By all accounts the election of 1800 was a nasty affair, bitterly contested in the press and in the pulpit. Both sides made religion a key issue and both stooped to tatics that even many modern policitos would wince at. On July 15, 2008, Edward Larson, author of A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, spoke at Monticello on the role religion played in the campaigns. In this excerpt, he highlights some of the arguments, from the clever to the absurd, each side published in the months prior to the election. (Originally presented as part of the Monticello Evening Conversation Series. Excerpt added to Monticello Podcasts on August 22, 2008. Approx. 11 min.)
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