presidency. In terms of elections though, the election of 1800 itself was a fascinating election in that it a heavily-contested election and was effectively the first time political parties ran smear campaigns against each other during an election. The Republican Party attacked the Federalists for being anti-liberty and monarchist and tried to persuade the public that the Federalists were abusing their power through acts such as the Alien & Sedition Acts and the suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion (Tindall and Shi 315). The Federalists, on the other hand, attacked Jefferson for his atheism and support of the French Revolution and warned that his election would result in chaos (316). By the end of the presidential election, neither Adams nor Jefferson emerged with his reputation completely intact. Still, rather than an election between Adams and Jefferson, the election of 1800 ultimately boiled down to a deadlock between Jefferson and his vice presidential candidate, Aaron Burr, who each held seventy-three electoral votes, resulting in the election was sent to the House of Representatives. In the end, the deadlock was resolved only by Alexander Hamilton, whose immense hate for Burr allowed Jefferson to claim the presidency. However, the election of 1800 was more than just a simple presidential election. The election of 1800 was the first peaceful transfer of power from the incumbent party to the opposition and represented a new step in politics, as well as a new direction in foreign policy that would emerge from Jefferson’s policies, and to this extent, the election of 1800 was a revolution.
After winning the Revolutionary War and sovereign control of their home country from the British, Americans now had to deal with a new authoritative issue: who was to rule at home? In the wake of this massive authoritative usurpation, there were two primary views of how the new American government should function. Whereas part of the nation believed that a strong, central government would be the most beneficial for the preservation of the Union, others saw a Confederation of sovereign state governments as an option more supportive of the liberties American’s fought so hard for in the Revolution. Those in favor of a central government, the Federalists, thought this form of government was necessary to ensure national stability, unity and influence concerning foreign perception. Contrastingly, Anti-Federalists saw this stronger form of government as potentially oppressive and eerily similar to the authority’s tendencies of the British government they had just fought to remove. However, through the final ratification of the Constitution, new laws favoring state’s rights and the election at the turn of the century, one can say that the Anti-Federalist view of America prevails despite making some concessions in an effort to preserve the Union.