Friends, allies, enemies and then friends once more, the 50 year relationship between Tomas Jefferson and John Adams, both American presidents, both founders of their country, both intellectual giants, is the focus of Mr. Ferling's quality work. Our setting is the contentious election of 1801 which changed the direction of American policy, politics and diplomacy for decades to come.
It was Adams, the federalist, against Jefferson, the anti-federalist; it was Adams, the unpopular presidential incumbent, against Jefferson, the popular libertarian challenger; it was Adams, the trampler of civil liberties (see the sedition act of 1798), versus Jefferson, the creator of many of those trampled liberties. It was an election that split a friendship just as it split a nation. For two men so inextricably linked, it is one of life's strangest ironies that they would later die on the exact same day in 1826.
This is a compelling tale told well and, like the best books of history, leaves the reader wondering what the future might have been had events played out differently. (4/5 Stars)
No comments:
Post a Comment