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Thomas Jefferson
- Narrated by: Ira Calffey
- Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins
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Publisher's summary
The contradictions in his populism are striking and make Jefferson the most controversial of presidents: he spoke of inalienable human rights, but he taught his daughters that women were created for men's pleasure, and he believed that whites and blacks could never co-exist peacefully in freedom. Even though his egalitarianism was limited to white men, it represented a sharp break with the outlook and policies his predecessor. The ideological differences between Jefferson and Federalist Presidents George Washington and John Adams led to the establishment of the two-party system that still dominates American politics today.
Jefferson described his election to the presidency as a second American Revolution. For the first time, historian Joyce Appleby, rigorously explores this claim. She argues that our third president did, in fact, radically transform the political landscape of the United States by limiting the power of the government and eradicating the elitist practices inherited from the colonial era. His struggle to transfer influence from the upper class to the common citizen while limiting the power of the American government created a powerful new vision of liberty and democracy.
Critic reviews
"Appleby has succeeded in writing as good a brief study of this complex man as is imaginable." (Publishers Weekly)
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- Unabridged
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The American Political Tradition is one of the most influential and widely read historical volumes of our time. First published in 1948, its elegance, passion, and iconoclastic erudition laid the groundwork for a totally new understanding of the American past. By writing a "kind of intellectual history of the assumptions behind American politics", Richard Hofstadter changed the way Americans understand the relationship between power and ideas in their national experience. Hofstadter was able to articulate, in a single work, a historical vision that inspired and shaped an entire generation.
By: Richard Hofstadter, and others
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Founding Brothers
- The Revolutionary Generation (Pulitzer Prize Winner)
- By: Joseph J. Ellis
- Narrated by: Bob Walter
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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An illuminating study of the intertwined lives of the founders of the American republic - John Adams, Aaron Burr, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington.
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Great!
- By Gotta Tellya on 08-10-16
By: Joseph J. Ellis
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Adams vs. Jefferson
- The Tumultuous Election of 1800
- By: John Ferling
- Narrated by: Jack Garrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Award-winning author John Ferling is a leading authority on the American Revolution. His entertaining and enlightening histories have greatly improved our understanding of early America and the Founding Fathers. Now Ferling opens a window to the past and explores the contentious presidential election of 1800.
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Outstanding work of interpretive history
- By D. Littman on 11-01-04
By: John Ferling
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The Lost Founding Father
- John Quincy Adams and the Transformation of American Politics
- By: William J. Cooper
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 16 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Why has John Quincy Adams been largely written out of American history when he is, in fact, our lost Founding Father? Overshadowed by both his brilliant father and the brash and bold Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams has long been dismissed as hyper-intellectual. Viciously assailed by Jackson and his populist mobs for being both slippery and effete, Adams nevertheless recovered from the malodorous 1828 presidential election to lead the nation as a lonely Massachusetts congressman in the fight against slavery.
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Edifying
- By Jean on 01-15-18
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John Adams
- By: John Patrick Diggins
- Narrated by: Richard Rohan
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Perhaps no U.S. president was less suited for the practice of politics than John Adams. A gifted philosopher who helped lead the movement for American independence from its inception, Adams was unprepared for the realities of party politics that had already begun to dominate the new country before Washington left office. But, as John Patrick Diggins shows, Adams's contributions still resonate today.
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A Worthy Addition
- By Terry on 01-18-04
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A Leap in the Dark
- The Struggle to Create the American Republic
- By: John Ferling
- Narrated by: Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff
- Length: 23 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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It was an age of fascinating leaders and difficult choices, of grand ideas eloquently expressed and of epic conflicts bitterly fought. Now comes a brilliant portrait of the American Revolution, one that is compelling in its prose, fascinating in its details, and provocative in its fresh interpretations.
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Loved every minute!
- By Richard on 03-03-15
By: John Ferling
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Henry Clay
- The Man Who Would Be President
- By: James C. Klotter
- Narrated by: James Anderson Foster
- Length: 19 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Charismatic, charming, and one of the best orators of his era, Henry Clay seemed to have it all. He offered a comprehensive plan of change for America, and he directed national affairs as Speaker of the House, as Secretary of State to John Quincy Adams - the man he put in office - and as acknowledged leader of the Whig party. As the broker of the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850, Henry Clay fought to keep a young nation united when westward expansion and slavery threatened to tear it apart. Yet, despite his talent and achievements, Henry Clay never became president.
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Wonderful book by a talented writer and historian
- By Timothy on 08-24-18
By: James C. Klotter
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A Magnificent Catastrophe
- The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential Campaign
- By: Edward J. Larson
- Narrated by: John Dossett
- Length: 6 hrs
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A Magnificent Catastrophe tells the story of the most perverse, bizarre, nail-biting, and influential election battle ever in U.S. history: America's first true presidential campaign, and a contest so important to the future of the country that Jefferson referred to it as "the second American Revolution" because the outcome resolved so much unfinished business about just what kind of government we would have. This election in many ways determined just how democratic a country we would be.
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Get this if you have to use it for a class!!!
- By Gabriel on 03-03-17
By: Edward J. Larson
What listeners say about Thomas Jefferson
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- reggie p
- 08-12-03
Good introduction to Jefferson
I love Thomas Jefferson and so enjoyed this book quite a bit. It focused on his presidency but also gave a good overview of the great person he was. Being a lover of the Lewis and Clark expedition, I was disappointed that it barely mentioned the adventure. It did, however, whet my appetite for learning more about Jefferson before and after his presidency.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Davis
- 08-15-06
Essays, not a biography
This book is more akin to a series of essays about the Jefferson presidency than to a biography. Evaluated on that level, the book is interesting. Although I found the sporadic pots shots at Federalists in general and John Adams in particular annoying, the essays do provide an interesting commentary on the Jefferson presidency. What they lack, however, is much insight into Jefferson's character.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Connie
- 03-30-08
Informative
I was looking for more than just Jefferson the President but the book was well written, informative and intersting.
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Overall
- John
- 10-21-03
Ramblings About our 3rd President
This would be a better title for this book. I prefer biographies to be chronological and failing that chapters based on a subject and then events that deal with the subject in order. This book seems to be in no order. It seems like the author did some research on the subject and then just started writing with no outline. This makes the book more a collection of random facts than a biography.
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10 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Jeffrey
- 07-23-03
Short, yet long
For such a short book, it was remarkably repetitive. The contradiction between Jefferson's advocacy of individual rights and ownership of slaves was dealt with ad nauseum; yet there were no new insights. The author acknowledged that there was criticism of the view that Jefferson fathered Sally Heming's kids, but, without examining the arguments, seemed to assume that he did.
The reader should know that this book deals almost exclusively with the presidential years (perhaps that's the intent of this series of books; I've only read this one).
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18 people found this helpful