Americans in the Early Republic did some strange things. One of those was sending presidents blocks of cheese. Not 16-oz. blocks like you find in grocery stores today, but ones that weighed hundreds of pounds. For example, in 1801, a group of Cheshire, Massachusetts, women gave Thomas Jefferson a 1,200-lb. block of cheese "as 'a … Continue reading Andrew Jackson’s Mammoth Cheese
If You Think the 2010 Political Season Was Nasty . . .
Be glad you didn't live during the presidential campaign of 1800:
Annette Gordon-Reed and the Jefferson-Hemings Relationship
Early Republic historian Annette Gordon-Reed was recently named a MacArthur Fellow, which awards $500,000 over five years for the pursuit of creative endeavors, no strings attached. Gordon-Reed, of course, is familiar to Early Republic historians and the general public for her work on the Thomas Jefferson-Sally Hemings relationship and the Hemings family, discussed in a Gilder … Continue reading Annette Gordon-Reed and the Jefferson-Hemings Relationship
Review of Annette Gordon-Reed’s The Hemingses of Monticello
While chatting with my former student, Chris Tucker, at TCH last weekend, I asked him if he would be willing to let me cross-post a review of Annette Gordon-Reed's The Hemingses of Monticello that he posted on his own blog. He graciously gave me permission. Annette Gordon-Reed’s The Hemingses of Monticello examines the state of affairs in eighteenth century … Continue reading Review of Annette Gordon-Reed’s The Hemingses of Monticello
The Early Republic’s Beautiful People
Two of them, apparently, were John Tyler's wives (HT to @kevindmccann). Tyler wasn't a bad-looking guy, but one 2007 report had two Early Republic presidents in the top five "hottest" U.S. presidents: Thomas Jefferson and Franklin Pierce. Obama might have knocked one of them out of the top five by now, but even one Early Republic … Continue reading The Early Republic’s Beautiful People
Jacksonian America: Society, Personality, and Politics 