Speaker 1: Welcome to the WBZ Book Club. I'm Jordan Rich. If
Speaker 1: you think that this political era that we're living through
Speaker 1: is the most contentious ever in American history, you might
Speaker 1: want to think again. There's a book called A Magnificent Catastrophe,
Speaker 1: The Tumultuous Election of eighteen hundred, America's first presidential campaign.
Speaker 1: It's by Poetzer Prize winner Edward Larson. It's the story
Speaker 1: of the first partisan election. In seventeen ninety six, John Adams,
Speaker 1: the Federalists, became president, with Vice President Thomas Jefferson, the
Speaker 1: leader of the Republicans the opposition. Then, in seventeen ninety nine,
Speaker 1: the two of them faced off to run against each other,
Speaker 1: and in that contest scoreless charges insults of all kinds,
Speaker 1: with each side calling the other a supreme threat to democracy.
Speaker 1: Personalities of that period were sharp and exercised, big names
Speaker 1: like Samuel Adams, James Madison, J Pinkney Monroe, not to
Speaker 1: mention Alexander Hamilton, and Republican organizer Aaron Burr. A Magnificent
Speaker 1: Catastrophe by Edward Larson. The Book Club w BZ, Boston's
Speaker 1: news radio