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A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential Campaign
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 324.973
EAN: 9780743293174
ISBN: 0743293177
Label: Free Press
Manufacturer: Free Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 352
Publication Date: June 10, 2008
Publisher: Free Press
Studio: Free Press
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Editorial Review:
"They could write like angels and scheme like demons." So begins Pulitzer Prize-winner Edward Larson's masterful account of the wild ride that was the 1800 presidential election -- an election so convulsive and so momentous to the future of American democracy that Thomas Jefferson would later dub it "America's second revolution."
This was America's first true presidential campaign, giving birth to our two-party system and indelibly etching the lines of partisanship that have so profoundly shaped American politics ever since. The contest featured two of our most beloved Founding Fathers, once warm friends, facing off as the heads of their two still-forming parties -- the hot-tempered but sharp-minded John Adams, and the eloquent yet enigmatic Thomas Jefferson -- flanked by the brilliant tacticians Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, who later settled their own differences in a duel.
The country was descending into turmoil, reeling from the terrors of the French Revolution, and on the brink of war with France. Blistering accusations flew as our young nation was torn apart along party lines: Adams and his elitist Federalists would squelch liberty and impose a British-style monarchy; Jefferson and his radically democratizing Republicans would throw the country into chaos and debase the role of religion in American life. The stakes could not have been higher.
As the competition heated up, other founders joined the fray -- James Madison, John Jay, James Monroe, Gouverneur Morris, George Clinton, John Marshall, Horatio Gates, and even George Washington -- some of them emerging from retirement to respond to the political crisis gripping the nation and threatening its future.
Drawing on unprecedented, meticulous research of the day-to-day unfolding drama, from diaries and letters of the principal players as well as accounts in the fast-evolving partisan press, Larson vividly re-creates the mounting tension as one state after another voted and the press had the lead passing back and forth. The outcome remained shrouded in doubt long after the voting ended, and as Inauguration Day approached, Congress met in closed session to resolve the crisis. In its first great electoral challenge, our fragile experiment in constitutional democracy hung in the balance.A Magnificent Catastrophe is history writing at its evocative best: the riveting story of the last great contest of the founding period.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - The more things change...
...the more they haven't.
Politics have not just "recently" become bitterly partisan. Not in this past generation, or the one before, or the one before that. When you read Edward Larson's account of the election of 1800, you will find yourself amazaed at the similarities in issues from then to now.
There are questions of civil liberties vs. national security, economic regulation, and the place of religion in politics. You'll find that Karl Rove had nothing on Aaron Burr ... Read More
Rating: - Good history of the Presidential election of 1800
Think that 2000 featured a strange presidential election? Then, you might be interested in this book. The election of 1800 is termed, in the book's title, "A Magnificent Catastrophe." Because of a mistaken in how the Constitution stated who would be elected president, Thomas Jefferson and his vice-presidential "partner," Aaron Burr, were tied after the electoral votes were counted. Burr being Burr, he did not withdraw and allowed Congressional voting to take place (a churl, as always).
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Rating:  - OK Book about a fascinating topic
Larson's in depth account of this time is a little too in depth and often repetitious in his ping-ponging accounts of "the issues" as seen by the Jacobins and the Federalists. It makes for an extremely slow read, no matter how interesting the material.
It would make a great textbook about the time, but given the the never ending boring details, I can't recommend it as a casual read about the period. There are more engaging books about the same.
As to the content of the book ... Read More
Rating:  - Vivid re-creation of 1800 election
Edward J. Larson's magnificent look at America's first disputed election manages to remain very suspenseful (what will Pennsylvania finally do?) even though we all know how it turned out.
In brief, in the days before the 12th Amendment (and this election was precisely the reason why the 12th Amendment was enacted), electors cast their votes only for the president--the first runnerup would become vice president. This is why Jefferson, a Republican (i.e., the party that would evolve into the ... Read More
Rating: - Good Book on a Well-Worn Topic
Mr. Larson has written a nice little history of a most reported on election. As others have noted, 1800 was a "partisan" year, indeed---following Washington, and Adams' first term. Adams was, in my opinion, the intellectual superior to Mr. Jefferson (and I'm a southerner)---but Adams was much less attuned to the ruff-and-tumble of partisan politics than was Mr. Jefferson. Adams as president was Adams, and cared not for politics until a few nights before Mr. Jefferson took over---and then belatedly commenced ... Read More
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