"A long, insightful look at three Founder presidents. ... Political
histories are rarely page-turners, but Gutzman, clearly a scholar who
has read everything on his subjects, writes lively prose and displays a
refreshingly opinionated eye for a huge cast of characters and their
often unfortunate actions. Outstanding historical writing." -- Kirkus
(starred review)
A lively and essential chronicle of the only consecutive trio of
two-term presidencies of the same political party in American history,
from the bestselling author of Thomas Jefferson - Revolutionary and
James Madison.
Before the consecutive two-term administrations of Presidents Bill
Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, there had only been one other
trio of its type: Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe.
Kevin R. C. Gutzman's The Jeffersonians is a complete chronicle of the
men, known as The Virginia Dynasty, who served as president from 1801 to
1825 and implemented the foreign policy, domestic, and constitutional
agenda of the radical wing of the American Revolution, setting
guideposts for later American liberals to follow.
The three close political allies were tightly related: Jefferson and
Madison were the closest of friends, and Monroe was Jefferson's former
law student. Their achievements were many, including the founding of the
opposition Republican Party in the 1790s; the Louisiana Purchase; and
the call upon Congress in 1806 to use its constitutional power to ban
slave imports beginning on January 1, 1808.
Of course, not everything the Virginia Dynasty undertook was a success:
Its chief failure might have been the ineptly planned and led War of
1812. In general, however, when Monroe rode off into the sunset in 1825,
his passing and the end of The Virginia Dynasty were much lamented.
Kevin R. C. Gutzman's new book details a time in America when three
Presidents worked toward common goals to strengthen our Republic in a
way we rarely see in American politics today.