Jefferson and Hamilton: The Rivalry That Forged a Nation
Ebook
Overview
For readers of Ron Chernow's Alexander Hamilton, the 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 the award-winning author of Almost a Miracle and The Ascent of George Washington, this is the rare work of scholarship that offers us irresistible human drama even as it enriches our understanding of deep themes in our nation's history.
For readers of Ron Chernow's Alexander Hamilton, the spellbinding history of the epic rivalry that shaped our republic: Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and their competing visions for America.
MASTER CLASS: John Ferling knows more about the Revolutionary era than any historian writing today. He has previously explored the war itself, the politics of independence, and delivered exceptional biographies of Washington and Adams. Now he turns to an equally worthy topic in the titanic rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson.
PERFECT GIFT: Ferling's books are the complete package, and will feature a wide selection of art, a riveting storyline, and more.
FOUNDING FRENEMIES: Jefferson and Hamilton were geniuses of not just politics but of economics, state-building, and philosophy. Ferling captures these titans in 360 degrees in an engrossing narrative history.
Preface
Prologue
Chronology
Coming of Age
1. Unhappy Youths
The American Revolution
2. Becoming Rebels
3. Making the American Revolution
4. The Forge of War
5. Five: Glory for Hamilton, Misery for Jefferson
Postwar America
6. Grief and Intrigue
7. Transformations: Jefferson in Paris
8. Hamilton and the Struggle for a New National Constitution
The Struggle to Shape the New American Republic
9. The Threshold of Partisan Warfare
10. Unbridled Partisan Warfare
11. Jefferson Retires, Hamilton Becomes the First Minister
12. The Election of 1796
13. Partisan Frenzy
14. The Election of 1800
15. Triumph and Tragedy
Reckoning
Select Bibliography
Jefferson and Hamilton is another masterpiece penned by the eminent Revolutionary War historian John Ferling.
John Ferling brings to bear the considerable talents that have won him acclaim: a deep knowledge of the era, a graceful writing style and a voice that captures a reader's attention from the first page to the last. The result is a sympathetic look at two founding fathers whose visions for America are equally grand and equally compelling…Ferling is so adept at telling a story that the reader will learn much about the transition from British colonies to a new American nation.
With moments of exciting clarity, Ferling's account of two of the most famous American revolutionaries offers gossip, intrigue, and a window into their heated and turbulent relationship...As personalities clash and egos are wounded, Ferling gives readers a chance to rediscover the birth of the United States through the characters who helped craft its most vital institutions.
From hammering out constitutional liberties and building the nation's banking system to jockeying in early elections. Ferling draws crisp, sharp delineations between his two subjects.
Highly recommended.
Mesmerizing. Masterful. History written with the gravitation pull of a good novel.
John Ferling is a national resource, and Almost a Miracle is a splendid combination of subject with a superb historian writing at the peak of his powers.
Once in a while a book comes along to remind us that history has no gods, that the past is less fossil than textbooks suggest and America more vibrant than a mere list of principles ... The Ascent of George Washington is just such a book.
- Title: Jefferson and Hamilton: The Rivalry That Forged a Nation
- Author: John Ferling
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Press
- Print Publication Date: 2013
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Pages: 352
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781608195428, 9781608195435, 1608195430, 1608195422
- Resource ID: LLS:9781608195428
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2025-04-22T15:20:27Z
John Ferling is professor emeritus of history at the University of West Georgia. He is the author of many books on American Revolutionary history, including Apostles of Revolution, The Ascent of George Washington; Almost a Miracle, an acclaimed military history of the War of Independence; and the award-winning A Leap in the Dark. He and his wife, Carol, live near Atlanta, Georgia.