Jefferson and the Ordeal of Liberty by Dumas Malone

I have less than 100 pages to go in Volume Three in this series on Thomas Jefferson and want to record the following thoughts.

Out of the six volumes in the series I've anticipated that this would be the least interesting, as it records the time when extreme division in American politics created an ugly environment for Jefferson.  I was basically correct in that prediction.  The book covers 1792-1800, with a focus on the period from when Jefferson left his position as Secretary of State, through his three year interlude at Monticello, his term as Vice President under Johns Adams and ending with his election as President of the United States.

I'm reminded just how much of Jefferson's real accomplishments actually happened prior to becoming president:  His drafting of the Declaration of Independence, his leadership in the push for states' rights, religious freedom and the pursuit of liberty.

The ugly political division during this period I believe represents the "reality" of democracy setting in for the leaders of the young nation.  The grand visions of the new republic created the idea that politics would be gentlemanly under the auspices of the United States and its unique constitution.  During this period the leaders came to understand that parties would form and that rancor would rise to become quite un-gentlemanly.

We now know that his is how politics works in an American democracy.  It's ugly on the inside.  Congressional debates can look absurd, like children screaming in the playground. But it's exactly this ugliness that results in liberty for us all.

During this period the politics became so ugly that it occasionally blurred the lines between political disagreement and actual rebellion.  At what point does the yelling and screaming cross the line from the discussion of laws to the discussion of forming a new government?  At what point are you talking about changing the rules versus speaking out about the existence of the current government?  What is debate and what is rebellion?

The fever during this period, amplified by the threat of war against France (greatly exacerbated by the Jay Treaty with England) caused the Federalists (in power with Adams as president and Hamilton out of office but pulling many strings behind the scenes) to claim that the Republicans (with Jefferson at the helm) had crossed that line.

The result was the Alien and Sedition Acts, which gave the federal government unprecedented powers that cut deeply into Americans' freedom of speech.  These acts could not possibly pass today, but managed to get by for a time as the young nation stumbled its way forward.

Fortunately the threat of war passed and the American people and its leadership came to realize that the Acts themselves crossed the line and revoked them.

Yes, politics is ugly.  Sometimes it's REALLY ugly.  But it's exactly that ugliness that protects our liberty.