A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential Campaign

Recent American history has seen some fairly contested, highly partisan Presidential elections. In 1992 we saw the most successful run by a third-party candidate since Teddy Roosevelt in 1916. In 1996, we saw Republicans fresh off an historic take-over of Congress convinced they could defeat a sitting President. In 2004, the race between Bush and Kerry brought up memories of a war that had ended almost thirty years in the past. And, of course, 2000 saw the closest and most controversial Presidential election since Rutherford B. Hayes defeated Samuel Tilden. But nothing that we've experienced can compare to the first partisan Presidential election in American history, the election of 1800. In A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential Campaign, Edward Larson tells the story of a campaign that changed the way we elect Presidents and changed the course of American history. Prior to 1800, the United States had not had a contested Presidential election. George Washington ran essentially unopposed in 1788 and 1792, and could have done the same in 1796 if he had chosen to. In the campaign of 1796, the partisan alignments that Washington had resisted and naively hoped would not come about were still forming. There were two factions, for sure, but formal political parties were still a few years away. The seeds for what would happen for years later, though, were planted when the Electoral College selected a President (Adams) and Vice-President (Jefferson) from opposing factions. By the time the election of 1800 approached, those factions had developed into true political parties. The Federalists dominated New England and much of the North, the Republicans the South. Up for play, and all important to the election of 1800 were mid-Atlantic states like Pennsylvania. In a relatively short, easy to read 276 pages, Larson takes the reader form one part of the country to the other as the two parties, and the factions within them, struggle to navigate the sometimes byzantine way in which President's were picked in the late 18th century. In addition to Adams and Jefferson, much time is spent on the role played by two bitter political rivals who would eventually end up on a dueling field overlooking Manhattan Island -- Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. In 1800, Hamilton and Burr battled in the even-then rough and tumble world of New York City politics. The New York legislative elections would determine who won that state's electoral votes and Burr put together a strategy to win the city, and the state, from Hamilton. Hamilton, meanwhile, was fighting two enemies; the Republicans and John Adams who he believed had betrayed Federalist Party principles during his time in office. By October, Hamilton would openly break with Adams and back Vice-Presidential candidate Charles Cotesworth Pinckney for President, thus guaranteeing a Federalist loss and the end of the Federalist Party. One of the more extraordinary things

If one thinks back just a few years to the election of 2000 and finds it unusual to a nail-biting degree, read Edward Larson's terrific new book, "A Magnificent Catastrophe" to see what a real cliffhanger can be. The election of 1800, the first truly partisan national election in the United States, is brilliantly captured by Larson and his sense of drama is impeccable. The cast of characters are many, including the tempestuous incumbent president, John Adams, his bitter rival (the Republican Thomas Jefferson) and others who figured prominently in the outcome. Alexander Hamilton was chief among them, plotting along the way to boost Federalist candidates, as well as his own national prominence. Aaron Burr, whose presence was both a boon and a disadvantage, appears well into things late in the book. He connives as much as Hamilton and it is a fitting set-up to their duel a few years later. Of all these players, Larson's book really centers mostly on Adams...being the current president, his administration was on the line and he had the most to lose. Yet, with these personalities that the author captures so vividly, it is the process of the election that makes this book stand out. From the maneuvering by Republicans in New York in the spring of 1800, Larson takes the reader through each and every phase of the "campaign"...and campaign it really did become as President Adams, Harry Truman-style when faced with an uphill election battle, made a swing through several states that would be in play later in the year. What is amazing and ironic is the parallel between that year and today's elections. Religion played an important part in 1800 with Jefferson being branded as an "infidel". In a quote that practically leaps off the page, Massachusetts Federalist Congressman Harrison Otis, warning of Aaron Burr's possible winning the presidency, said of Burr, he "would start a foreign war to consolidate his power". (shades of the twenty-first century!) As the balloting continued through the fall of 1800, both sides took stock. The antiquated system of the day (which was modified with the passage of the Twelfth Amendment in 1804) struggled along but the December outcome only clouded the results further and Larson's description of the deadlock, broken only two weeks before the inauguration date, is one of the many high points of the book. It may be that this was the only presidential election where a small state like Delaware could have had such a large say in deciding the election. I highly recommend "A Magnificent Catastrophe" for its' thoroughness, historical accuracy and crisp narrative. Edward Larson has provided readers with a wonderful account of that particular time, the politics associated with it and the similitudes to today's issues and political motivations. In a chilling portent of things to come, Thomas Jefferson commented that the primary threat of government corruption lay in an all-powerful presidency immune from the checks and balances of cong

The contentious election of 1800 in which Thomas Jefferson defeated John Adams gave form to the political life of the early Nineteenth Century and has been much told: how the emerging parties differed on issues such as the balance between security and liberty (the Alien and Sedition Acts), the foreign policy debates between those who leaned toward England and those who favored France in the continental wars that followed the French Revolution, the expansion of the army for defense, and of the taxes that paid for it, and finally the Electoral College tie between Jefferson and Burr and the political maneuvering in the House of Representatives to elect the next President. While the issues in the election are not ignored, Larson concentrates on the conduct of the election in cities and states across the nation. America was closely divided between the two major parties --- Adams had edged Jefferson by 71 to 68 Electoral College votes in 1796 --- and the broad historical issues played out through the local tactical and strategic choices made by local participants well beyond the control of the candidates themselves Larson traces the election in each of the battleground states as they moved through the electoral year. He shows how tactical decisions made by Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton in selecting candidates for the state legislature from the Federalist stronghold of New York City (which had voted 60% federalist in the prior election) resulted in a sweep of the city for the Republican candidates, providing enough votes to give Republican control of the state legislature and, therefore, of the electors elected by the state legislature to cast New York's votes for Jefferson. Although Adams garnered more electoral votes in 1800 than in 1796 from the other states of the Union, the switch of New York was determinative, and all because of the choice of candidates for the State Legislature. But other states could have swung the election the other way: especially Pennsylvania, Maryland and South Carolina. Even a few votes from Virginia had it continued to elect electors by district instedad of statewide, would have sufficed to reelect Adams. Larson brings us into the maneuvering in each state, and in the process illuminates the much different process by which Presidents were elected in the early days of the Republic. He also brings us inside the ranks of the Federalist Party and to the consultations by which some (Alexander Hamilton among them) hoped to make Charles Pinckney, the Federalist candidate for Vice President, the President in place of Adams. Before the Twelfth Amendment, when electors did not cast votes separately for president and Vice President, all that was necessary was for some southern electors to vote for Pinckney but not Adams and Pinckney would finish on top. Even with New York in the Republican column, that remained a distinct possibility until finally the South Carolina legislature chose the state's electors. Readers seek

Who knew history could be so much fun? Pulitzer prize winning author Edward Larson brings us all the intrigue, drama and backstabbing suspense of the 1800 presidential election that led to our two party system, and which Thomas Jefferson called, "America's second revolution." Larson is a meticulous scholar whose research brings to life this interesting and precarious time in U.S. history. Narrator John Dossett is an accomplished audiobook narrator and his experience shows. He lends the perfect amount of drama to the reading of a historical non fiction text that could be dry with the wrong narrator. As read by Dossett, A Magnificent Catastrophe proves to be a magnificent way to learn about U.S. history. -Jessica Teel

Larson's book is an excellent look at an amazing election. It's important to realize that partisanship was happening way back when and that the games politicians play have always been sordid. His account of Hamilton's schemes, Adams' tantrums and Burr's conniving all have resonance today -- except the names are different. Two criticisms: First, sometimes he swamps you with detail. And, two, he should have drawn clearer parallels with the modern day.