A Magnificent Catastrophe Summary
A Magnificent Catastrophe
The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America’s First Presidential Campaign With the recent election of 2016, I have began to wonder if the political process of electing the nation’s president has always been so divided, ugly, and absolutely chaotic. I wondered if politicians have always been so corrupt and belligerent, and I wondered if there have been more elections where our nation has been forced to pick the lesser of two evils (unless, of course, you felt strongly for one candidate or the other which can be very troubling to imagine when presented with the character and decisions of the last two candidates). Author of A Magnificent Catastrophe, Edward J. Larson, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, wildly illustrates …show more content…
Larson writes “They could write like angels and scheme like demons” (pg. 1). Two men who were once such great friends had no remorse when turning their backs on each other and doing everything in their power to make sure the other would not succeed in the election of 1800. Scheming took over the election and I’m left to wonder, towards the end of the campaign, how much of their time was spent working towards bettering the nation and how much was spent planning their next big attack on their fellow candidate. This quote truly made me realize that our politicians today aren’t so different from the highly esteemed men who created this country. While our country is face with different issues than those of the late 1700’s and early 1800’s, human nature did not recently awaken in mankind; we still struggle with a lust for power and control. Perhaps, the misconception that politicians have become progressively worse over time stems from the fact that in the 1800’s there was not technology to loudly and instantaneously display each and every deceitful thing a politician does in order to further themselves, their career, and their campaign. Perhaps dishonesty has always been a common characteristic of
The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America’s First Presidential Campaign With the recent election of 2016, I have began to wonder if the political process of electing the nation’s president has always been so divided, ugly, and absolutely chaotic. I wondered if politicians have always been so corrupt and belligerent, and I wondered if there have been more elections where our nation has been forced to pick the lesser of two evils (unless, of course, you felt strongly for one candidate or the other which can be very troubling to imagine when presented with the character and decisions of the last two candidates). Author of A Magnificent Catastrophe, Edward J. Larson, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, wildly illustrates …show more content…
Larson writes “They could write like angels and scheme like demons” (pg. 1). Two men who were once such great friends had no remorse when turning their backs on each other and doing everything in their power to make sure the other would not succeed in the election of 1800. Scheming took over the election and I’m left to wonder, towards the end of the campaign, how much of their time was spent working towards bettering the nation and how much was spent planning their next big attack on their fellow candidate. This quote truly made me realize that our politicians today aren’t so different from the highly esteemed men who created this country. While our country is face with different issues than those of the late 1700’s and early 1800’s, human nature did not recently awaken in mankind; we still struggle with a lust for power and control. Perhaps, the misconception that politicians have become progressively worse over time stems from the fact that in the 1800’s there was not technology to loudly and instantaneously display each and every deceitful thing a politician does in order to further themselves, their career, and their campaign. Perhaps dishonesty has always been a common characteristic of