In a country that was actually designed to remain anti-partisan, it was the election of 1800 that really ruined that dream. I sat down with a mug of coffee and began (again) one of the books on my Jterm shelf – A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America’s First Presidential Campaign. (My AP US History teacher, Mr. Papendieck, would be proud.) The book is engaging, brings back much of that Revolutionary history that’s been pushed to the back of my brain, and actually connects in many ways to my current modern church history course; I hesitated to put it down and move on to other necessities of my day. If we were to talk favorite ‘characters’ as if this non-fiction was not, Alexander Hamilton is my man. That guy was CRAZY. Pushing for an American monarchy [seriously. who thinks that’s a good idea after fleeing from the tyranny of Britain?], a federal bank, and secretly his own election to office [sneaky.] – not to mention agreeing to a duel – A.H. seemed a bit off his rocker. Do you know anything about Alexander Hamilton? If they know one thing, many people remember who killed him. [Oh. Did I catch you at a bad time? Too much peanut butter and not enough milk?]
Leave a Reply