James R. Fisher, Jr., Ph.D.
© October 21, 2020
A READER WRITES
Very relevant for today’s times and some of these similarities are visible today in nationalistic behavior we are witnessing across the world and in the US.
We are about to see difficulties occur after the election I feel will likely inflame our country like no other time in our history! Been reading Ron Chernow's Hamilton biography and am amazed at the similarities of the 1770 - 1785 period when similar sentiments were experienced with just the 13 colonies/states in existence at the time. Maybe our experiment in democracy could come to a surprising end with another civil war between races, economic classes and conflicts around science and public health demands.
Praying for all who will be affected by the pain of our failed political leaders!
Thanks for all the perspectives you provide and be safe!
Buddy
MY REPLY
As bad as we think it is today, how much we feel it has never been this violent, this unfree, this warped with “dirty tricks” and unprecedented slander, the fact of the matter is that this has been part of presidential politics since the beginning, and as you point out, in the time of Alexander Hamilton and beyond. Books and Broadway make Hamilton as pure as the driven snow, which was hardly the case, nor for our “Founding Fathers.”
Negative campaigning in America was sired by two lifelong friends, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Back in 1776, the dynamic duo combined powers to help claim America's independence, and they had nothing but love and respect for one another. But by 1800, party politics had so distanced the pair that, for the first and last time in U.S. history, a president found himself running against his vice president.
Despite their bruising campaign, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams became friends again.
Things got ugly fast. Jefferson's camp accused President Adams of having a "hideous hermaphroditical character, which has neither the force nor firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman."
In return, Adams' men called Vice President Jefferson "a mean-spirited, low-lived fellow, the son of a half-breed Indian squaw, sired by a Virginia mulatto father."
As the slurs piled on, Adams was labeled a fool, a hypocrite, a criminal, and a tyrant, while Jefferson was branded a weakling, an atheist, a libertine, and a coward.
Even Martha Washington succumbed to the propaganda, telling a clergyman that Jefferson was "one of the most detestable of mankind."
JEFFERSON’S “HATCHET MAN”
Back then, presidential candidates didn't actively campaign. In fact, Adams and Jefferson spent much of the election season at their respective homes in Massachusetts and Virginia.
But the key difference between the two politicians was that Jefferson hired a hatchet man named James Callendar to do his smearing for him. Adams, on the other hand, considered himself above such tactics. To Jefferson's credit, Callendar proved incredibly effective, convincing many Americans that Adams desperately wanted to attack France. Although the claim was completely untrue, voters bought it, and Jefferson stole the election.
Incredibly, Jefferson was a slave owner and Adams never own a single slave; nor was Adams so inclined to ever be a slave owner. But the nascent United States of the time accepted slavery with amoral indifference.
Jefferson paid a price for his dirty campaign tactics, as politicians down to our present day continue to experience. Callendar served jail time for the slanderous copy he wrote about Adams, and when he emerged from prison in 1801, he felt Jefferson still owed him.
After Jefferson did little to appease him, Callendar broke a story in 1802 that had only been a rumor until then -- that President Jefferson was having an affair with one of his slaves, Sally Hemings. In a series of articles, Callendar claimed that Jefferson had lived with Hemings in France and that she had given birth to five of his children.
This story would plague Jefferson for the rest of his career. And although generations of historians shrugged off the story as part of Callendar's propaganda, DNA testing in 1998 showed a link between Hemings' descendants and the Jefferson family.
Just as truth persists, however, so does friendship. Twelve years after the vicious election of 1800, Adams and Jefferson began writing letters to each other and became friends again. They remained pen pals for the rest of their lives and passed away on the same day, July 4, 1826. It was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Incidentally, the last words of John Adams were, “Jefferson still lives,” which was not quite true as he died later that same day.
THE SON OF JOHN ADAMS, AN ELISTIST
John Adams lived long enough to see his son become president in 1825, but he died before John Quincy Adams lost the presidency to Andrew Jackson in 1828. Fortunately, that meant he didn't have to witness what many historians consider the nastiest contest in American history.
The slurs flew back and forth, with John Quincy Adams being labeled a pimp and an elitist, and Andrew Jackson's wife labeled nothing but a slut.
As the election progressed, editorials in the American newspapers read more like bathroom graffiti than political commentary. One paper reported that "General Jackson's mother was a common prostitute, brought to this country by the British soldiers! She afterward married a mulatto man, with whom she had several children, of which General Jackson is one!"
What got Americans so fired up? For one thing, many voters felt John Quincy Adams should never have been president in the first place. During the election of 1824, Jackson had won the popular vote but not the electoral vote, so the election was decided by the House of Representatives. Henry Clay, one of the other candidates running for president, threw his support behind Adams. To return the favor, Adams promptly made him Secretary of State. Jackson's supporters labeled it "The Corrupt Bargain" and spent the next four years calling Adams a usurper.
Beyond getting the short end of the electoral stick, Andrew Jackson managed to connect with voters via his background -- which couldn't have been more different than Adams'.
By the time John Quincy was 15, he'd traveled extensively in Europe, mastered several languages, and worked as a translator in the court of Catherine the Great.
Jefferson paid a price for his dirty campaign tactics, as politicians down to our present day continue to experience. Callendar served jail time for the slanderous copy he wrote about Adams, and when he emerged from prison in 1801, he felt Jefferson still owed him.
After Jefferson did little to appease him, Callendar broke a story in 1802 that had only been a rumor until then -- that President Jefferson was having an affair with one of his slaves, Sally Hemings. In a series of articles, Callendar claimed that Jefferson had lived with Hemings in France and that she had given birth to five of his children.
This story would plague Jefferson for the rest of his career. And although generations of historians shrugged off the story as part of Callendar's propaganda, DNA testing in 1998 showed a link between Hemings' descendants and the Jefferson family.
Just as truth persists, however, so does friendship. Twelve years after the vicious election of 1800, Adams and Jefferson began writing letters to each other and became friends again. They remained pen pals for the rest of their lives and passed away on the same day, July 4, 1826. It was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Incidentally, the last words of John Adams were, “Jefferson still lives,” which was not quite true as he died later that same day.
THE SON OF JOHN ADAMS, AN ELISTIST
John Adams lived long enough to see his son become president in 1825, but he died before John Quincy Adams lost the presidency to Andrew Jackson in 1828. Fortunately, that meant he didn't have to witness what many historians consider the nastiest contest in American history.
The slurs flew back and forth, with John Quincy Adams being labeled a pimp and an elitist, and Andrew Jackson's wife labeled nothing but a slut.
As the election progressed, editorials in the American newspapers read more like bathroom graffiti than political commentary. One paper reported that "General Jackson's mother was a common prostitute, brought to this country by the British soldiers! She afterward married a mulatto man, with whom she had several children, of which General Jackson is one!"
What got Americans so fired up? For one thing, many voters felt John Quincy Adams should never have been president in the first place. During the election of 1824, Jackson had won the popular vote but not the electoral vote, so the election was decided by the House of Representatives. Henry Clay, one of the other candidates running for president, threw his support behind Adams. To return the favor, Adams promptly made him Secretary of State. Jackson's supporters labeled it "The Corrupt Bargain" and spent the next four years calling Adams a usurper.
Beyond getting the short end of the electoral stick, Andrew Jackson managed to connect with voters via his background -- which couldn't have been more different than Adams'.
By the time John Quincy was 15, he'd traveled extensively in Europe, mastered several languages, and worked as a translator in the court of Catherine the Great.
RISE OF A TREE OUT OF THE WOODS
Meanwhile, Andrew Jackson had none of those privileges. By 15, he'd been kidnapped and beaten by British soldiers, orphaned, and left to fend for himself on the streets of South Carolina. He had practically no formal education, but had fought bravely in the American Revolution War as a teenager, where he saw his brother bludgeoned to death by a British soldier because he wouldn’t shine his boots.
The memory of that incident would stay with Andrew Jackson the rest of his life with a vile hatred of the British that found him in command of a ramshackle army of Tennessee volunteers at New Orleans in the War of 1812. Jackson’s army totally decimated the British army and navy exacting major casualties while suffering few American casualties.
Meanwhile, Andrew Jackson had none of those privileges. By 15, he'd been kidnapped and beaten by British soldiers, orphaned, and left to fend for himself on the streets of South Carolina. He had practically no formal education, but had fought bravely in the American Revolution War as a teenager, where he saw his brother bludgeoned to death by a British soldier because he wouldn’t shine his boots.
The memory of that incident would stay with Andrew Jackson the rest of his life with a vile hatred of the British that found him in command of a ramshackle army of Tennessee volunteers at New Orleans in the War of 1812. Jackson’s army totally decimated the British army and navy exacting major casualties while suffering few American casualties.
Jackson's leadership saved the young nation which historians have called “America’s Second War of Independence” (see “Union 1812” by A. J. Langguth, 2006; “Andrew Jackson: Miracle of New Orleans – The Battle that Shaped America’s Destiny,” by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger, 2017).
John Quincy Adams was a Harvard-educated diplomat from a prominent New England family. Andrew Jackson was a humble war hero from the rural South who'd never learned to spell or write well. On the other hand, he was the first presidential candidate in American history to sell himself as a man of the people, and the people loved him for that.
The common people, having been denied their candidate in 1824, the masses took to the polls for Jackson four years later. Although Jackson’s lack of education and political experience terrified many of Adams' supporters, their argument proved it didn't hold water for the throngs who lined up to cast their votes for "Old Hickory." Jackson, at six-two, thin as a rail and knotty and hard as the wood, would carry that simulacrum throughout his political career. Since Jackson's decisive presidential political victory, no presidential candidate has dared take a step toward the White House without first holding hands with the common man.
On the other hand, losing the 1828 election may have been the best thing to happen to John Quincy Adams. After sulking home to Massachusetts, Adams pulled himself together and ran for Congress, launching an epic phase of his career.
During his 17 years in the House of Representatives, Adams became an abolitionist hero, championing legislation to open the debate on slavery. And in 1841, he famously put his money where his mouth was, when he defended the 39 African captives aboard the slave ship Amistad before the U.S. Supreme Court. At a time when all but two of the justices were pro-slavery, Adams won his human rights plea.
Given these historical reflections, perhaps we should take a chill pill and recognize who and what we are, as well as how we have always been, and take pride in the fact that at times despite ourselves, we have managed to survive the weakest link in our chain of authority.
Thank you for your thoughtful reflections,
Jim
John Quincy Adams was a Harvard-educated diplomat from a prominent New England family. Andrew Jackson was a humble war hero from the rural South who'd never learned to spell or write well. On the other hand, he was the first presidential candidate in American history to sell himself as a man of the people, and the people loved him for that.
The common people, having been denied their candidate in 1824, the masses took to the polls for Jackson four years later. Although Jackson’s lack of education and political experience terrified many of Adams' supporters, their argument proved it didn't hold water for the throngs who lined up to cast their votes for "Old Hickory." Jackson, at six-two, thin as a rail and knotty and hard as the wood, would carry that simulacrum throughout his political career. Since Jackson's decisive presidential political victory, no presidential candidate has dared take a step toward the White House without first holding hands with the common man.
On the other hand, losing the 1828 election may have been the best thing to happen to John Quincy Adams. After sulking home to Massachusetts, Adams pulled himself together and ran for Congress, launching an epic phase of his career.
During his 17 years in the House of Representatives, Adams became an abolitionist hero, championing legislation to open the debate on slavery. And in 1841, he famously put his money where his mouth was, when he defended the 39 African captives aboard the slave ship Amistad before the U.S. Supreme Court. At a time when all but two of the justices were pro-slavery, Adams won his human rights plea.
Given these historical reflections, perhaps we should take a chill pill and recognize who and what we are, as well as how we have always been, and take pride in the fact that at times despite ourselves, we have managed to survive the weakest link in our chain of authority.
Thank you for your thoughtful reflections,
Jim
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