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Books to read if you're planning a vacation in "Jefferson", sorted by average review score:

Pacific Beat
Published in Hardcover by St. Martin's Press (June, 1991)
Author: T. Jefferson Parker
Average review score:

Good read.
"Pacific Beat" by T. Jefferson Parker is a strong book that I thought a bit too long. He is one of the most descriptive writers (Sample passages: "The silver limousine appeared in the fog as if born from it." "They say we have our memories, thought Jim, but really our memories have us.") and sometimes gets carried away---slowing down the plot movement.

Excellent suspense and a terrific overall plot---with fully fleshed out characters.

As usual, Orange County is a major character. This time it appears someone is dumping chemicals in the harbor. This could ruin property values and allow developers an [inexpensive] price, permitting them to raze everything and create some pricey real estate.

Uncovering a murderer seems to be a major key to locating the illegal waste disposers. I dismissed the murderer as a suspect early on and fell for most of the false leads.

It is a good book that would be great if shorter and more to the point. It's not a page-turner.

T. Jeff is a wonderful writer and storyteller.

A Perfect Mystery
I loved this book! Icouldn't wait to finish it,but didn't want it to end. It is the first book I've read by T.J. Parker and I am looking forward to reading them all.Pacific Beat has suspense, good, evil and a dash of love as well. I hope I enjoy Parkers' other novels as much.

Pacific Beat
"Pacific Beat" is one of the best mysteries I've ever read. The characters are well-drawn, and the plot kept me on the edge of my seat. The ending was shocking to say the least. T. Jefferson Parker is a top writer, and this novel is perhaps his best.


613 West Jefferson
Published in Hardcover by Hampton Roads Pub Co (March, 2001)
Author: D. S. Lliteras
Average review score:

A visit to an end of the road
This is a solemn, poetic, and finally haunting novel. It's the story of Rick Santo, a Vietnam combat veteran, returning to the states in the early-mid 70s. He winds up in Tallahassee, Florida, and hooks up with a half dozen or so residents of a run-down rooming house (613 Jefferson). These folks, all damaged goods, seek, in their own ways, meaning for their lives, and this book chronicles that search. There are scenes of sex, drugs, and rock and roll in the present, alternating with flashbacks of Rick's time in Vietnam. In a sense, not much happens, but that's not intended as criticism. Lliteras does a good job of creating meaning out of meaninglessness. He's also a fine writer of straight-ahead prose. The writing contains none of the self-consciousness and indirectness that (in my opinion) plagues modern writers. And the work is filled with turns of phrase that invoke unique images, and are a pleasure to read. This novel is of the sort where a second reading is rewarding. At first glance, its sparseness might leave a reader feeling that something is missing. But a second reading fills in the gaps. At least that was my reaction. If you're interested in the time period at all, in the world the returning Vietnam vet entered, then order 613 Jefferson today. All and all, a minor-masterpiece.

Sharing another life
I found 613 to be a fascinating novel. It allows you to share the life of people that are out of the mainstream life of most Americans, and people that we only read about in the newspapers when they run into trouble with the police. Danny Lliteras brings them to life and we understand why they are living there and something about their mentality. He also blends in his experience in Vietnam to produce a great, very readable novel about the two worlds; Vietnam and the drug sub culture in America. A wonderful book.

Finding the Way Home
D.S. Lliteras is one of those hidden literary gems that needs a much bigger audience than he now has. Here is a man of extraordinary sensitivity and compassion, a Marine Corps medic in Vietnam who saw hells many did not survive physically, and even more did not survive emotionally. In 613 WEST JEFFERSON, through the story of his alter ego Richard Santo, Lliteras shows us what an enormous task it was for Vietnam veterans to come home from that terribly wrong and terribly destructive war. He also makes clear what so much writing on Vietnam has omitted--that the key to healing from the war requires a partnership between those who fought and the rest of American society, the non-Vietnam veterans, who need to understand how their own wounds and painful memories mesh and resonate with those of these scorned and forgotten warriors. The story of how Santo finally finds a real homecoming in a halfway house of broken losers, drifters and drug addicts, will touch your heart. And its lesson is powerful and shocking--one this nation needs to listen to: that American society should be ashamed that the best it had to offer men traumatized in the Vietnam War was not even close to the actual warmth one veteran found sleeping on the couch in a condemned house in a poor neighborhood in Tallahassee, just because there he found love and acceptance, and no one else in this great country seemed prepared or able to give him those things. Moreover, Lliteras's language in telling his story has the fire and irresistible rhythm of his own triumphant survivor's heart.


Cold Pursuit
Published in Audio Cassette by Brilliance Audio (April, 2003)
Authors: T. Jefferson Parker and Patrick Girard Lawlor
Average review score:

Satisfying!
T. Jefferson Parker is magnificent! He doesn't write about shoot-em-up superheroes. This story begins with a murder and then investigates it. Suspects are found and either eliminated or investigated further. The solution was so obvious once you got there but the plot was so cleverly devised that you didn't figure it out until you turned that page.

If you want to learn more than you need to know about the book, read the other reviews. Better yet, read the book.

Unusual for a T. Jeff story, I did make one correct guess early on--usually I find something out when he's ready to tell me--but it didn't help much with the solution of the crime. I dismissed the clue I should have picked up.

The story is rich with solid characters and their personal, working, and family relationships. Tom McMichael investigates the murder of Pete Braga realistically, picking up leads and following them to their conclusion. And the subplots are equally well-developed--the generations-old family feud, McMichael's past involvement with Braga's granddaughter, and his on-going relationship with his son, to name but a few.

I have no reservations in rating this book the five stars it deserves!

Another great one from T. Jefferson Parker
When Homicide Sergeant Tom McMichael gets the call about Pete Braga's murder, he can't help feeling a bit of pleasure. The McMichaels have hated the Bragas for years, ever since Pete killed McMichael's grandfather. Still, McMichael is a cop and he intends to track down the killer. The pretty nurse looks like a good suspect--her story about buying firewood and getting all of the missing property as gifts sounds a bit suspicious. But McMichael is attracted to the nurse and his gut tells him that she's innocent. Still, does he dare go with his gut, or should he trust the evidence?

Author T. Jefferson Parker delivers another exciting mystery. McMichael, with his conflicted feelings toward the nurse, his ex-wife, and the victim's daughter who was his childhood sweetheart and is single again, makes a strong and sympathetic character. A second case, involving smuggling contraband from Mexico adds complexity to the plot without taking the focus from Pete's murder. The nasty cops from internal affairs, sticking their noses into other cop's business feel authentic.

When I read my first T. Jefferson Parker book (see our review of THE BLUE HOUR) I suspected that I had found a real talent. COLD PURSUIT convinces me that I was right. It is a wonderful and authentic police thriller. Parker delivers emotional depth, thoughtful police work, and exciting action in a tightly worded package. If you haven't discovered Parker, you are in for a treat and COLD PURSUIT delivers. If you're already a fan, you won't be disappointed. COLD PURSUIT is fully up to the high standards that Parker has set for himself.

In a word---spectacular!
T. Jefferson Parker's "Cold Pursuit" is a classic crime story...a complicated tale that unfolds effortlessly. He is a most visual writer.

Unanswered questions from the past frame the narrative. No one is quite what he or she appears as Detective Tom McMichael and his partner Hector Paz endeavor to unravel the truth about the murder of eighty-four year old San Diego patriarch Pete Braga.

There are three generations of bad blood between the Portuguese Bragas and the Irish McMichaels. McMichael's basic decency and personal code eliminate any chance of a clouded judgement.

There is no shortage of suspects: City Council members, the Catholic Diocese, a smuggling ring, the police force, members of either family---any of them could have done it.

As McMichael exhumes the past to explain the current crime, you can never anticipate what is coming next.

Each and every clue seems conflicting...altering newfound clarity into opaqueness in the turn of a page.

Wonderful misdirection. To paraphrase Inspector Clouseau: "I suspected everyone and I suspected no one."

A powerful ending. Do not miss this one.


Jefferson, Callender and the Sally Story
Published in Paperback by Old Virginia Books (20 September, 2000)
Authors: Rebecca McMurry, James F., Jr. McMurry, and James F. McMurry Jr.
Average review score:

A President in The family
Historians continue to debate our family lineage. There is nothing to lose or gain admitting to Jefferson and Sally's children. The first child conceived in Paris, also confirmed by Sally sons' Madison in a newspaper article in Pike County and with the correct calendar date a child is born at Virginia in 1790, records can be found in Jefferson's farm book. This child was 12 years old and a racial mixture of 7/8 white, exact mixture of Thomas woodson. when you purchase A President in the Family" byByron Woodson a six genertion descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, you can follow the trail of evidence that historians refused to acknowledge. There ocntinues to be families black and white form Virginia that had this truth passed down. Herb Barger is a hobby Jefferson genealogist. My husband is a confirmed Jefferson heir and geneaologist.

Calendar's life is potrayed it the book "Hammer of Truth" written by a native of Australia. Because he at time drank he would spend time in local jail, hearing of all skeltons in closets. He also wrote and ran several newspapers. So there is credibility to his knowledge of Tom Woodson.

Uhtil they exhume Jefferon and test his blood with Martha's children and Sally's children - no one can disprove the Legacy of the Woodsons- Epps, Randolphs or Hemings.

The Woodson's kept this story alive despite historians trying to deep six it. The truth alway lives on. Purchase "A President in The Family" and you can follow the trail of evidence as all of the research has been done.

Trena and Byron Woodson, author and Jefferson Genealogist

"CALLENDER AT HIS WORST"
The McMurrys have spent much research on Callender and here you will be able to read many, many comments of James Callender. Not only has the Jefferson/Hemings/Woodson "Campaign Lies" been laid to rest by the DNA study, but many not too complementary statements about Sally Hemings are written about by this [person]. You will also be able to compare what Callender "really" said as opposed to what some recent researchers would like the reader to think he said. It was Callender who started all the Thomas Jefferson rumors because Jefferson refused to give him the position of Postmaster of Richmond, Virginia. Other later writers have used this "Campaign Lie" BUT DNA "tripped them up", there was NO Jefferson/Woodson match. It was the Woodson family tradition that the Tom that Callender reported as a son of Thomas Jefferson was NOT the result of the DNA Study. For more revealing reading on this topic please purchase [...] the new book, "Jefferson-Hemings Myth, An American Travesty."

The McMurrys excellent and well researched book that should be on the shelf of every historian or researcher of this topic. This is not just the thoughts of the McMurrys, but taken from actual microfilms from many locations and from different newspapers over a period of time. Good reading!

Herbert Barger Jefferson Family Historian

Callender articles began the "Sally Myth"
The source of the enduring myth that Thomas Jefferson fathered a "Paris baby," born to his slave Sally Hemings, was a series of newspaper articles by James T. Callender in 1802. Until now, these articles could only be read on microfilm at selected locations. In what can only be described as a labor of love, the McMurrys, through painstaking transcription, have made these articles available to the public for the first time.

In 1998, DNA tests linked the male line in the Jefferson family to Hemings' youngest son, Eston. The staff at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation, owners of the Jefferson home Monticello, then issued a report that Thomas Jefferson had fathered not only Eston, but three other children by Sally Hemings. The prestige of the Monticello name generated world wide publicity. Prominent in the Monticello report were excerpts of the Callender articles.

The McMurry book displays the articles in chronological order demonstrating how Callender picked up on local gossip in 1802 during Jefferson's first term and parlayed it into a series over the next six months, when Callender drowned in the James River. The Monticello report presented the articles as "evidence," but the McMurry book demonstrates clearly that Callender had never visited Monticello (contrary to a recent TV movie), had no source he could quote, and had no proof of any connection between Jefferson and Sally Hemings. He just made it up.

It has also been routinely repeated by historians that Sally Hemings was the daughter of John Wayles, father of Thomas Jefferson's wife, Martha. This would make Sally the half sister of Martha Jefferson. The McMurrys reveal the source of this rumor is no more substantial than an 1805 letter to the editor by an unidentified writer, which caused a new flurry of the Callender slanders.

The Paris baby, named "Tom" by Callender, is claimed to be the ancestor of a present day Woodson family. Except for the Callender articles, there is no proof that Sally had a son before 1798, eight years after the claimed birth of Tom Woodson. An important result of the DNA tests, which has been ignored by the paternity sympathizers, showed that the Woodsons are not descendants of Thomas Jefferson. This raises an important question why historians, and particularly Monticello, continue to reference the discredited Callender articles to support a paternity claim against Jefferson.

This book won't make the rumors go away but the McMurrys have performed an important service of original research. It is disappointing that more prominent Jefferson historians are not examining the Hemings myth with the same objectivity.


Real Thomas Jefferson
Published in Hardcover by Natl Center for Constitutional (September, 1983)
Author: Andrew M. Allison
Average review score:

Truly the "Real Thomas Jefferson"
Andrew Allison'a "The Real Thomas Jefferson" is truly a treasure.
Starting out with a really informative and well written short biography, and then going into an alphabetical section of Jefferson's views according to his actual quotes really makes this book shine. Jefferson is shown in his true glory as a champion of the common man, and a defender of liberty and freedom. It is also an excellent biography of his sterling character refuting the lies and propaganda about the alleged Hemings affair. A revolutionary, politician, architect, scientist this was Jefferson, an "American Da Vinci" so to speak. Particularly informative is the section showing his lifelong support for public education, and religious freedom. A great buy.

THE BEST BIOGRAPHY I'VE SEEN ABOUT THOMAS JEFFERSON---
---In ONE volume!!

What is so good is that Andrew Allison completely documents his history so that you get a really clear view of Thomas Jefferson. I also appreciate the fact that the author doesn't pander to the sleaze that so many authors resort to in order to make a few extra sales. In fact he shows why the recent smear tactics on Jefferson are fraudulent.

THREE CHEERS FOR ANDREW ALLISON FOR HIS COURAGE TO TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT JEFFERSON!!!

The last 330 pages of text contain quotations from Thomas Jefferson himself on many different subjects. Each of these quotations is placed alphabetically according to the subject that it deals with. This way a reader can use this book as a reference to look up what Thomas Jefferson believed on any particular issue. This last section of the book was prepared by Cleon Skousen, Richard Maxfield and Delynn Cook, and is, by itself, worth the price of the book.

--George Stancliffe

Get to know the REAL Jefferson
This book is well written and easy to read. I've developed a great love and respect for Thomas Jefferson after reading this book. He was a man of character and a man of vision. This book has helped me understand the truth... Jefferson did not have sexual relations with Sally Hemings. And he is not the father of her children. That lie was made up by an angry relative.

Read this book and get to know the REAL man!


The Sage of Monticello
Published in Paperback by Little Brown & Co (Pap) (September, 1982)
Author: Dumas Malone
Average review score:

DUMAS MALONE DID A BETTER JOB HERE
Despite his clear sympathy for the late 'sage', Dumas Malone did a better job on this book, when compared to his efforts on "Jefferson and the Rights of Man".
This book, ("The Sage of Monticello"), centered on the ex-president's life after retiring to his grand plantation. It is a well-written account, although that I disagreed with the author on certain issues.
Yes, I may seem stubborn, but I will always like to be conscientious: I refuse to agree that a man who was a slave-holder was at the same time, the champion who fought for the rights of men. It is simply contradictory!

The last of the wine
What can be said about this monument to Jefferson scholarship? I am sure that somewhere in universities around the United States there are "scholar squirrels who want to put down this invaluable resource in Jefferson studies. It is always the way that mice attempt to gnaw at lions. This is not a perfect work (and my remarks refer to all of the books in the series as a whole), there are somethings, namely Sally Hemmings references which are wrong and will not sit well with American 21st century mores. There is the issue of slavery which was handled much differently 50 years ago than it is now.
Jefferson is not worthy of our interest because of Sally Hemmings and because he kept slaves. Jefferson is great because of the Declaration of Independence and his fight for the rights of man. While it may have been hypocritical to preach liberty and keep slaves, it is doubtful that slavery ever would have been abolished if Jefferson had never gained the prominence that he did. This book and the others that follow show why we should continue to honor the public man even though his private side may have been wanting.

Jefferson and His Time: The Sage of Monticello
Jefferson and His Time: The Sage of Monticello is the crowning jewel of this sixth out of six volume set. This Pulitzer Prize winning series about Thomas Jefferson took the author (Dumas Malone) a lifetime to write, as he started it in 1943 and finished it in 1981.

This volume takes us from the end of Jefferson's second term as President to his death. But these times are Jefferson's best in terms of his satisfaction with his immediate family, even though at times were a bit rocky, Jefferson longed of retirement from public life. Long ago friendship of John Adams was rekindled with frequent correspondence... James Madison not living too far away from Jefferson was a frequent correspondent.

Jefferson's talent wasn't wasted as he worked on the establishment and founding of the University of Virginia. He proved himself as one of the preeminent force for public education. But, Jefferson's personal debt played a role in Jefferson's energy and dreams.

We really get to see Jefferson as a man in this volume and his works for the public good emerge here. Also, we see Jefferson's health deminish and his battle for life play a part. This volume is masterfully engaging and well written. Impeccable scholarship and a life long dedication are very apparent.

If you like to read history and biographical history in particular and want to read about Thomas Jefferson, this series has to be on your short list.

I highly recommend reading this series. It has been an honor reading about one of America's most extraordinary men.


The Story of Mathematics
Published in Hardcover by Perseus Publishing (September, 1993)
Authors: Lloyd Motz and Jefferson Hane Weaver
Average review score:

Good overview (with reservations)
This book provides a good sense of the scope of mathematics and particularly how the development of mathematics and physics converge and diverge. However, the book is frustrating at times. Sometimes the book focuses on the history of an idea and sometimes it focuses on the chronology of events. There's a backwards-forwards motion in the book that I did not like. I read it closely but still found it hard to keep my bearing. Many books that try to provide an historical overview suffer from this, so I gave this book a four. There is definitely good content here. As a "read", I'd give it a three.

Great book for those who have mathphobia
I love this book. I learn from story telling. I understand any subject matter better if I know its history, culture and reason for existence. The story of mathematics is such book. It helps me to overcome math anxiety and make the subject, dare I say it, cool. Read it and rid your math phobia forever.

The story of the subject evolved
A wonderful inquiry into the evolution of mathematics from the counting needs of yesterday to the position of advanced tool in any and every subject of human enterprise. This book brings out fascinating insights into how we have come to inherit the mathematics ...from the masters who have lived before .. It also illustrates in a subtle manner that we are lucky to live in an age where mathematics learning and teaching has become extermely organised... The stories of the individuals who have contrubuted to this subject should spur anyone to greater good..Beg borrow or steal ..but read this book


Jefferson and Monticello: The Biography of a Builder
Published in Hardcover by Henry Holt & Company, Inc. (May, 1988)
Author: Jack McLaughlin
Average review score:

Where was the editor?
Undoubtedly, Mr. McLaughlin did his homework when he prepared to write this book. I enjoy biographies, am very fascinated by Thomas Jefferson, and was intrigued by the creative approach Mr. McLaughlin took to tell us about Jefferson by using Monticello as a "prism through which [we] view [Jefferson's] life ...".

Unfortunately, the execution didn't meet expectations and this is most noticable in the areas related to the editing. I had difficulty getting past the meandering style. The anecdotes hop around chronologically, and are not tied together well. There is unnecessary repetition within the annecdotes. Even the grammar is off. (I'm not an editor, so as soon as I extend criticism I'm opening myself up as a target, but I recognize a few errors that would've made my high school English teacher cringe. Where one does this professionally, a higher standard is expected.)

Mr. McLaughlin's book could have been tightend up considerably, and structured in a less meandering way for me to have found greater benefit from reading this book.

A Unique Look At Jefferson's Domestic Life
There are a lot of books about Jefferson's politics, his religion, his presidency, his time abroad, etc. Even books about Monticello. But this book is unique in that it focuses on how Monticello was actually built. And if you are the least bit interested in Jefferson or early America it is a fascinating read.

It was a revelation to me to learn that Jefferson almost never knew Monticello as we know it today. For nearly his entire life he lived at a construction site -stepping over boards and buckets of plaster, looking through gaping holes in the roof, trying to stay out of the rain, etc.

McLaughlin traces Jefferson's admiration of Palladio (the Italian architect he idolized) and reveals many of the unique problems that had to be overcome during Monticello's construction as well as what was done to overcome them. He also reveals how Jefferson brought skilled craftsmen over from Europe to work on his house, and apprenticed others underneath them to help spread those skills in The United States. These European experts included those skilled in the culinary arts. Many learned to cook alongside his French chef, and Monticello was the first place in The United States where both ice cream and pancakes were prepared.

Two other tidbits that I found fascinating: The first is that Jefferson really gave our country its architectural language. He designed the capitol of Virginia, and our public buildings in Washington D.C. reflect Jefferson's style. In addition, the beautiful mansions of the antebellum South with their columns and porticos were heavily influenced by Jefferson. Monticello was the first building in our country to look that way and subsequent builders followed Jefferson's lead.

The second tidbit is the realization that the bricks used to build Monticello were made from the ground that was dug out for the underground passageways. So, unlike almost any other building Monticello has a unique relationship with the land it sits on.

If you are interested in Jefferson, homebuilding, early America, or especially if you are an architect, you will enjoy this book.

Novel and Revealing But Incomplete
This is a fascinating biography of Thomas Jefferson because, as the author states, "This is not the usual kind of Thomas Jefferson biography; his revolutionary activities, political life, and public career as governor of Virginia, secretary of state, Vice President, and President are only glanced at obliquely. To use an old-fashioned term, it is a domestic life. It attempts to capture a personal and private Jefferson, to detail his relationships with his extended family and friends. The prism through which I view his life is the most most creative artifact of an exceptionally creative man--Monticello."

It goes without saying that Jefferson was an extraordinarily gifted human being, highly creative in many areas, including political thought and architecture. Yet, as this book makes plain, he was also very conventional in many ways. This was particularly true of his attitude towards women: "Like most men of his age, Jefferson believed women's interests were to be confined chiefly to housekeeping and childbearing. ... He also felt strongly that women, plain or fancy, brilliant or dull, had a single purpose in life, marriage and subordination to a husband."

McLaughlin's book shows Jefferson to be an extremely private person, one who for example destroyed all correspondence with his mother and with his wife. Thus any biography of him necessarily requires a great deal of interpretation to fill in the gaps. Although McLaughlin does an admirable job of doing so, his understanding may nevertheless be incomplete. He states, "If there is an identity theme to Jefferson's personality ... it is contained in the Head-Heart letter [to Maria Cosway]. Such a theme might be stated this way: the need for a tight rational control over life's exigencies must be balanced by an ability to feel and express love. It was only within the framework of family relationships--his wife, daughters, and grandchildren--that Jefferson was able to strike this balance." What goes unexamined is Jefferson's relationship with Sally Hemings--was this love? If so, what is is about Jefferson that allowed him to have lasting love only with a much younger woman of color who was also his slave? The record of Jefferson's relationship with Hemings is not revealed in Monticello, and so remains out of McLaughlin's reach. Nevertheless, McLauglin sheds a great deal of light on a most mysterious man.


America Afire : Jefferson, Adams, and the First Contested Election
Published in Paperback by Perennial Press (18 September, 2001)
Author: Bernard A. Weisberger
Average review score:

An Exciting Period in American History Spun Well
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.

Ameria Afire: An Surprising Slant on Early US History
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.

Prelude to the Golden Age of America: 1787-1800
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...


American Virtues: Thomas Jefferson on the Character of a Free People (American Political Thought)
Published in Hardcover by Univ Pr of Kansas (September, 1998)
Author: Jean M. Yarbrough
Average review score:

Scholarly
A well-meaning but dry scholarly work written like a doctoral thesis (which is OK, of course, but not interesting reading). It has an obvious burning agenda. As it is a panorama of opinion and speculation, it is not very objective. Sorry, there are other books I would recommend before this.

Jefferson the Moralist
Jean Yarborough's book is an excellent compilation of Jefferson's beliefs on what constitutes good character to maintain republican government. She correctly surmises Jefferson would be appalled at modern America's obsession with making money and consumption. She also relates how he would bemoan the loss of leisure and family time. He would be disturbed by American's long commutes to work and large crowded cities. Yarborough relates how Jefferson would recommend reading, frugality, study, and emphasis on morality in schools. She further points out he would expect the cultivation of good character is essential to a well-ordered republic. Overall a great book.

Beautiful
This book is truly beautiful! The author goes seamlessly over the topic of liberalism VS. republicism. It is also very instructive upon the polictical views of Thomas Jefferson.


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