Synopses & Reviews
The first United States Congress was in session and George Washington had just completed his first year as president when a sudden threat struck his office. It became clear that his two top aidesSecretary of State Thomas Jefferson and Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamiltonwere starting a deadly feud. Their views of the country's future were appallingly different. Jefferson and his closest friend, James Madison, father of the Constitution, wanted the old thirteen states to keep many of their former powers while Hamilton insisted that the federal government be supreme. As new plans for the growing nation were being made, Jefferson and Madison opposed Hamilton's daring proposals at every turn. Washington warned them that their feud put the country in danger of collapsing. Jefferson was at the lowest point of his life, fighting headaches and depression. Could anything prevent these former Revolutionary allies from destroying the fledgling republic they had worked so hard to create? Yes! One very small, very perfect dinner party.
In Dinner at Mr. Jefferson's, you'll discover a little-known and fascinating event in American history that settled two issues that inflamed the nation in a single compromise. The rapid results that flowed from this two-part agreement would bring the great American expansion to come. You'll meet three of the nation's most famous founding fathers, each already revered for his role in the Revolution and the founding of the Republic, and each a close adviser to President Washington: Thomas Jefferson, freshly arrived from Paris after five years as ambassador to France and newly installed as America's first secretary of state; James Madison, Jefferson's former protégé and best friend, the driving force of the Constitutional Convention, now a member of Congress and an important unofficial member of the administration; and finally, Alexander Hamilton, war hero, Washington's favorite, and collaborator with Madison in writing the Federalist papers. Officially the secretary of the treasury, Hamilton was quietly involved in foreign affairs as well. Now Madison and Jefferson feared that he intended to turn the president into a king and appoint himself as Washington's successor.
Author Charles Cerami offers insightful explanations of the issues that nearly tore the young nation apart and explains how Jefferson's years in Paris had shown him the role fine wines and delicious food could play in easing tense moments in difficult negotiations. Cerami's dazzling account of this elegant evening comes complete with detailed descriptions of the wines served and each course of the dinnerincluding recipes.
It is impossible to imagine what America would have become without the often reluctant cooperation of these three great leaders. Dinner at Mr. Jefferson's offers a rare glimpse into the unique and unheralded evening that made that cooperation possible. It offers delightful and compelling reading for anyone interested in American history, politics, fine dining, or all of the above.
Review
* ""Cerami wittily recounts the evening in rich detail, embracing the culinary details as well as the larger story of President Washington's quarrelsome cabinet, the evolution of the dual party system, and Jefferson's emergence as a persuasive national leader."" (
Library Journal, February 1, 2008)
It was 1790, and Thomas Jefferson and one of his dinner guests, James Madison, were determined to work out a political compromise critical to the nations future with their third dinner companion (and political opponent), Alexander Hamilton. This gathering around Jeffersons celebrated table involved nothing less than the creation of the young nations finances, foreign relations and the eventual location of its capital. The dinners results? An agreement that, Congress willing, the new government would assume the states war debts, issue bonds to fund the national debt and make the Potomacs banks the capitals permanent site. Congress agreed. Cerami (Jeffersons Great Gamble) presents a fast-paced narrative of an event well-known but never told so brightly—nor at such unnecessary length. While Cerami puts the dinner-table agreement at his storys center, it was but one of a number of seismic events, acts and decisions of the 1790s. Cerami slights many of those when hes not giving us too much detail about other minor ones, such as Jeffersons cooking recipes and a short disquisition (and a long document) on Hamiltons role in the Coast Guards founding. Compression would have made this inherently fascinating story pack the punch it should. (Feb.) (Publishers Weekly, October 22, 2007)
Review
"Cerami wittily recounts the evening in rich detail, embracing the culinary details as well as the larger story of President Washington's quarrelsome cabinet, the evolution of the dual party system, and Jefferson's emergence as a persuasive national leader." (
Library Journal, February 1, 2008)
It was 1790, and Thomas Jefferson and one of his dinner guests, James Madison, were determined to work out a political compromise critical to the nation’s future with their third dinner companion (and political opponent), Alexander Hamilton. This gathering around Jefferson’s celebrated table involved nothing less than the creation of the young nation’s finances, foreign relations and the eventual location of its capital. The dinner’s results? An agreement that, Congress willing, the new government would assume the states’ war debts, issue bonds to fund the national debt and make the Potomac’s banks the capital’s permanent site. Congress agreed. Cerami (Jefferson’s Great Gamble) presents a fast-paced narrative of an event well-known but never told so brightly—nor at such unnecessary length. While Cerami puts the dinner-table agreement at his story’s center, it was but one of a number of seismic events, acts and decisions of the 1790s. Cerami slights many of those when he’s not giving us too much detail about other minor ones, such as Jefferson’s cooking recipes and a short disquisition (and a long document) on Hamilton’s role in the Coast Guard’s founding. Compression would have made this inherently fascinating story pack the punch it should. (Feb.) (Publishers Weekly, October 22, 2007)
Synopsis
The Meal That Saved The RepublicOnly two guests were invited to what was arguably the most elegant, sumptuous, and important dinner party that Thomas Jefferson ever hosted. Each course was prepared and laid out in advance so that no servants would enter the dining room to disrupt conversation and overhear random remarks, which they might later repeat to others. Privacy was imperative. Jefferson believed that the very future of the United States of America depended on convincing Alexander Hamilton to agree to a compromise he and Madison were proposing on two surging issues that threatened to tear the young republic apart.
Plying his guests with fine wine and exquisite cuisine that only a former ambassador to France could provide, Jefferson set the stage for a compromise that enabled the federal government to pay its debts, both domestic and foreign, and make the American dollar "as good as gold."
In Dinner at Mr. Jefferson's, you'll discover the little-known story behind this pivotal evening in American history, complete with wine lists, recipes, and wonderful illustrations of 1790s New York, then the nation's capital. It is a feast not to be missed for lovers of American history, fine dining, and a compelling true story well told.
Synopsis
The Meal That Saved The RepublicOnly two guests were invited to what was arguably the most elegant, sumptuous, and important dinner party that Thomas Jefferson ever hosted. Each course was prepared and laid out in advance so that no servants would enter the dining room to disrupt conversation and overhear random remarks, which they might later repeat to others. Privacy was imperative. Jefferson believed that the very future of the United States of America depended on convincing Alexander Hamilton to agree to a compromise he and Madison were proposing on two surging issues that threatened to tear the young republic apart.
Plying his guests with fine wine and exquisite cuisine that only a former ambassador to France could provide, Jefferson set the stage for a compromise that enabled the federal government to pay its debts, both domestic and foreign, and make the American dollar "as good as gold."
In Dinner at Mr. Jefferson's, you'll discover the little-known story behind this pivotal evening in American history, complete with wine lists, recipes, and wonderful illustrations of 1790s New York, then the nation's capital. It is a feast not to be missed for lovers of American history, fine dining, and a compelling true story well told.
Synopsis
The Constitution was two years old and the United States was in serious danger. Bitter political rivalry between former allies and two surging issues that inflamed the nation led to grim talk of breaking up the union. Then a single great evening achieved compromises that led to America's great expansion. This book celebrates Thomas Jefferson and his two guests, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, and the meal that saved the republic. In Dinner at Mr. Jefferson's, you'll discover the little-known story behind this pivotal evening in American history, complete with wine lists, recipes, and more.
Synopsis
The Constitution was two years old and the United States was in serious danger. Bitter political rivalry between former allies and two surging issues that inflamed the nation led to grim talk of breaking up the union. Then a single great evening achieved compromises that led to America's great expansion. This book celebrates Thomas Jefferson and his two guests, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, and the meal that saved the republic. In Dinner at Mr. Jefferson's, you'll discover the little-known story behind this pivotal evening in American history, complete with wine lists, recipes, and more.
About the Author
Charles A. Cerami is the author of several popular histories, including the New York Times extended bestseller Jefferson's Great Gamble, Young Patriots, Benjamin Banneker, and ten other books. He was formerly the foreign affairs editor at the Kiplinger Washington Editors, where he oversaw international subjects for the company's half-dozen weekly publications as well as for Changing Times. His articles have been published in the Atlantic Monthly, Playboy, the New York Times, and Foreign Policy.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments.
Introduction.
1 Before the Clash.
2 An Old Friend’s Bombshell.
3 The Mounting Anger.
4 The Radical Conservative.
5 Aggressive Lobbying.
6 Thoughts of Breaking Up.
7 Jefferson’s Awakening.
8 A Country without a Capital.
9 Doubters and Believers.
10 Nearing a Decision on the Capital.
11 That Day on the Street.
12 Dinner at Secretary Jefferson’s.
13 The Philadelphia Story.
14 Doubts Settled, Doubts Revived.
15 Hamilton the Unstoppable?
16 Before the Fall.
17 From Brilliance to Disaster.
18 The Disappearing Cabinet.
19 One Heart and One Mind.
20 The Jefferson Factor.
Appendix A: Recipes from Monticello’s Kitchen.
Appendix B: Alexander Hamilton’s Letter to New Coast Guard Officers.
Notes.
Bibliography.
Index.