America Afire is the powerful story of the election of 1800, arguably the most important election in America's history and certainly one of the most hotly disputed. Former allies Adams and Jefferson, president versus vice president, Federalist versus Republican, squared off in a vicious contest that resulted in broken friendships, scandals, riots, slander, and jailings in the fourth presidential election under the Constitution.
America Afire
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About the Author
Bernard A. Weisberger is a distinguished teacher and author of American history. He has been on the faculties of the University of Chicago and the University of Rochester, is a contributing editor of American Heritage for which he wrote a regular column for ten years, has worked on television documentaries with Bill Moyers and Ken Burns, and has published some dozen and a half books as well as numerous articles and reviews. He lives in Evanston, Illinois, with his wife.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Bernard A. Weisberger's America Afire (Jefferson, Adams, and the First Contested Election) is a both a marvelous tale and a wonderful slice of history. It covers similar ground (and the 1790's in America is probably one of the richest historical hunting ground around) as Joseph Ellis' Founding Brothers but in a more narrative fashion that will keep the reader gripped from beginning to end. One of the great joys of this books is that it is not strictly about the election of 1800 but, rather, about the decade that preceded it and resulted in the nail biter showdown between Jefferson and Adams (and then in bizarre twist betweem Jefferson and Burr). The book gets the story just right and manages to tell the sometimes complex tale in a comprehensible and straight forward manner to delight any reader. A nice introduction to this fascinating period of American history.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By "srm22"
Format:Paperback
America Afire provided a dramatic look at American history from the Constitutional Convention through the deaths of Adams and Jefferson. Weisberger gives a vivid account of lesser known stories of the era. He also tracks the political careers of men such as Hamilton and Burr. The book actually spends most of the time explaining the events leading up to the contested election of 1800 - but in doing so lays a rich framework that helps the reader appreciate how crucial the election was. The book was informative and a pleasure to read. I especially enjoyed the rivalry between Hamilton and Burr.
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Greg Feirman
Format:Paperback
This book was exactly what I wanted. I thought I was buying an account of the 1800 election but the coverage is much broader. Repeat: this book is not just about the election but is a political history of the US from the Constitution (1787) through the election of 1800, with a chapter devoted to Jefferson's suceeding first term (1801-1804). Discussion of the actual campaigning and election of 1800 don't start being discussed until part V, pg 227. That is because this election was so hot and so important because of the seeds of political conflict and discord that had been sown in the previous 15 or so years, from the signing of the Constitution in 1787, through the administrations of George Washington and John Adams.
This is the story of the emergence of competing political parties, Federalists and Republicans, with competing ideas about how to interpret the Constitution and how to govern the young nation. Essentially, Federalists like Hamilton and Washington believed in a strong central government, possibly with a standing army and navy, a central bank, national debt to obtain a class of creditors interested in the well being of the US government, etc... Republicans, like Jefferson and Madision, believed in a weaker central government. Jefferson said it best in his March 4, 1801 inaugural address, "... a wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits.... and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government" (pg 283). So, when elected, Jefferson slashed the army and navy, cut back on embassies in less significant countries and tried to pay down the national debt (pgs 287-88). The election of Jefferson in 1800 marked a turning point, a transition of power from Federalists to Republicans. Jefferson was then re-elected, followed by two terms for fellow Republican Madison and two for fellow republican James Monroe after that: "Among them, Jefferson and his two chief Virginia lieutenants (Madison and Monroe) held the presidency for almost the whole first quarter of the nineteenth century" (pg 308). To me, this was the GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICA.
This book has great coverage: the debates of the Constitutional Convention, the war between Britain and France that America was inevitably drawn into through it's trade with the two countries, Citizen Genet, the Jay Treaty with Britain, the Alien and Sedition Acts, etc... I found this book very worthwhile, informative, and easy reading...
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good but not Great
Bernard Weisberger's "America Afire: Jefferson, Adams and the First Contested Election" is a curious book. Read more
Published on December 15, 2007 by Martin P. McCarthy
3.0 out of 5 stars
18th century America - surprising parallels to 20th century...
The book America Afire bills itself as a story of the first contested American Election, which was supposed to be a race between the sitting President, John Adams, and the leading... Read more
Published on May 14, 2006 by Eric Hobart
4.0 out of 5 stars
More Than Just the Election
America Afire does not only tell the story of the election of 1800 but also the story of how the United States became a bipartisan political society that in turn led to the tension... Read more
Published on March 25, 2006 by B. Doyle
