Customer Reviews

History of the United States of America During the Administrations of Thomas Jefferson (Library of America)

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3 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

In my mind, this is the best, most comprehensive, erudite and witty history of the administration of Jefferson. Although the length may scare some off, it is well worth the time and effort.

Adams spends a great deal of time examining foreign affairs. There are a few simple reasons for this. The wars between England, France and Spain had a direct and major impact on the growth of the US, and their conflicts were the conflicts of the US. Secondly, the federal government of the US, at the time, was devoted mostly to foreign affairs.

This is a political history. Do not look for descriptions on how the common people lived. Do not look for an inquiry into how women were treated, nor a disquisition on slavery. Do not expect much discussion on Sally Hemmings.

If however, you are looking for an in-depth analysis of a critical time in US history, a well-written, often funny book, read this book.

Adams' work here ranks with Macaulay and Carlyle in terms of telling an intricate history through the private letters and conversations of the players involved. From the first pages where he describes the America over which Jefferson presided, Adams clearly defines idealogies and principles as they were defended and practiced by the Federalists and Republicans of the day. Throughout Jefferson's two terms, the president was forced to abandon favorite principles and to defend others that were ulimately (if not immediately) untenable. Through skillful hands we watch how moods changed and policies switched, and how the main characters attempted to reconcile their inconsistencies. Jefferson hoped to expose the wrongfulness of Federalist policies, yet wound up forwarding the same tenets in his management. The President who rose to such a height of popularity and power left the office as disgraced and as generally disliked as any Chief Executive before or after. A masterful work about eight important and formative years in the early republic.

Even though it was written in the 1880s, this is the best history of early American diplomacy yet written. It is important to mention that this is primarily a diplomatic history, and it certainly reflects the author's interest and family history in foreign affairs. Adams has meticulously researched all matters of State and diplomacy, but he has reserved the topics of culture, economics, and education for far more subjective analysis. It becomes obvious early in the text that Adams is highly deferential to Great Britain, and the young American republic is constantly compared and trivialized, in contrapuntal regularity, against the great European powers. Adams has a lot to say about America's poverty, provincialism, and anti-intellectualism when compared to England, France, and Russia. American culture cringe pervades the text. While frequently accurate, he drives the point to excess: America becomes somewhat of a play-thing for the imperial ambitions of Europe. We're treated to page after page of material on the British ambassadors. In short, this is probably the kind of American history we would have expected Henry James and T. S. Eliot to have read, the kind that gets all the facts and dates right but can't conceal the author's sincere desire to be English.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. Let me start witht the good points: It is meticulously researched. It told me everything I wanted to know about this 8 year period and then some. Adams succeeded in showing the reader how time flowed during this period--that is, he did not say "this happened, then this then that, the end" but rather drew upon the past and showed that these events evolved from prior events. He also gives new insights on the Louisiana purchase, Chase impeachment and Chesepeake and Leopard incident. Lots of great information. Drawbacks: 1252 pages. I thought I'd never finish the book and at times found myself looking at my bookshelf thinking "I could have read three books in the time it took me to read this one." but I think that's more of a fault of the reader then of the book. Adams focuses more on foriegn policy than I would have liked (another fault of the reader) and has a habit of introducing a person by his full name and title (e.g. George Canning) and then calling him Canning every time thereafter in the book. With the HUGE amount of Congressmen, Senators, ambassadors and members of the gov't of France, Spain and Englan, etc, etc, etc, keeping the names straight can be a very confusing task. While the quotes he uses are good, I feel he uses quotes too often, to the point where they detract from the usually excellent prose. I'm glad I read it, but I think I would be happier if I would have used my time to read other books. Finally, this is not a book for the casual reader of history. Only serious students of early America would find this book worth while (in my humble opinion).

The first volume of Adams' History of the United States, covering both Jefferson administrations, should be read by anyone with a deep interest in early American history. Adams' style might be deemed archaic, or perhaps even boring by some modern readers, but this history is so tightly packed with information, so compelling in its story line and so derivative of archival information, rather than secondary material, that it probably should be considered the first of all works on Jefferson. There is material in here you simply can not find in the works of other authors; even Dumas Malone.

While it is certainly arguable that Adams was fighting his ancestors' political battles in his work, his unprecedented scholarship in American history puts the burden of so arguing on the claimant. My own opinion is that Adams was merely fair and delved deep, and this approach is not always appreciated when dealing with our forefathers. Some would just rather not know.

Like other great works, right from the beginning, Adams will arouse your interest in not just Jefferson, but also other historical characters of whom you might not have even heard before.

Adams continued his history with the Madison Administration, which continued the unparalleled research and writing, and I equally recommend it with one caveat. Much of that second work, which is even longer, was naturally devoted to the War of 1812 and is quite descriptive when it comes to ships, troops and their movements. For example, he frequently gives detailed measurements of ships, even compares those about to do battle, and lists the troops in each battle, how many killed, wounded, etc. Much of this detail might bore many modern readers, but, some will find the depth of material refreshing and fulfilling. I expect those reading this will know which they are.

For that reason, if you find David McCullough books about as hard as you want to work in delving into history (and I'm not slighting him; just comparing styles) do not waste your time with this book - you won't finish half of it. If, however, you've read someone like Will Durant and enjoyed bathing in the detail, or you want to know as much about Jefferson's presidency as possible without sitting in the Library of Congress for years yourself, you will share my convictions as to the value of this absorbing work.

Although I usually do not like to review books which have been extensively reviewed, this one I will.

Adams did a wonderful job here, a better example of classical history is hard to find, well documented (even after almost 100 years), with a magnificent literary style, reading better than most action novels, it is an indispensable read to anyone that wants to learn the origins of this country.

It is hard to find negatives here, the only one that should be mentioned is the lack of info regarding some actors of the drama and some incidents that happened before the time of the period covered.

This is probably the fact that, at the time he wrote it, Adams was well aware of the level of knowledge and education of the people he wrote it for. Unfortunately, today, the general knowledge of American history of the majority of the population, leaves a lot to be desired, specially compared to his contemporaries.

Specific cases include, but are not limited too, the main cases of Chief Justice J. Marshall, the XYZ affair, etc. These are mentioned without an explanation, taking for granted the reader's knowledge of them.

With the relevant info just a click away, this should not be a problem.

If you love Americen history, If you are looking for material for a thesis, if you simply enjoy great adventure, this is the book for you.

I simply have not enjoyed an American History book as much as this in a long time.

Warning: If you start, you will be hooked and your social agenda will suffer, you just will not be able to put it down.

In here you will find answers to todays US problems, it is more current today than when it was originally published, a must read for all intelligent, articulate citizens.

As to the other critics emphasis of the dominance of foreign policy in the book, Why not? Both of Jefferson's terms were 98% foreign policy, there was little to report on the home front there.

Go for it, you will not be sorry

Gaston Magrinat

I don't understand previous reviewers comments that this book is 'too long'. This book and the second volume 'Madison' should interest any genuine lover of early American history. Adams works are gems. Though, they may be dated, he sets the stage of early America in detail that can never be duplicated. You'll see his works in the footnotes and indexes of modern historians books because they know most of early American history can be traced back to Adams works. Yet, these authors will rarely point out how important Adams history is to the early American historical record. Do yourself a favor and familiarize yourself with Adams before going out and buying the latest flavor of the month best seller. If you read up on Adams work, you know you'll be one step ahead of the contemporary American history writers.

The two volumes by Henry Adams on Jefferson and Madison give great insight into the formative years of the United States and of politics in general. Adams writing style is a real breath of fresh air for a history of this magnitude. He clearly sets out to make sure you understand what is going on despite the huge number of events and different people. This is no easy task when you are reading this massive work. He has a very modern style unlike some other authors of the period.

Some parts of the text are very amusing like Jefferson's self inflicted wound during the Merry affair. Jefferson's faults and the stupidity of many of the elected leaders are laid bare at times leaving your mouth agape. Too bad Adams never did a similar project on the Washington and Adams administrations.

If only our political leaders could be made to read these volumes. They could learn something.

Its not going to win reviews as a paper back book. This is the best history book I have ever read. I have looked at some of the reviews here stating its too long. I would have liked it longer, it is a serious history book to make is shorter would remove some very important facts regarding our history. Well put together and edited. If I could I would give it 10 stars. This is a must read for any teacher who calls him or herself a history teacher, However sadly I doubt many of our public school teachers have ever read it.

This volume and its sister on the Administrations of James Madison are both excellent! The prose style is flawless; the volumes are so readable that the narrative carries you along without any consciousness of effort on your part. The research, even though done long ago, holds up well even today. James was one of the first to do a lot of research in archives around the world and the facts are well-researched. The diplomatic history of these administrations is subtle and detailed.

Contrary to the view of some historians, the work is not an Adams family attack on Jefferson and Madison. In fact, quite the contrary. He gives what I consider a balanced view of their admininstrations. Jefferson is a more exciting character than Madison and therefore the first volume of the two has more sparkle in that regard, but you come away with a clear view of what they were trying to accomplish, how they succeeded or failied, and what it all means.

The early chapters on America in 1800 are the clearest and most concise review of what America was in 1800, before these administations began. That America was transformed by the events that occurred in these sixteen years goes without saying.

The account of the activities of Aaron Burr is a little masterpiece, worth the cost of the book in itself.

I give these books five stars each.

Adams himself is a fascinating subject.