The Election of 1800 and the First Peaceful Transfer of Political Power
by John Zvesper
Reprinted with permission of The Claremont Institute.
Preface by Ken Masugi
Introduction by John S. Waggoner
Chronology
Prologue
Chapter 1: First Principles
- The Significance of the Revolution of 1800
- The “Terrorism” of the 1790s
- The Character of Modern Party Government
- The Paradoxical and Two-Sided Nature of Modern Political Parties
Chapter 2: The Lessons of Constitution Making
- The Desirability of Government
- The Necessity of Executive Power
- Why Political Parties Were Not Respectable
- National Politics Without Partisanship
- The Importance of George Washington
- Electing the Executive
Chapter 3: Anxious Confidence
- The Anxieties of a New Republic
- The Confidence of Unchallenged Federalism, 1789-1791
- The Hamiltonian Financial and Industrial Project
Chapter 4: Doubts and Disunity
- Was the Downfall of the Federalists Inevitable?
- Political Disunity and the Absence of Principled Partisanship
Chapter 5: The Republicans Organize
Chapter 6: The Republicans Persuade
- Economic Anti-Republicanism and Political Anti-Republicanism
- The Campaign and Elections of 1792
- The Problem of George Washington
- Hamilton’s Innocence and Guilt
- Economic Reality and Political Rhetoric
Chapter 7: Foreign Affairs Delay the Republican Victory
- The New Democracy and Old World Diplomacy
- Republican Party Strategy Adapts to the French Revolution
- The Partisan Effects of the Jay Treaty
- Jefferson, Adams, and the Partisan Presidency
- The Partisan Effects of War and Peace with France
Chapter 8: Suppression, Protest and the Revolution of 1800
- The Federalists’ Aggressive Domestic Initiatives of 1798
- The Republicans’ Response
- The Electoral Revolution
Chapter 9: Conclusion: The Revolution of 1800 and Party Government
- The Meaning of the Electoral Revolution
- The Success of Jefferson’s Strategy
- Ideology and Party Government
- Democratic Citizens and Statesmen
Appendix I: The Debt Assumption Issue
Appendix II: Thomas Jefferson’s First Inaugural Address
Glossary
Bibliography
Historical Documents
