Jefferson and Hamilton
Subtitle: the rivalry that forged a nation
By: John Ferling
Edition: First U.S. edition.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Press
Published: 2013
Language: eng
Number of pages: 436
ISBN-13: 9781608195282
Subjects: Politics and government; Political and social views; History
Description: "A spellbinding history of the epic rivalry that shaped our republic: Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and their competing visions for America... The decade of the 1790s has been called the 'age of passion.' Fervor ran high as rival factions battled over the course of the new republic-- each side convinced that the other's goals would betray the legacy of the Revolution so recently fought and so dearly won. All understood as well that what was at stake was not a moment's political advantage, but the future course of the American experiment in democracy. In this epochal debate, no two figures loomed larger than Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Both men were visionaries, but their visions of what the United States should be were diametrically opposed. Jefferson, a true revolutionary, believed passionately in individual liberty and a more egalitarian society, with a weak central government and greater powers for the states. Hamilton, a brilliant organizer and tactician, feared chaos and social disorder. He sought to build a powerful national government that could ensure the young nation's security and drive it toward economic greatness. Jefferson and Hamilton is the story of the fierce struggle-- both public and, ultimately, bitterly personal-- between these two titans. It ended only with the death of Hamilton in a pistol duel, felled by Aaron Burr, Jefferson's vice president. Their competing legacies, like the twin strands of DNA, continue to shape our country to this day. Their personalities, their passions, and their bold dreams for America leap from the page in this epic new work from one of our finest historians" -- from publisher's web page.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 363-365) and index.
Table of contents: title: Coming of age.; title: "To make a more universal acquaintance": unhappy youths --; title: The American revolution.; title: "The galling yoke of dependence": becoming rebels --; title: "Is my country the better for my having lived": making the American revolution --; title: "If we are saved, France and Spain must save us": the forge of war --; title: "Our affairs seem to be approaching fast to a happy period": glory for Hamilton, misery for Jefferson --; title: Postwar America.; title: "The inefficacy of the present confederation": grief and intrigue --; title: "They will go back good republicans": Jefferson in Paris --; title: "To check the imprudence of democracy": Hamilton and the New Constitution --; title: The struggle to shape the new American Republic.; title: "The greatest man that ever lived was Julius Caesar": the threshold of partisan warfare --; title: "Devoted to the paper and stockjobbing interest": unbridled partisan warfare --; title: "A little innocent blood": to the mountaintop and to the top of the mountain --; title: "A colossus to the antirepublican party": the election of 1796 --; title: "The man is stark mad":  partisan frenzy --; title: "This American world was not made for me": a glorious beginning and a tragic end --; title: Reckoning.