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Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800

John Ferling

3.97 · Rating details · 2,554 ratings · 135 reviews

It was a contest of titans: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, two heroes of the Revolutionary era, once intimate friends, now icy antagonists locked in a fierce battle for the future of the United States. The election of 1800 was a thunderous clash of a campaign that climaxed in a deadlock in the Electoral College and led to a crisis in which the young republic teetered on ...more

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Paperback, 260 pages

Published October 20th 2005 by Oxford University Press, USA (first published 2004)

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Nov 22, 2008 Jason Koivu rated it really liked it

Shelves: history

Ferling brings these two larger-than-life icons of American history back to life in a big way. Reading Adams Vs. Jefferson you feel as if you're actually getting to know them, not only their public personas as politicians, but also as men.

Personally I'm not sure I'd like either of them 100% through and through. I guess that can be said about most everyone to some extent. There's always one niggling quality about a person that doesn't jell with your own outlook on life, but in this case both of ...more

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Jan 07, 2017 Emily Ross rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017-reading-challenge, reviewed, history

Very easy book to read, very informative and a lot more understandable than other historical books concerning the same topic. Ferling is a good writer, and an easy-ish read in general, but his bias towards Adams can be felt in the reading.

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Sep 18, 2007 Brad Hart rated it liked it

Very good book. The author did a good job caturing the punch and counter punch campaigning style of Adams and Jefferson. If you think politics are dirty today, then give this book a chance! You will quickly see that it is nothing new.

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Apr 17, 2012 Gary Hoggatt rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: history, all-non-fiction, history-bio-18th-century, history-bio-19th-century, audiobooks

The United States presidential election of 1800 was a bitterly-contested and wild affair. In historian John Ferling's 2004 book Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, Ferling attempts to chronicle this story, but unfortunately he gets frequently sidetracked and spends much more time setting the scene for the election of 1800 than he does actually discussing it.

The main players in this drama are, naturally, John Adams, second President of the United States after being elected in 17 The United States presidential election of 1800 was a bitterly-contested and wild affair. In historian John Ferling's 2004 book Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, Ferling attempts to chronicle this story, but unfortunately he gets frequently sidetracked and spends much more time setting the scene for the election of 1800 than he does actually discussing it.

The main players in this drama are, naturally, John Adams, second President of the United States after being elected in 1796 and candidate for 1800 for the Federalist party, and Thomas Jefferson, Vice-President of the U.S. after coming in second in 1796 and candidate for 1800 for the Democratic-Republican party. Three others also feature prominently in the narrative. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney is Adams' Federalist running mate, Aaron Burr is Jefferson's Democratic-Republican running mate, and Alexander Hamilton is the leader of the extreme wing of the Federalist party who has his own ambitions heading into 1800.

The trouble Ferling stumbles into is that he spends half the book giving brief biographies of these five politicians up through 1796. That, simply put, is excessive. Yes, Ferling needed to give some background for those less familiar with the cast, but his editor should have cut the first half of the manuscript in half, at least. The 1796 contest between Adams and Jefferson and the events of Adams' term as president are very relevant to the 1800 election, but knowing the childhood origins of each of these five and their political and personal chronicle is just going back too far. I kept waiting and waiting for Ferling to get to the actual story promised in the title.

When Ferling does get to 1796, the narrative suffers quite a bit from jumping around between the threads of the five different players and the various states, with little concern for chronology or theme. You just move from one political ploy to another, without getting much sense of how it all fits together. Ferling also on several occasions repeats the same point with no additional information, as if he had forgotten he'd already mentioned that in another thread.

When covering 1800 itself, Ferling spends a lot of time repeatedly citing the vicious attempts to influence the election by the various party-affiliated newspapers. While some of that is needed to give the reader an idea of what was going on, eventually it gets tiresome. How many times does he need to cite a Federalist paper calling Jefferson a France-loving anarchist or a Democratic-Republican paper calling Adam's a pro-British monarchist before we can assume the reader gets it?

The last part of the story of the election, when the House of Representatives had to settle between Jefferson and Burr, who tied in electoral votes, bogs down in the number of times the House voted. Ferling does an adequate job of describing the various maneuvers in the Federalist-dominated House to control the outcome. But, despite the extensive earlier biographical sketch, Ferling never really answers why Burr decided to try to make a play for the presidency. There are a few guesses, but nothing concrete.

I listened to Adams vs. Jefferson on audio, as narrated by Jack Garrett. Garrett does little to make the reading lively. The pacing of the book, already problematic in and of itself as outlined above, is seriously hampered by frequent and extended pauses. Either Garrett didn't prepare much, the producer didn't do enough work editing the reading, or both. In any case, it wasn't very satisfying.

The presidential election of 1800 was an interesting contest, and I did learn some things from Ferling's book. But overall, Ferling failed to capture the drama inherent in the story, instead allowing himself to be sidetracked and lose control of the narrative as he spends much of the book on biographies, then hops around the dates and states so much that neither Ferling nor the reader can really keep the threads of the story straight. I can't especially recommend this book. There are just too many problems with it, despite the promising premise. ...more

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May 06, 2013 Steve rated it really liked it

http://bestpresidentialbios.com/2013/...

”Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800″ was written by John Ferling (the author of biographies I’ve already read and reviewed on both George Washington and John Adams). Though “Adams vs. Jefferson” is is not really a presidential biography, I nevertheless decided to read it as part of this journey, wondering if it might serve as a nice bridge between our second and third presidents (it does), and looking forward to reading something a bit “d http://bestpresidentialbios.com/2013/...

”Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800″ was written by John Ferling (the author of biographies I’ve already read and reviewed on both George Washington and John Adams). Though “Adams vs. Jefferson” is is not really a presidential biography, I nevertheless decided to read it as part of this journey, wondering if it might serve as a nice bridge between our second and third presidents (it does), and looking forward to reading something a bit “different”.

History well recalls that the presidential election of 1800 was a contentious affair and led to an early test of our electoral process. But despite the book’s premise (the title itself suggests a rather sharp focus on the election), neither the campaign nor the election are discussed in earnest until the last one-third of the book.

The majority of the book is spent, instead, laying groundwork and setting the stage. Ferling efficiently reviews both Washington’s and Adams’ presidencies, the mood of the United States populace and the state of the electoral system as it then existed. In addition, the author devotes significant care to introducing the other key characters in the campaign and election: Aaron Burr and Charles C. Pinckney (the VP nominees) and Alexander Hamilton (the Federalist antagonist). Happily, these major players received fairly balanced, and interesting, assessments

Discussion of both the campaign and the election is eventually completed in just two chapters before the author moves on to review the protracted resolution of the election in the House of Representatives. That the final decision was thrown into the House was due, of course, to the fact there was an electoral vote tie between Jefferson and his running mate Burr, and that the mechanics of the electoral process at that time made it possible a Vice Presidential candidate could actually win the presidency.

The fact that the author took so long to get to the campaign and the election initially bothered me – until I realized that I actually enjoyed the first part of the book more than the section alluded to by the book’s title. Ferling’s review of Washington’s and Adams’ presidencies was nicely and efficiently consummated, and resulted in an excellent summary of our nation’s history up through the Adams presidency.

But in the end, although the election of 1800 was remarkably antagonistic (and interesting as a consequence), this book feels a bit like two-hundred pages of history in search of a premise, rather than a premise that found the right book.

Nonetheless, for a reader with a passing familiarity with the Washington and Adams presidencies and an appreciation for the caustic political environment of the times, “Adams vs. Jefferson” is a relatively easy and fun read, filling in any major holes in one’s knowledge quite nicely. Without a doubt, this book cannot, and does not attempt, to substitute for more complete studies of Washington, Adams or Jefferson. But for someone with a passing interest and a little free time (perhaps during a long ground delay at O’Hare), “Adams vs. Jefferson” is almost certainly worth the effort.

Overall rating: 4 stars ...more

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Aug 19, 2010 Colleen Martin rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, audiobooks

Someone needs to tell John Ferling that a history book is supposed to stick to the facts and be free of both bias and conjecture, because evidently he wasn't aware of that. This wasn't so much a lesson in early American political history as it was a fawning love sonnet to Thomas Jefferson and his ideological beliefs, as well as a character assassination of John Adams. The further I got into the book, the angrier I became - Ferling casts aspersions left and right about Adams, from his political d ...more

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Mar 22, 2019 Jason rated it liked it

Felt very long for such a short book, mostly because Ferling padded the book so strongly with information going back much further than 1800 (that might be considered unnecessary). It wasn't a bad book, but I was surprised how little I got out of it considering I didn't know much about the Election of 1800. It's not a bad book - 3 means Average - but it didn't really move me much and I have a feeling I'll have forgotten about it in a few weeks. ...more

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Mar 22, 2008 Jim rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: any1 interested in what real people Founding Fathers were

great book about what may have been most important election in american History which still has an affect on our country even today

already learned more about who all the characters were in terms of their personalities, frailties, ambitions and backgrounds as well as their competing political philosophies which still are in play today.

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Sep 12, 2020 Jon Gautier rated it really liked it

Shelves: 18-century-history

My second Ferling book, and it is clear that he is a must read: scholarly, incisive, and a compelling writer. I hope eventually to read everything by him. This short book is another “inside baseball” type, about, as the title proclaims, post-revolutionary politics. The last part is a detailed recounting (electoral joke!) of the 1800 election, including charts (!), and maps showing states, electoral votes, house votes and so on. I almost felt like I was watching CNN on election night. This is not ...more

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Apr 11, 2009 Eric_W rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: biography-memoir, history-historiography

Read this with America Afire Jefferson, Adams, and the Revolutionary Election of 1800. Both books document the campaign of 1800 that resulted in the election being thrown into the House of Representatives. The campaign was ugly. War service of the candidates was an issue then as now, with opponents reminding the electorate (white property owners only then) that Thomas Jefferson had sat out the revolution at home in Monticello.

Thomas Jefferson had hired James Callender, a British immigrant to wr Read this with America Afire Jefferson, Adams, and the Revolutionary Election of 1800. Both books document the campaign of 1800 that resulted in the election being thrown into the House of Representatives. The campaign was ugly. War service of the candidates was an issue then as now, with opponents reminding the electorate (white property owners only then) that Thomas Jefferson had sat out the revolution at home in Monticello.

Thomas Jefferson had hired James Callender, a British immigrant to write anti-Adams essays. "Calumny dripped from Callender's pen." Jefferson bankrolled many anti-Adams journalists. He unsparingly "flayed Washington," who, he claimed, had wanted to be a dictator, called Hamilton the "Judas Iscariot of our country," and called Adams a war monger and "poor old man who is in his dotage." The Federalists under Adams were no better. Callender was arrested and charged under the Alien and Sedition Acts -- and we thought the USA Patriot Act was bad -- passed during the Adams' administration. Callender later turned on Jefferson when he was not awarded a plum political post in addition to his monetary rewards. He then went on the dig up the story of Jefferson's affair with Sally Hemmings, a charge that seems now not to have been true, the DNA evidence being somewhat inconclusive given the number of other Jefferson males in the area, although I suppose the jury is still out in some minds. But I digress, the only point being that campaigns in the early 18th century were often more bitter than those today.

Hamilton doesn't come off as well as he did in Ferling's earlier books; Jefferson and Adams better. Hamilton is portrayed as power hungry and responsible for the ostensible sins of the Adams administration such as the Alien and Sedition Acts. Personally, I admire Adams for his peacefully relinquishing power -- I believe the first instance in history a leader stepped down from power without some kind of violence -- but Hamilton is getting a bad rap. His emphasis on honoring the debts and fiscal stability was very important. You have to feel sorry for Adams, sandwiched between Hamilton and Jefferson.

Revised 6/13/09 ...more

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Mar 15, 2011 Judy rated it liked it

Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were firm friends when they both served as enovys to Europe--Jefferson to France and Adams to England. However that changed during Washington's first administration as Adams, the first Vice President, and Jefferson, the first Secretary of State, increasingly became identified with rival political factions. In 1796, the first presidential election without George Washington on the ballot, maneuvering in the Electoral College ended with the unholy alliance of John Ad Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were firm friends when they both served as enovys to Europe--Jefferson to France and Adams to England. However that changed during Washington's first administration as Adams, the first Vice President, and Jefferson, the first Secretary of State, increasingly became identified with rival political factions. In 1796, the first presidential election without George Washington on the ballot, maneuvering in the Electoral College ended with the unholy alliance of John Adams, a Federalist, elected President and Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican, elected Vice-President. It was clear from the end of that election that Adams and Jefferson would face each other in the election of 1800. Because of the way the Constitution of 1787 was written, it was relatively easy to try to manipulate electors to influence the results. In both the elections of 1796 and 1800, the pressures on electors was intense as each elector cast two votes with any designation of whether the vote was for President or Vice-President. As a result, in 1796, votes diverted from the Federalist Vice-President candidate, Pinckney, caused Jefferson to come in second in the Electoral College rather than third. And in the election of 1800, while Adams was defeated, Jefferson and Aaron Burr, his running mate, ended up in a tie in the Electoral College. Thus, the election was thrown into the House of Representatives where the Federalists who still controlled that body had the difficult choice of choosing Jefferson, the symbol of the oppostion, or Burr, who seemed to be so overtly ambitious. After days of balloting, a deal was struck and Jefferson was elected President. The Election of 1800 can rightly be called "the Revolution of 1800" because it was the first election in which power was peacefully transferred from one political party to another in the young history of our Republic. It also resulted in the passage of the 12th Amendment to change the voting procedures in the Electoral College to prevent this situation from arising again. A very interesting book about a fascinating period of American History. ...more

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May 02, 2016 Joanie rated it liked it

As America (and much of the world) endures the obnoxious spectacle that is the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, it is easy to look back in time and believe that previous elections were somehow more civilized. Reading the story of the Presidential election of 1800 between then-President John Adams and his former close friend Thomas Jefferson, one realizes that partisan politics and nasty campaigns are nothing new. Author John Ferling did a reasonable job of attempting to help readers understand t ...more

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Nov 07, 2016 Lynnie rated it liked it

My goal was to finish this book before the election & I managed it with one day to spare.

It's a history book, so if you're into that sort of thing, you'll probably enjoy this. There's a lot of great research in this book & it tells the story of all the key players, none of whom come out looking quite as high & honorable as most Americans like to think of them. My husband recommended I read this because as we think of the election of 2016 as a horribly dark & negative entity, the truth is that t ...more

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Jul 05, 2016 Louis rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The election of 1800 was probably the most important in American history. This contest established peaceful transfer of parties between parties as a normal part of . In addition, the two contestants were not only two noteworthy Founding Fathers but also the sitting president and vice president. Add to that the fact that they were former (and future) friends. Finally, throw in the vice presidential candidate with his own designs on power and you have a story that would not be believed as fiction. ...more

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May 12, 2008 Andrew rated it liked it

Recommends it for: history fans.

Shelves: history

This was the first history book I read for fun, when I was a sophomore in college. I liked it a lot, although I admit it is probably something only history buffs would really be interested in.

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Sep 13, 2016 Riley rated it really liked it

I like any book that essentially describes Alexander Hamilton as a hip happenin' political giant. ...more

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Sep 24, 2011 Joann marked it as to-read

My father's review:
Biographers tend to become wrapped up in their subject and create an impression that this one is the best of all. "The American Sphinx" by Ellis is the reverse. It lays bare Jefferson's enigmatic inconsistencies. "Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800" examines the history of the United States up to and through the election of 1800. Thus, it is examining the events of the period, not the persons, except as they are causes of, or are affected by those events. The ...more

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Dec 03, 2020 Laurel rated it it was amazing

This book was fascinating to me for two major reasons. First because Aaron Burr is an ancestor in our family tree. I knew he came in second in the presidential election. Back then the winner of the election became president and the runner up became vice president. Aaron Burr became the third vice president in the election, so he came in second. SO...Why oh Why is the title of this book Adam vs Jefferson then? It seems it should have said Jefferson vs Burr. I hope I caught your interest, so you'l This book was fascinating to me for two major reasons. First because Aaron Burr is an ancestor in our family tree. I knew he came in second in the presidential election. Back then the winner of the election became president and the runner up became vice president. Aaron Burr became the third vice president in the election, so he came in second. SO...Why oh Why is the title of this book Adam vs Jefferson then? It seems it should have said Jefferson vs Burr. I hope I caught your interest, so you'll see why.

The second reason this was fascinating to me is because of the 2020 election with Trump and Biden. We tend to hear that this 2020 election is the most viciously, mean spirited election ever held. But in reality both the election of 1876 with Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden, and the 1800 election were every bit as bitter and vicious. I could go on and on about both of those, but I don't want to write a book here.

Well, back to the 1800 election. There were five men running for president. Yes, the hotly contested race and the main players in this drama are John Adams, second President of the United States after being elected in 1796 and now a candidate in 1800 for the Federalist party, and Thomas Jefferson, Vice-President of the U.S. This was after Jefferson had come in second in 1796 and now was a candidate for 1800 for the Democratic-Republican party.

Three others that ran were Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Adams' Federalist running mate; Aaron Burr Jefferson's Democratic-Republican running mate; and John Jay.

Alexander Hamilton the leader of the extreme wing of the Federalist party had his own ambitions heading into 1800, and chose to smear Burr. Oh, I learned that Alexander Hamilton was not a very honorable person--caught in lies and deceit with his "hatred" against Aaron Burr. I have been reading a lot lately about this relationship, and it really opened my eyes to the fact that Burr, though not completely honorable either, was MUCH more honorable than Alexander Hamilton. Lin-Manuel Miranda portrays Aaron Burr as the bad guy, in his very famous Broadway Musical "Alexander Hamilton" and it just isn't justified by my research.

The 1796 contest between Adams and Jefferson and the events of Adams' term as president are very relevant to the 1800 election, and John Ferling explains in detail the childhood of each of these five and their political and personal histories.

Various party-affiliated newspapers influence the election. Especially Alexander Hamilton with his viscous lying tongue tried to influence the election by degrading the other opponents. (Again some of this is from other sources I'd read recently). Jefferson is called a France-loving anarchist. Adam's called a pro-British monarchist, and we are told to fear that he'll make himself king.

A fascinating election. When the electoral votes were counted Adams had 65, Pickney had 64, Jefferson and Burr tied with 73. Adams--the then current president and main candidate and LOST quite significantly. It was up to the House of Representatives to settle between the two top candidates, Jefferson and Burr, who tied in electoral votes. It took this House 34 voting times before one electoral college elector was swayed to change his vote giving Jefferson the presidency. Yes, Jefferson finally came out the winner.

There had been talk of Civil War--just like the election in 1876 years later. Thank heavens our 2020 election, though really emotional, has no talk of Civil War. I just heard yesterday, December 2nd, 2020, that Trump says he'll leave the White House peacefully if the Electoral College declares Biden the winner.

Now some interesting family trivia. My maternal grandmother, Sarah Amelia Burr Blake, was a hobby genealogist, and I remember her stories of how the famous Aaron Burr, Jr. is in our family tree. Why the JR? You never see that. He's a junior because his father, Aaron Burr Sr. was famous too. He was one of the first presidents of what has become Princeton University. Sr. died before Jr. was three years old and Jr and his sibling were raised by their Uncle Timothy, who by the way was very mean and abusive forcing Aaron JR to try to run away from home several times. Aaron Jr was a smart young man, no doubt. He began Princeton at age 13 and graduated at age 16...majoring in theology. He decided he didn't want to preach so after that studied law. Ok, I could go on and on, but gotta stop. I highly recommend this book to any history buff. ...more

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Mar 04, 2019 Ash Jogalekar rated it liked it

One of the big benefits of studying history is that it allows us to put the problems of our own age in perspective. As rancorous as the elections of 2000, 2008 or 2016 may have been, the country has been there before. The election of 1800 was a microcosm of so many things that we wrestle with now; partisan squabbling, "fake news" and defamation, vote rigging, rumors and innuendos, outsized personalities, key issues dividing the country.

Ferling's book is an informative account of this election. O One of the big benefits of studying history is that it allows us to put the problems of our own age in perspective. As rancorous as the elections of 2000, 2008 or 2016 may have been, the country has been there before. The election of 1800 was a microcosm of so many things that we wrestle with now; partisan squabbling, "fake news" and defamation, vote rigging, rumors and innuendos, outsized personalities, key issues dividing the country.

Ferling's book is an informative account of this election. One one side were John Adams, Alexander Hamilton and their Federalist party. On the other was Thomas Jefferson and his Republican party. The Federalists believed in a strong national government, commercial urban development and free trade. The Republicans believed in strong state and individual power, rural agricultural development and a domestic economic stimulus. The history of the United States has been shaped in significant part between these two competing visions, and although Jefferson's vision won out in the 1800 election, it was Hamilton's economic agenda that largely made the United States a world power during the next few decades. The contest was also as much about supporting Britain vs supporting France. The Adams administration wanted trade ties with Great Britain. The Jefferson faction was in love with the French Revolution and thought that any association with Britain reeked of monarchy and elitism. It is remarkable to realize how much of the early history of the republic was shaped by ties and compromises especially with France, a country which provided decisive aid to the nascent nation during the revolutionary war.

Ferling's book gives the background to the election and the rather disastrous presidency of Adams. Adams' Alien and Sedition Acts which made it possible to arrest and deport suspected anarchists or traitors (mostly Frenchmen) without due process alienated many Republicans as well as Federalists. Hamilton served as a brilliant, manipulating, Svengali-like force behind the scenes who had a falling out with both parties. While the Republicans won the election, a tie between Jefferson and Aaron Burr kept the intrigue and bitterness going for quite some time. The election was also known for its smears. Republicans called Adams a "hideous hermaphrodite", while his opponents called Jefferson a "howling atheist, an infidel". Jefferson was not beneath hiring anonymous pamphleteers to write scurrilous, damning critiques of Adams and the federalists; the equivalent of MSNBC and Fox News did exist during the time. Ultimately, while Jefferson won the election, became more famous and shaped the United States significantly because of the Louisiana Purchase and his setting in motion the next two Republican presidencies, Adams emerges as the more honest man, a man who made mistakes but who played a straighter hand. He of course reconciled with Jefferson after 1812, and the two famously died within hours of each other on July 4, 1826.

Ferling's book gives a good account of the election and paints interesting portraits of key characters, including minor politicians whose votes made a key difference. As a literary work I found it rather dry and tedious, but it does a good job of putting into context the background to so many themes that are now topics of passionate debates. History is always repeated, and the election of 1800 presaged many equally fraught elections in the future. The only problem is that we don't have an Adams or a Jefferson now. ...more

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Apr 23, 2020 Rachel Nelson rated it really liked it

Shelves: freshman-year-of-college

The election of 1800. Wow, if you think that the elections of 2000 of 2016 were crazy, you should just hear about the one in 1800! I figured that as a social studies education major, I should probably be reading more nonfiction on my own time. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book and my desire to make nonfiction a part of my reading habits.

Ferling has a way with making these political giants come alive. It was so interesting to not just hear about the struggle between Feder ...more

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May 14, 2020 Gary Schantz rated it really liked it

This was an excellent book. Initially I read another book on this very subject: A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential Campaign and found it be very dry.

This book was completely the opposite and it has made me a fan of John Ferling. I plan to read more of his books in the future.

As far as why I feel this book is so good and Larson's was bad. Both books had to tell the hows and whys of the reasons each state voted the way they voted based on the r ...more

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Mar 08, 2018 Anno Nomius rated it it was amazing

Shelves: history, politics

A great book for both history buffs and non history buffs. History has judged the two men but if I was to judge them now, I would regard Adam as the true leader, a solid man and Jefferson a good speech writer and I would go as far as saying with a colorful personality when compared to Adams.
The stories of the founding fathers and the politics of the time resonates with what is happening around the world today. Back then as today the USA did not want to interfere in other countries and look aroun ...more

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Mar 08, 2017 Bud rated it really liked it

Shelves: history

Ferling describes a fascinating period in the history of the fledgling United States when John Adams was the second President, representing the Federalists, and Thomas Jefferson was his Vice President representing the Republicans. The Federalists who were in favor of a strong national government, central bank, army and navy, overreach with the Alien and Sedition Acts leaving the way open for a swing of opinion to the Republicans who wanted less government interference but more control by the com ...more

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Nov 12, 2017 Chris Junker rated it it was amazing

Much is made in the media and everyday conversation of how divided the country is and how nasty politics has become. The story this book tells is interesting in its own right but especially because of how similar the campaign of 1800 was to our present politics, abundant in fake news, and extremely nasty, even between erstwhile comrades like Jefferson and Adams. Furthermore many of the issues that divided them are strikingly similar right down to the rhetoric used to argue them. you would not ha ...more

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Aug 30, 2019 Kevin Kirkhoff rated it liked it · review of another edition

I recently read some comments about the wild and wooly election of 1800. Adams vs Jefferson. The gloves come off. If you think things are crazy now, just wait until you read about the 1800 election.
I was ready for some amazing stuff that would make TMZ blush.
No.
It's true that Jefferson and Adams were best buddies, but had a falling out. But nothing I'd call a wild election cycle with oodles of slander and scandal.
I will say this was an interesting book. Very informative. It takes you roughly fro ...more

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Sep 21, 2017 Betty Confetti rated it it was amazing

Tomes are written about these two men, and the beautify of this account by Ferling is that it provides tons of information about them in about 200 pages of writing. Through the prism of the 1800 election, one comes to understand Harry Truman's comment, "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog." Mostly, that in the early days of America...when we thought it was about statesmanship and standing on pedestals, this incredible election is a lot like the elections of today. At times unpredictabl ...more

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Jun 26, 2017 Chris rated it it was amazing

What a great book about these two founding fathers, Adams and Jefferson, and the circumstances that caused the election of 1800 to become one of the most controversial elections in the history our nation. Ferling does an amazing job with all the background history of the 5 major players vying to become president. He then goes into all the events that lead up to the election and explains in detail why Jefferson became our third president. Historically accurate and enlightening book about the begi ...more

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Aug 09, 2017 Miles Smith rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: biography, early-republic, revolutionary-constitutional-era

Ferling's brisk narrative and outstanding prose keep this account of the election of 1800 interesting and engaging. Historiographically it's important because he sees Jefferson's greatness is his pen, not necessarily in his politics. Ferling clearly favors the Jeffersonian legacy--the author admits to being a disciple of Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal--but he's an honest scholar and despite my preferences for the High Federalists I came away rethinking certain historical dispositions and po ...more

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Dec 30, 2017 Bargain Sleuth Book Reviews rated it liked it

Shelves: american-history, presidents

The first half of the book is the political events leading up to the election, the second half actually focuses on the election. Even though this book was just over 200 pages, I felt it could be a lot shorter. There were a lot of page-long paragraphs that didn't need to be that length.

There's a fair amount of supposing: Jefferson or Adams "probably" did this or that. And it is clear the author, like many historians, has a serious case of hero worship of Jefferson, and does everything possible to ...more

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Nov 04, 2019 Brett Van Gaasbeek rated it really liked it

This book is a very comprehensive and detailed account of one of the most consequential and tumultuous elections in American history. Ferling does a good job of presenting the gravity of the election and the flow of events. The one negative is that he gets bogged down by some minute details to the storyline that slow the book to a crawl and don't do much to clarify or color the main points of the book. Still a solid read for anyone interested in the time period or presidential politics and a ver ...more

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About John Ferling

John Ferling

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John E. Ferling is a professor emeritus of history at the University of West Georgia. A leading authority on American Revolutionary history, he is the author of several books, including "A Leap in the Dark: The Struggle to Create the American Republic", "Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence", and his most recent work, "The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Politi ...more