Press Release: The American Revolution of 1800

How Jefferson Rescued Democracy from Tyranny and Faction and What This Means Today, Fortieth Anniversary Edition

"Through this deep dive into early U.S. history, Hartmann and Sisson draw our attention to a crucial distinction between a politics of ideas in search of liberty and prosperity for all and one centered on a factional competition for power." —David Korten, author, When Corporations Rule the World, and board chair, YES! Magazine.

In this brilliant historical classic, Dan Sisson argues that Thomas Jefferson thought democratic revolutions would be necessary from time to time to break the grip of autocratic factions on the government. That is how Jefferson saw the election of 1800—and the lessons for today couldn’t be more obvious.

With contributions by Thom Hartmann that bring out the book’s contemporary relevance, this fortieth-anniversary edition contains new insights and reflections on how Jefferson’s vision can help us in our own era of polarization, corruption, government overreach, and gridlock.

Most historians celebrate Jefferson’s victory over Adams in 1800 as the beginning of the two-party system, but Jefferson would have been horrified by this interpretation. Drawing on the understanding of faction, revolution, and conspiracy reflected in the writings of the Founders, Sisson makes it clear that they, like Jefferson, envisioned essentially a nonparty state.

Dan Sisson is an adjunct faculty member at Eastern Washington University and teaches the history of technology in the Engineering Department. He is currently living in a nearly full-sized replica of Jefferson’s Monticello he built himself near Ford, Washington. 

Thom Hartmann is a progressive talk-show host whose radio and television shows are available in over a half-billion homes. He’s a four-time Project Censored award winner and a New York Times bestselling author of twenty-four books, most recently, The Crash of 2016.

For more information please contact:
Katie Sheehan: [email protected]
Matt Fagaly: [email protected]