The Jeffersonians The visionary presidencies of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe

Historian Gutzman (Thomas Jefferson--Revolutionary) chronicles the American presidency from 1801 through 1825 in this well-informed if meandering study. Recounting the presidencies of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe, the so-called "Virginia Dynasty," Gutzman documents the highs and lows of each administration. He covers major historical events including the Whiskey Rebellion, the New England secessionist plot of 1804, the 1819 financial panic, and the Louisiana Purchase, and argues that Britain's attacks on Washington, D.C., and Baltimore in the War of 1812 exposed the fault in Republicans' insistence that "little money or effort needed to be expended in maintaining America's defenses." Gutzman draws sharp profiles of the era's leading politicians and military figures, including Aaron Burr and Andrew Jackson, and stuffs the narrative with informed reflections on the personality traits of his main subjects ("a faulty speaker before a large assemblage, Jefferson shone at the dinner table") and their families (James Madison's wife, Dolley, had a "phantasmagorical wardrobe"). The details intrigue, but Gutzman covers well-trod ground, and his thesis often gets lost amid the anecdotes. This history needs a sharper focus. (Nov.)

A historian of early Constitutional history, Gutzman (Thomas Jefferson--Revolutionary; James Madison and the Making of America) recounts the history of the presidencies of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe (two terms each, totaling six consecutive terms). He argues that this is a distinctive American history period. An admirer of Jefferson, he perceives the third president's philosophy to be a constant and fundamental presence in all three administrations during this 24-year era of peaceful foreign relationships, frugality in government, a small military, and limited government as prescribed by the Constitution. The author is especially interested in the important early decisions of the Supreme Court such as Marbury v. Madison, which he argues paved the way for the U.S. centralized national government, not what he believes a literal and very strict reading of the Constitution would dictate. VERDICT This book will appeal to readers of early 18th-century American history, Jefferson, and Constitutional history.--Mark Jones

A long, insightful look at three Founder presidents. Before Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, America's only consecutive trio of two-term presidents were Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, a fact of no significance except to trivia buffs, but that earlier "Virginia dynasty" has proved irresistible to scholars. History professor Gutzman, who has written biographies of both Jefferson and Madison, describes their administrations, which extended from 1801 to 1825, a period during which Jefferson's Republican Party (radical for the time) drove the Washington-inspired Federalists to extinction, governed a one-party nation for a few years, and then retreated as a more numerous and democratic electorate came to dominate. Despite America's spectacular expansion during this period, Gutzman (and most modern historians) does not give any of its three administrations high marks. Jefferson peaked during the Revolution with the Declaration of Independence and his 1777 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, but his conduct as president won America little respect in the dog-eat-dog world of the Napoleonic Wars. Relying on moral suasion and trade embargos to fend off outrages from Britain and France proved disastrous, and he left office under a cloud. Madison, Jefferson's closest friend, more scholarly and perhaps more politically astute, labored under the disadvantage of playing second fiddle for more than 20 years. Lacking Jefferson's charisma and continuing his unwise policies--especially his fierce government frugality--left the U.S. unprepared for the War of 1812. Unlike most historians, Gutzman gives Monroe equal time. Hardly a scholar but an experienced politician, he was president during eight postwar years, dealing unimaginatively but not disastrously with several looming problems, including slavery, banking, and the loose cannon that was Andrew Jackson. Political histories are rarely page-turners, but Gutzman, clearly a scholar who has read everything on his subjects, writes lively prose and displays a refreshingly opinionated eye for a huge cast of characters and their often unfortunate actions. Outstanding historical writing. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.