Ebook: The great divide: the conflict between Washington and Jefferson that defined America, then and now

The man who lived dangerously -- The man who loved to legislate -- but hated to govern -- Should this constitution be ratified? -- The president and his partner begin making history -- The birth of an ideologue -- The president takes charge -- The secretary of state from Paris -- Mr. Jefferson wins a victory that he soon regrets -- From disagreements to the first divide -- When best-laid plans go wrong -- The president -- and the secretary of state -- make up their minds -- The problems of the secretary of state's Polar Star -- Can America remain neutral in a warring world? -- Challenging Old Man Washington -- The secretary of state calls it quits -- Shooting wars loom on several doorsteps -- Will whiskey rebels unravel the union? -- A master politician takes charge -- The end of three friendships -- A very political farewell -- Martha Washington sends a message -- The vice president as party boss -- The ultimate divide -- The death that changed everything -- The race to make the vice first -- The UnWashington president in his federal village -- How a mosquito rescued Thomas Jefferson's presidency -- An empire vs. a constitution -- The voters speak the language of praise -- The improbable failures of a triumphant second term -- The president vs. the chief justice -- The final defeat of an UnWashington president -- The transformation of James Madison.;"In the months after her husband's death, Martha Washington told several friends that the two worst days of her life were the day George died--and the day Thomas Jefferson came to Mount Vernon to offer his condolences. What could elicit such a strong reaction from the nation's original first lady? Though history tends to cast the early years of America in a glow of camaraderie, there were, in fact, many conflicts among the Founding Fathers--none more important than the one between George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. The chief disagreement between these former friends centered on the highest, most original public office created by the Constitutional Convention--the presidency. They also argued violently about the nation's foreign policy, the role of merchants and farmers in a republic, and the durability of the union itself. At the root of all these disagreements were two sharply different visions for the nation's future. Acclaimed historian Thomas Fleming examines how the differing temperaments and leadership styles of Washington and Jefferson shaped two opposing views of the presidency--and the nation. The clash between these two gifted men, both of whom cared deeply about the United States of America, profoundly influenced the next two centuries of America's history and resonates in the present day"--