Reviews

"Sharp's study succeeds brilliantly in reconstructing the great crisis of the union that the deadlocked election of 1800 precipitated."--Review of Politics"Sharp gives a strong and concise picture of the politics of the decade. His work is balanced, careful, well documented, and usually convincing. . . . The book serves well as a primer about the character of politics in the early republic. . . . [An] enjoyable and informative study."--Journal of Interdisciplinary History"Without question, Sharp has provided a strong, thought-provoking [book]. It will stand as a must-read for those interested in this critical moment in American history."--Register of the Kentucky Historical Society"The definitive account of the election that nearly destroyed the nascent American constitutional order."--Providence Journal"Distinguished historian Sharp has provided both students and generalists of the early American republic with a compelling, concisely written political analysis of one of the most pivotal elections in the nation's history. With a well-written narrative and an intriguing cast of larger-than-life characters, including Jefferson, Burr, Adams, Hamilton, and a host of others, Sharp's lucid work brings the electoral politics of the early republic into clear academic focus. Highly recommended."-- Choice

"Sharp has a well-deserved reputation as one of the most distinguished scholars of the early Republic. This riveting account of the deadlocked presidential election of 1800 not only extends that reputation, but it also puts on full display his gifts as a master storyteller. And the drama here is one in which the very fate of our young republic hung in the balance."--Richard R. Beeman, author of Plain Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution"Sharp's book is, quite simply, the best academic treatment of this historic election and its longer-term political consequences."--Thomas P. Slaughter, author of The Beautiful Soul of John Woolman, Apostle of Abolition