What are some quotes from A Magnificent Catastrophe?

This book is about the fateful election of 1800 between John Adams, a Federalist from Massachusetts, and Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican from Virginia. The election, referred to as the "Revolution of 1800," was a watershed election that resulted in the ascendancy of the Democratic-Republicans at the federal level and the eventual extinction of the Federalists. It also ushered in a partisan politics. Here are some telling quotes from the book:

• "Prior to the coming of...

This book is about the fateful election of 1800 between John Adams, a Federalist from Massachusetts, and Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican from Virginia. The election, referred to as the "Revolution of 1800," was a watershed election that resulted in the ascendancy of the Democratic-Republicans at the federal level and the eventual extinction of the Federalists. It also ushered in a partisan politics. Here are some telling quotes from the book:

• "Prior to the coming of the American Revolution, the northern and southern colonies might as well have occupied separate continents" (page 10). This quote speaks about the immense differences between the northern and southern regions of the United States and the differences between Adams and Jefferson. In part, these sectional differences played into the increasing rancor between the two political parties. 


• "They could write like angels and scheme like demons" (page 1). This is the opening quote of the book, and it establishes the rancor that sometimes characterized the actions of the Founding Fathers.


• "Federalists warned that with Jefferson at the helm, the United States would become like Revolutionary France, where Jacobins overthrew the civil order and Christian religion" (page 94). This quote is about one of the divisions between the parties. The Democratic-Republicans supported France, while Federalists supported England.


• "Some Republicans saw the result as a vindication of their principled stand against Federalist restrictions on civil liberties" (page 106). This quote is about the result of the election in New York. Democratic-Republicans criticized Adams for cracking down on civil liberties during the "Quasi-War" with France.


• "The product of urban politics and a full generation younger than Washington, Adams, and Jefferson, Burr could not keep himself out of sight or above the fray" (page 112). Burr represented a new, overtly political generation of politicians, which was different from his elders.