The American Revolution of 1800: How Jefferson Rescued Democracy from Tyranny and Faction - and What This Means Today

313 Pages·2014·1.43 MB·English

by  Dan Sisson

The American
Revolution of 1800
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The American
Revolution of 1800
How Jefferson Rescued Democracy
from Tyranny and Faction—
and What This Means Today
Fortieth Anniversary Edition
Dan Sisson
with Thom Hartmann
The American Revolution of 1800
Copyright © 2014 by Daniel Sisson and Thom Hartmann
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or trans-
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First Edition
Hardcover print edition ISBN 978-1-60994-985-3
PDF e-book ISBN 978-1-60994-986-0
IDPF e-book ISBN 978-1-60994-987-7
2014-1
Cover design by Brad Foltz. Cover illustration by Eric Van Den Bruelle/Getty Images.
Interior design and composition by Gary Palmatier, Ideas to Images.
Elizabeth von Radics, copyeditor; Mike Mollett, proofreader; Rachel Rice, indexer.
To Bernard Bailyn—
whose insights into our revolutionary heritage have defined my
perspective for nearly fifty years. I believe Bailyn’s writings are so
original and imaginative no one will ever convince me he was not alive
and present at the founding—listening, questioning, taking notes,
even participating in the thousands of conversations about conspiracy,
imperialism, corruption, and, yes, revolution, from 1760 on—when
Otis, Adams, Jefferson, Paine, and Madison “began our world anew.”
My intellectual debt to him is incalculable.
To William Appleman Williams—
a dear friend, whose ongoing assessment of how revolutionary
America transformed itself from a beacon of hope in the world
into an imperial state is unmatched in modern American scholarship.
We spent many days together, sitting on the beach near
Waldport on the Oregon coast, leaning against an uprooted
Douglas fir, sipping “clarity,” and considering every angle
of Jefferson’s and Madison’s theories about how and
why and when and where and to what degree we were a nation
dedicated to liberty. In every instance Bill never lost sight of the
American idea, and at the end he always reaffirmed the Revolution
of 1800. Moreover he did so with elegance, a touch of irony,
and, above all, a marvelous sense of humor.
Contents
Introduction by Thom Hartmann 1
Chapter
The Idea of a Non‑party State 9
2
Chapter
The Idea of Revolution 27
3
Chapter
The Idea of Revolution:
Conspiracy and Counterrevolution 59
4
Chapter
The Principles of the
American and French Revolutions 79
Contents vii
5
Chapter
The Politics of Faction 95
6
Chapter
The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
and Threats to the First Amendment 123
7
Chapter
The Politics of the
Revolution of 1800: Prelude 157
8
Chapter
The Politics of the
Revolution of 1800: Revolution 179
Afterword by Thom Hartmann 213
Notes 225
Acknowledgments 265
Index 267
About the Authors 301
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Introduction
I
t is rare when a book about our early republic is relevant
forty years after it was originally published. It is rarer still when
that book provides insight into national problems we refuse to solve two
centuries later.
You are therefore holding in your hands (or reading on your pad or
computer) one of the most important books you will ever encounter. Here
is why: Unlike other histories of this era, this book is written from a revo‑
lutionary perspective much like Jefferson’s generation viewed the world.
The American Revolution of 1800 was not just about an election.
It was about a life‑and‑death struggle for power between democratic‑
republican principles and oligarchic‑plutocratic values based on corrup‑
tion. In short, this book, by implication, is about the identical crisis
America faces today.
The author’s unique analysis is based on the idea of faction control‑
ling party and how both undermine constitutional government. In an age
where modern parties and the factions that control them have paralyzed
our government, this book validates the politics of the Founders.
In still another contribution, the book demonstrates how preserving
revolutionary ideas within our culture depends on understanding the
classical tradition. The ability to recognize a demagogue is rooted deeply
in the role Caesar played in destroying the republic of ancient Rome.
That fear of a Caesar inspired Jefferson and others to organize citizens
against the Federalists, thereby completely contradicting the political
rules of their time.
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