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Jefferson's second Revolution: The Election Crisis of 1800 and the Triumph of Republicanism. By Susan Dunn. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004. 372 pp.
Thomas Jefferson famously called his own election as president a revolution in the principles of government, just as 1776 was a revolution in its form. Scholars since Henry Adams have debated Jefferson's self-serving claim, and the position (revolution or not) seems to turn upon the scholarly interest (political historian, social historian, political theorist, presidentialist, or American Political Development-related political scientist). These scholarly lines are brightly drawn, but the extended election of 2000 has renewed public interest in the nation's first extended presidential election. 1800, it seems, needs more explanation.
The crisis had more than its share of dramatic events. As Susan Dunn retells the story in Jefferson's Second Revolution, the principal players on each side attempted backroom deals, considered extraconstitutional solutions, and threatened violence. Although readers familiar with 1800 will find nothing new in Dunn's book, some will likely find themselves pondering the significance of the key steps to Jefferson's victory. For instance, in the election by state delegation in the House, Federalist James Bayard announced that he would change Delaware's vote to Jefferson, and Dunn points out that Bayard later explained that his small state needed the Union, even a Union under Jefferson. There is much to learn from Delaware's fear.
Beneath her narrative of conspiracies...