The Jeffersonians: The Visionary Presidencies of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe
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- Create Date：2022-12-11 17:21:34
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Kevin R.C. Gutzman
- ISBN：1250135451
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Summary
A lively and essential chronicle of the only consecutive trio of two-term presidencies of the same political party in American history， from the bestselling author of Thomas Jefferson: Revolutionary and James Madison
Before the consecutive two-term administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton， George W。 Bush， and Barack Obama， there had only been one other trio of its type: Thomas Jefferson， James Madison， and James Monroe。
Kevin Gutzman’s The Jeffersonians is the essential full chronicle of the men， known as The Virginia Dynasty， who served as president from 1801 to 1825 and implemented the foreign-policy， domestic， and constitutional agenda of the radical wing of the American Revolution， setting guideposts for later American liberals to follow。
The three close political allies were tightly related: Jefferson and Madison were the closest of friends， and Monroe was Jefferson’s former law student。 Their achievements were many， from the founding of the opposition Republican Party in the 1790s; the Louisiana Purchase; and the call upon Congress in 1806 to use its constitutional power to ban slave imports beginning on January 1， 1808。
Of course， not everything the Virginia Dynasty undertook was a success: Its chief failure might have been the ineptly planned and led War of 1812。 In general， however， when Monroe rode off into the sunset in 1825， his passing and the end of The Virginia Dynasty were much lamented。 Kevin Gutzman’s new book details a time in America when three Presidents built upon the achievements of his predecessor to strengthen our Republic in a way we rarely see in American politics today。
Before the consecutive two-term administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton， George W。 Bush， and Barack Obama， there had only been one other trio of its type: Thomas Jefferson， James Madison， and James Monroe。
Kevin Gutzman’s The Jeffersonians is the essential full chronicle of the men， known as The Virginia Dynasty， who served as president from 1801 to 1825 and implemented the foreign-policy， domestic， and constitutional agenda of the radical wing of the American Revolution， setting guideposts for later American liberals to follow。
The three close political allies were tightly related: Jefferson and Madison were the closest of friends， and Monroe was Jefferson’s former law student。 Their achievements were many， from the founding of the opposition Republican Party in the 1790s; the Louisiana Purchase; and the call upon Congress in 1806 to use its constitutional power to ban slave imports beginning on January 1， 1808。
Of course， not everything the Virginia Dynasty undertook was a success: Its chief failure might have been the ineptly planned and led War of 1812。 In general， however， when Monroe rode off into the sunset in 1825， his passing and the end of The Virginia Dynasty were much lamented。 Kevin Gutzman’s new book details a time in America when three Presidents built upon the achievements of his predecessor to strengthen our Republic in a way we rarely see in American politics today。
Reviews
Janilyn Kocher
，
An acceptable overview of the Triumvirate from Virginia。 Jefferson， Madison， and Monroe who lengthened and strengthened Republican rule for a quarter of a century during America’s formative stage。The book is a good place to begin for anyone who doesn’t have a good background in US history or needs a refresher of the early Republic。 However， it offers nothing groundbreaking or startling in the way of new information。 Most of it could be found in a standard US history test。I did discover one blata An acceptable overview of the Triumvirate from Virginia。 Jefferson， Madison， and Monroe who lengthened and strengthened Republican rule for a quarter of a century during America’s formative stage。The book is a good place to begin for anyone who doesn’t have a good background in US history or needs a refresher of the early Republic。 However， it offers nothing groundbreaking or startling in the way of new information。 Most of it could be found in a standard US history test。I did discover one blatant mistake。 Gutzman asserts that Jefferson’s wife died after complications from Maria’s birth。 That is incorrect。 Martha Wayles Jefferson passed away in September 1782， after Lucy’s birth a few months earlier。 He also calls Maria Mary and then back to Maria with no consistency。 Minor mistake， but one that should have been caught。Thanks to St。 Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advance read。 。。。more
Casey Wheeler
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This book is well written and well written。 This is an ambitious undertaking interweaving the presidencies of three early presidents highlighting their similarities and differences。 This is an intriguing read for anyone who has an interest in Presidents and/or American history。I received a free ARC of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley， Goodreads， Amazon， Facebook and my nonfiction book review blog。
Matt
，
First and foremost， a large thank you to NetGalley， Kevin R。C。 Gutzman， and St。 Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy of this publication， which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review。In the early years of the American Republic， the Founding Fathers sought to craft the foundation of the country， then lead it in their own image。 Once Washington had laid some of the essential groundwork， it fell to a few men to build on it and create a strong nation。 Kevin Gutzman explores three of First and foremost， a large thank you to NetGalley， Kevin R。C。 Gutzman， and St。 Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy of this publication， which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review。In the early years of the American Republic， the Founding Fathers sought to craft the foundation of the country， then lead it in their own image。 Once Washington had laid some of the essential groundwork， it fell to a few men to build on it and create a strong nation。 Kevin Gutzman explores three of these men throughout their presidential tenure: Thomas Jefferson， James Madison， and James Monroe。 Gutzman argues that they were intertwined under the ‘Jeffersonian’ umbrella， while still being independent from one another。 Gutzman presents， in detail， their respective presidencies， which occurred consecutively， thereby creating an era of government， legal precedents， and development of a country from its thirteen colonies into a geographic juggernaut。 Full of anecdotes and well-placed arguments， Gutzman does a stellar job of connecting these three men together for the reader。While all were strong political allies， Jefferson， Madison， and Monroe had different outlooks for the country they helped develop。 As Gutzman opens the tome exploring the presidency of Jefferson， there is a strong view towards setting the scene and building on core values the country had developed under Washington， while also exploring some of the newer ideas that came to the surface。 Many of the constitutional questions that shaped a more modern America came from the Jefferson period， as interpretation of laws and the foundational rules of the country were being hashed out and challenged。 Jefferson was also keen to create a mark on the international scene， using his ambassadors to form pathways for the still youthful country seeking to stand on its own。 Gutzman effectively shows how Jefferson mandated this and made the country one that Washington would have been happy to see still progressing。James Madison took up the torch when Jefferson， eager to create the two-term precedent that Washington began， stood down for new blood to take over governing。 Madison’s impact was to keep trying to fill Jefferson’s shoes and keep the country on track， while also being faced with the first major international crisis to befall the country， a war with the British。 Madison had to develop keen leadership skills and rely on many of his military men to keep America ready for any attack， and to fend off a reverting back to British control。 Gutzman shows that the battles of the War of 1812 were hard fought and Madison was not one to get into the fray， but he valued the importance of America remaining independent and ready for whatever was tossed its way。 Building on the Jefferson presidency， Madison sought to push America out of its infancy and into rugged adulthood， where it could grow and prove its prowess。James Monroe was a leader who looked back as much as he did ahead， trying to keep the momentum going without losing much of what’s his predecessors forged for him。 A man of great intellect， but not as gritty as the others， Monroe held his head high and focussed his attention to ensure that the work Jefferson and Madison did was not lost。 Gutzman shows him to be the less impactful of the three men， but still trying to keep things running effectively and helping to shape Jeffersonian policies to keep Congress working effectively and with a detailed purpose。 Gutzman shows how Monroe used the life lessons from his predecessors to shape America into the power that it would be moving towards its most tumultuous years。 Monroe did all he could to keep things steady， without toppling too many apple carts along the way。While the book was well written and full of formidable themes， there was a huge amount to digest。 The history and the day-to-day exploration of things in a detailed narrative could， for some， get to be too much。 Kevin Gutzman does well to leave the reader feeling as though they are a part of the action， but there is just so much going on that it can be overwhelming。 While this is not an academic tome， its detail and analysis could keep only the most dedicated readers holding on。 I was so pleased to be able to pluck something from each chapter， which helped me see how things are interconnected。 The theme of three independent men directing the country through their respective presidencies is a stellar undertaking and Gutzman easily argues that this occurred。 However， the names and places， as well as historic events， proved a great deal， as I sought to synthesis all that I read。 Thankfully， he uses relatively short chapters， permitting the reader to launch themselves through the tome with relative ease， should their interest persist。 I would gladly explore some of Gutzman’s other works to see if I can take more away from them， but I cannot say enough about this tome and the effort invested in it to give the reader something about which they can feel highly educated by the end of the reading experience。Kudos， Mr。 Gutzman， for piece of historical writing that left me hungry for more， even though I needed to pace myself to absorb it all。Love/hate the review？ An ever-growing collection of others appears at: http://pecheyponderings。wordpress。com/ 。。。more
Janalyn Prude
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In the Jeffersonians Mr。 Gutsmen covers the ins and outs of the presidentcies of Jefferson Madison and Monroe。 I love politics because from the beginning of our government and before it was fueled by gossip in fighting and of course posturing and with the author‘s writing style makes for a very interesting and intriguing read。 In the day of the Jeffersons instead of Republicans they had the federalist and they would just is honest as leaders of today。 The only thing that was different was the da In the Jeffersonians Mr。 Gutsmen covers the ins and outs of the presidentcies of Jefferson Madison and Monroe。 I love politics because from the beginning of our government and before it was fueled by gossip in fighting and of course posturing and with the author‘s writing style makes for a very interesting and intriguing read。 In the day of the Jeffersons instead of Republicans they had the federalist and they would just is honest as leaders of today。 The only thing that was different was the date。 It was also the only time in history three presidents from the same party held two terms each making for twenty four years and the Jeffersonian era。 If you read this book with a critical eye you’ll see that they faced similar things to what we face instead of slavery we’re trying to end racism but because slavery was a law and racism is a character flaw the fight is much harder。 But with both instances it all has to do with changing peoples minds and convincing them to do the right thing。 I do love when Monroe said if we do free the slaves and send them to Liberia will we have to force them？ Really you force them to come here… I thought that was absurd。 I love history in love this book I love reading about our four fathers and especially when we get there personal feelings and in this book to help some personal correspondence and thoughts from each president and hangers on and other people in that area。 I thoroughly enjoyed the sport and highly recommend it。 I will definitely be reading more from Mr。 Gutman in the future。 He is clearly an author with a great grasp on our history。 I received this book from NetGalley and a publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review。 。。。more
Aaron Brown
，
I read Mr。 Gutzman's last book which is a wonderful intellectual and philosophical biography of James Madison as both a man and a founding father。 Therefore， I was excited to open his next venture and it does not disappoint。 Gutzman returns to Madison but now focuses on his Presidency， as well as the presidencies of his contemporaries and political compatriots Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe。 These three men constitute the only trio of consecutive， two-term Presidents from the same political p I read Mr。 Gutzman's last book which is a wonderful intellectual and philosophical biography of James Madison as both a man and a founding father。 Therefore， I was excited to open his next venture and it does not disappoint。 Gutzman returns to Madison but now focuses on his Presidency， as well as the presidencies of his contemporaries and political compatriots Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe。 These three men constitute the only trio of consecutive， two-term Presidents from the same political party in American history。 Gutzman effectively explores the three Presidents' similarities and differences， accomplishments and failures and ultimately the common vision for the country that united them。 All three men were suspicious and skeptical of federal power and overreach， yet didn't always adhere to this vision in the course of their presidencies。 This book is fantastic history， well written and bubbling with detail and insight。 Gutzman knows his subjects better than just about anyone。 It is a shame that he is not more well known。 I find him as erudite， skilled， insightful and lively as Joseph Ellis or Alan Talyor or other bestselling historians。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
Mariama Thorlu-Bangura
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