The Federalist Era 1789-1801

Book Description

With pace, clarity, judiciousness and a sense of balance, Miller recounts the story of the dramatic clash over fundamental issues that marked the Federalist administrations, the classic contest between Hamilton and Jefferson for dominance in Washington's administration, and between John Adams and the Hamiltonians when the New Englander succeeded to the Presidency. Miller makes it perfectly clear that the Federalists were maladroit politicians who failed to recognize the democratic roots of American society. One learns why the Federalists felt that the American experiment in free government had failed when Jefferson was elected, but, despite their shortsightedness, they had taken a parchment and turned it into an effective instrument of government.

Customer Reviews:

Short, solid classic history........2005-10-03

There are hundreds of books written about the early national period in our history. For the reader, the question becomes which are the books worth reading. For example, in the case of Miller's book, why should you read this one instead of Elkins and McKitrick's The Age of Federalism? The latter book is much the newer (1994 compared with Miller's original publication date of 1960), presumably benefits from all the great history that was written in between those two dates and won the Bancroft Prize.
I guess it all depends on what you are looking for. Miller's book was the standard history prior to the publication of Elkins and McKitrick's tome. If you have read about this era of our history you have come across many references to Miller's book. As history goes, it is a little more old fashioned in its interests. Miller's book focuses more closely on the main leaders and events of the period (i.e., it is a little bit more of the great man school of historical writing) and is probably a more standard narrative.
Miller has many felicities that make him still very much worth reading. I feel that I have read fairly deeply in this time period and have read many of the more specialized histories of the period. I didn't find anything in Miller that would need radical revision. What he covers, he covers very succinctly, in telling detail and with little of the partisanship that still attends writings about this period (why people feel we have to make a choice between Hamilton and Madison, for example, I will never know- they are both equally (ir)relevant to our politics). He covers the opening days of the new government, the emergence of Madison as a leader in Congress, of Hamilton as a leader in Washington's cabinet, the economic debates, the agrarian philosophical underpinnings of Jefferson's thought, the fateful struggle between Jefferson and Hamilton which was energized by events like the Whiskey Rebellion, the Alien and Sedition Acts, the Quasi-War with France, Jay's Treaty, the XYZ affair and all that other good stuff.
One of the ways that I evaluate the historians I read on early America is how much of a flavor they give me of the people of the time. For one thing, these were a people who knew how to fling a good insult: President Adams was once described as being "foremost in whatever is detestable" (p. 233 of Miller). Miller gives us plenty of this flavor and of the character of his protagonists. In fact, I have ordered a copy of the writings of Fisher Ames because of the quotes from this book cited by Miller. Miller's discussions of the qualities and accomplishments of Jefferson and Hamilton throughout the book are particularly exemplary.
Miller also points out some aspects of some of the noted controversies that I do not remember having read before. For example, in summing up his history of the Alien and Sedition Acts and the resulting Kentucky and Virginia resolutions, Miller points out, "The Republicans did not question the principle that government must punish libels- they merely demanded that such prosecutions be undertaken by the states rather than by the Federal government...when they came into power, the Republicans transferred these trials from Federal to state courts, where the common law was enforced in all its rigor"(p.237). So much for state's rights being all about the protection of individual freedoms.
I personally feel that what occurred during the 1790's was a struggle for national dominance between two (largely) sectional elites which was complicated by the fact that one elite was the more economically sophisticated, the other was more politically adept, they were both appealing to a population that was rapidly evolving towards more democracy (for white men with a little property) and both had to deal with the wild card that was the politics of Pennsylvania. I think you will find plenty of support for this point of view in any history of the period.
Miller's book does have some flaws. I hate the way he cites his sources. Miller writes a paragraph full of stuff that needs citing and then ends it with a single citation that does not clearly tell us what is the source of what. For example, Miller starts a chapter on Jefferson with the claim that during the Confederation period that Jefferson "wished to see the Federal judiciary made supreme over the state judiciaries in order that it might prevent the states from encroaching upon the authority of the Federal government" (p. 70). I would love to read that "wish" in context but I defy anyone to tell me where to look from Miller's citation.
But this is a geek's complaint (and I stand proudly as that American history geek). For the average reader Miller's book should be seen as just what it is: short, solid, insightful and still very much worth reading.
So here is my answer to the question of Miller vs. Elkins and McKitrick: read both. If you are new to reading about the period, start with Miller. If your interest is piqued, then read some of the great specialty or popular histories of the period. Then cap it off with Elkins and McKitrick. Be sure to keep copies of the Library of America volumes of Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson and Madison near by. Whenever one of their writings is referred to, go read the original. (I am serious. This is the only way to separate what our ancestors actually wrote from the conservative claptrap hagiography that is written about them). And then write to me and explain to me how we progressed from those men thru Jackson and Polk and Lincoln and the Roosevelts to George I and George II.

Book For Class.......2004-11-30

This book was for my political science class. Though it was better than most other books on history it was still pretty dry. I found it hard to read more than one chapter at a time, but it could have been worse. I enjoy reading on history but this book wasn't for me.

Good history of the beginnings of political parties........2000-06-21

This book focuses on the domestic political scene in the United States during the period covered. Foreign affairs, and social affairs are discussed in context of how it affected the development of the Federalist party and the Democratic-Republican party. The book is well written and I found it enjoyable to read. It is well organized although there are a couple of times he discusses the same event in two widely separate parts of the book without a clear transition, so it makes it look like he's going off on to a tangent, then back to his original topic. Good academic history.

Building a New Nation: The Federalist Era : 1789-1801 (Drama of American History)

Average customer rating:

Building a New Nation: The Federalist Era : 1789-1801 (Drama of American History)
Christopher Collier , and James Lincoln Collier
Manufacturer: Benchmark Books (NY)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

Politics & Government | Reference & Nonfiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0761407774

The Federalist Era 1789-1801 the University Library (The New American Nation Series)

Average customer rating:

The Federalist Era 1789-1801 the University Library (The New American Nation Series)

Manufacturer: Harper & Row, Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000FIFO8K

Product Description

The Administrations of George Washington and John Adams, the theme of this volume, constitute a record of extraordinary accomplishment. Assuming from the start a national role for the central government, the Frderalists literally followed Alexander Hamilton's earily counsel to "think continentially." In a scant dozen years the Constitution was demonstrated to be a workable instrument of government, determaning the power of the Chief Executive, evolution of the cabinet system and the federal judiciary, Establishing a system for taxation, national debt, credit fixed at home and abroad and American territory cleared of British and Spanish interlopers.

Average customer rating:

The Federalist Era 1789 - 1801
John C. Miller
Manufacturer: Harper Torchbooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VR8YC8

Average customer rating:

The Federalist Era 1789 - 1801
John C. Miller
Manufacturer: Harper & Row
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B0000CKWWP

Average customer rating:

The Federalist Era 1789 - 1801
John C. Miller
Manufacturer: Harper Torchbooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000KEN2IS

Average customer rating:

The Federalist Era 1789 1801
Miller
Manufacturer: Harper & Row
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J6YS8K

Average customer rating:

Federalist Era 1789-1801

Manufacturer: Harpercollins College Div
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0060129808

Average customer rating:

Federalist Era 1789-1801
John C. Miller
Manufacturer: Harpercollins (Short Disc)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OF06SM

The Federalist Era 1789-1801 (The New American nation Series)

Average customer rating:

The Federalist Era 1789-1801 (The New American nation Series)

Manufacturer: Harper & Row, Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000FIN266

Product Description

The Administrations of George Washington and John Adams, the theme of this volume, constitutes a record of extraordinary accomplishment. Assuming from the start a natioinal role for the central government, the Federalists literally followed Alexander Hamilton's earlier counsel to "think continentally." In a scant dozen years the constitution was demonstrated to be a workable instrument of government. During that time the Chief Executive determined the powers and traditions of his office, the cabinet system evolved, a federal judiciary was established, the taxing power was wielded audaciously and effectively, a natioinal debt was created to strengthen the national authority and stimulate the economy, American credit was fixed at home and abroad on a firm foundation and American territory cleared of British and Spanish interlopers.

Book Description

Rodney Bolt’s delightful life of Marlowe plays out a surprising solution to an enduring literary mystery, bringing the spirit of Shakespeare alive as we’ve never seen it before.

Rodney Bolt’s book is not an attempt to prove that, rather than dying at 29 in a tavern brawl, Christopher Marlowe staged his own death, fled to Europe, and went on to write the work attributed to Shakespeare. Instead, it takes that as the starting point for a playful and brilliantly written “fake biography” of Marlowe, which turns out to be a life of the Bard as well. Using real historical sources (as well as the occasional red herring) plus a generous dose of speculation, Bolt paints a rich and rollicking picture of Elizabethan life. As we accompany Marlowe into the halls of academia, the society of the popular English players traveling Europe, and the dangerous underworld of Elizabethan espionage, a fascinating and almost plausible life story emerges, along with a startlingly fresh look at the plays and poetry we know as Shakespeare’s. Tapping into centuries of speculation about the man behind the work, about whom so few facts are known for sure, Rodney Bolt slyly winds the lives of two beloved playwrights into one.

Customer Reviews:

Clever, witty, ENTERTAINING!.......2006-08-29

If you're a fan of Shakespeare, and want a way to experience the flavor of life in his times (Elizabethan England), there is no better book from the standpoint of entertainment and thought-provoking suppositions. Fiction? OF COURSE! And the author admits it. But what FUN! (This book has for me a lot of the exciting "you are there" of the film Shakespeare In Love: wildly informative and entertaining quasi-fantasy.)

Shakespeare Demeaned...........2005-10-27

This disturbing 'biography' is pure fiction and shows that anyone can write a book and get it published if you have connections. This is the silliest thing I have ever heard. The writer spent a lot of time making comparisons when there are none to be made.

Marlowe wrote only seven plays in his young life, 'Dr. Faustus' the best known, and his poem "Hero and Leander" the only poem to outlive him. Perhaps with his interest in the occult and Satanism, a rumor has run amok that he returned in the adult human form of a famous playwright and literary figure, the prolific William Shakespeare. It's the darnest thing I ever saw. The majority of the fiction is about Shakespeare and very little about the man himself.

Having been murdered at such a young age, there will always be speculation as to the cause. "Afterlife" -- I don't think so! It is all foolish hypothesis, and to dignify it at all in print is preposterous.

A well-imagined alternative history.......2005-10-26

If you've ever been bemused by the fuss about who wrote the Shakespeare plays, this book will set you straight. The foreword reprints Sam Clemens' (aka Mark Twain's) inventory of all the positively known facts about Shakespeare, and it's a scanty list. Most striking is the fact that Will's children were illiterate, that he left no literary bequest but carefully distributed physical goods down to old furniture in his will, and that we know more about his life as a trader and bean counter than we do about his acting.

Bolt takes as his premise that Shakespeare couldn't have written the plays attributed to him, and that he acted as a front for Christopher Marlowe who was writing from exile after narrowly escaping assassination; a stand-in died in his place in the infamous "tavern brawl". Bolt readily admits that this is a fiction, but argues that even supposedly reputable Shakespearean history is mostly invention, too. As he says in his Afterword: "Other writers have looked at the evidence and deduced a story; I have imagined a story, then supported it with the same sparse evidence."

The book weaves a persuasive and instructive tapestry of Elizabethan life. (Bolt does a good job of signaling what's his invention, and what's based on accepted sources.) It gave me with a good sense of the intrigue and insecurity at the heart of the regime, of the making and staging of plays in that time and of the constant flux as people and ideas flowed freely across war-torn Europe. There are frequent references to, and reinterpretations of, Shakespearian poetry and plays, and many witty asides. I sense that I missed many of the puns, anagrams, and in-jokes, but they were done with such a light touch that this didn't bother me.

My only quibble with the book is that Marlowe is a cardboard figure around whom the history turns. The peripheral characters are better drawn, from Shakespeare as a ambitious and venal minor talent, to Marlowe's friends and mentors in the spy world, to the puppetmasters like Sir Francis Walsingham and the slimy Sir Robert Cecil. This book is a history, as the title promises; it's not really a biography, even an imagined one.

Book Description

This volume is an attempt to provide an overview of some of the recent advances in representation theory from a geometric standpoint. A geometrically-oriented treatment is very timely and has long been desired, especially since the discovery of D-modules in the early '80s and the quiver approach to quantum groups in the early '90s.

The first half of the book fills the gap between the standard knowledge of a beginner in Lie theory and the much wider background needed by the working mathematician. Thus, Chapters 1-3 and 5-6 provide some basics in symplectic geometry, group actions on Kahler manifolds and Borel--Moore homology, geometry of semisimple groups, equivariant algebraic K-theory "from scratch," topology and algebraic geometry of flag varieties and conjugacy classes, respectively.

The material covered by Chapters 5 and 6 (as well as most of Chapter 3) has never been presented in book form. Chapters 3-4 and 7-8 form the heart of the book, presenting a uniform approach to representation theory of three quite different objects: (1) Weyl groups; (2) Lie algebra sln; (3) Iwahori--Hecke algebra. The results of Chapters 4 and 8 are new, with complete proofs, not to be found elsewhere in the literature. The techniques developed are quite general and can be successfully applied to such other areas of mathematics, as Quantum groups, affine Lie algebras, and quantum field theory. The exposition is practically self-contained and each chapter potentially serving as a basis for a graduate course.

Customer Reviews:

a nice blend of mathematics.......2002-01-06

it's not at all easy-going, but admittedly, it is probably the best way to learn some of the most stimulating and illuminating interactions between representation theory, symplectic geometry, algebraic geometry, and algebra;
a nice compliment to this book is 'symplectic fibrations and mutliplicity diagrams' by Guillemin et al.

other perspectives in ring theory from a geometric point of view (which could serve as yet another compliment) is Broho's 'nilpotent orbits, primitive ideals and characteristic classes'

Book Description

Many important functions of mathematical physics are defined as integrals depending on parameters. The Picard--Lefschetz theory studies how analytic and qualitative properties of such integrals (regularity, algebraicity, ramification, singular points, etc.) depend on the monodromy of corresponding integration cycles. In this book, V. A. Vassiliev presents several versions of the Picard--Lefschetz theory, including the classical local monodromy theory of singularities and complete intersections, Pham's generalized Picard--Lefschetz formulas, stratified Picard--Lefschetz theory, and also twisted versions of all these theories with applications to integrals of multivalued forms.

The author also shows how these versions of the Picard--Lefschetz theory are used in studying a variety of problems arising in many areas of mathematics and mathematical physics.

In particular, he discusses the following classes of functions:

volume functions arising in the Archimedes--Newton problem of integrable bodies;

Newton--Coulomb potentials;

fundamental solutions of hyperbolic partial differential equations;

multidimensional hypergeometric functions generalizing the classical Gauss hypergeometric integral.

Book Description

This work is at the crossroads of a number of mathematical areas, including algebraic geometry, several complex variables, differential geometry, and representation theory. The authors, both expert mathematicians in the area of complex manifolds and representation theory, focus on complex tori, which are interesting for their own sake being the simplest of complex manifolds, and important in the theory of algebraic cycles via intermediate Jacobians. Although special complex tori, namely abelian varieties, have been investigated for nearly 200 years, not much is known about arbitrary complex tori. There are very few papers on the subject and no book to date.

The seven chapters cover the following topics: decomposition into simple components, endomorphism algebras, polarizations with index, embeddings into projective space, intermediate Jacobians, complex tori with endomorphism structure, moduli spaces.

Key Features:

* First book to cover complex tori
* Systematic approach to the theory
* Presentation of new results
* Up-to-date bibliography, index, and appendices included

Written by two distinguished mathematicians in their field, Complex Tori is aimed at the mathematician and graduate student and will be useful in the classroom or as a resource for self-study.

Book Description

Buildings have a major impact upon the world's resources and upon the health of people who occupy them. Green buildings are designed specifically to reduce the level of resource consumed, whether energy, raw materials or water. This successful guide examines, through case studies how different approaches to green design can produce more sustainable patterns of development. The studies are described by their designers and often also by the client, thereby ensuring that the buildings are seen in the context of market realities. This book will be vital reading for professional groups ranging from design to procurement and management.
This new edition features new chapters on "green" schools covering the importance of school buildings to learning, design guidance for schools and two case studies of best practice.

Cogeneration Technology and Economics for the Process Industries (Energy Technology Review, No. 81)

Average customer rating:

Cogeneration Technology and Economics for the Process Industries (Energy Technology Review, No. 81)
D. J. De Renzo
Manufacturer: Noyes Pubns
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Real Estate | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Renewable Energy | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books

Average customer rating:

The conquest of the Atlantic
Ingri D'Aulaire
Manufacturer: Viking Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Cutting Costs in Multifamily Housing: Case Studies in Energy Savings

Average customer rating:

Cutting Costs in Multifamily Housing: Case Studies in Energy Savings
National Association of Home Builders St
Manufacturer: Home Builder Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Conservation | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

General | Conservation | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0867182768

The Economics Of Energy Efficiency: Barriers to Cost-Effective Investment

Average customer rating:

The Economics Of Energy Efficiency: Barriers to Cost-Effective Investment
Eoin O'Malley , Joachim Schleich , and Sue Scott
Manufacturer: Edward Elgar Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Natural Resources | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Oil & Energy | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Conservation | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 1840648899

Encyclopedia of Energy-Efficient Building Design: 391 Practical Case Studies

Average customer rating:

Encyclopedia of Energy-Efficient Building Design: 391 Practical Case Studies
Kaiman Lee
Manufacturer: Environmental Design & Research
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0915250187

Energy and Environment in the European Union: The Challenge of Integration (Avebury Studies in Green Research)

Average customer rating:

Energy and Environment in the European Union: The Challenge of Integration (Avebury Studies in Green Research)
Collier Ute
Manufacturer: Ashgate Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Natural Resources | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Environmental Science | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Conservation | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Energy and Sustainable Development: Case Studies (F) (S)

Average customer rating:

Energy and Sustainable Development: Case Studies (F) (S)

Manufacturer: United Nations Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Natural Resources | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Oil & Energy | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Conservation | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Energy | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

Renewable Energy | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books

Energy Auditing and Conservation: Methods, Measurements, Management, and Case Studies

Average customer rating:

Energy Auditing and Conservation: Methods, Measurements, Management, and Case Studies

Manufacturer: Harpercollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General & Reference | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0891161759

Average customer rating:

Energy crisis: Policy response

Manufacturer: Institute for Research on Public Policy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Real Estate | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0920380492

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books