Bibliograph

Jefferson's second revolution, the election crisis of 1800 and the triumph of republicanism, Susan Dunn

Type

Label

Jefferson's second revolution, the election crisis of 1800 and the triumph of republicanism, Susan Dunn

Language

eng

Index

no index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Jefferson's second revolution

Nature of contents

dictionaries

Responsibility statement

Susan Dunn

Sub title

the election crisis of 1800 and the triumph of republicanism

Summary

In the election of 1800, Federalist incumbent John Adams, and the elitism he represented, faced Republican Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson defeated Adams but, through a quirk in Electoral College balloting, tied with his own running mate, Aaron Burr. A constitutional crisis ensued. Congress was supposed to resolve the tie, but would the Federalists hand over power peacefully to their political enemies, to Jefferson and his Republicans? For weeks on end, nothing was certain. The Federalists delayed and plotted, while Republicans threatened to take up arms. In a way no previous historian has done, Susan Dunn illuminates this watershed moment in American history. She captures its great drama, gives us fresh, {uFB01}nely drawn portraits of the founding fathers, and brilliantly parses the enduring signi{uFB01}cance of the crisis. The year 1800 marked the end of Federalist elitism, pointed the way to peaceful power shifts, cleared a place for states' rights in the political landscape-and set the stage for the Civil War. "Dunn, a scholar of eighteenth-century American history, has provided a valuable reminder of an election in which the stakes were truly enormous and the political vituperation was far more poisonous than the relatively moderate attacks heard today

Target audience

adult

Classification