Federalists in Dissent

The Federalists of Jefferson's time have been described by historians as complainers and obstructionists. A very different picture evolves from this book, which the author calls "a reconsideration of American political conversation in the early national reriod."

Linda K. Kerber is May Brodbeck Professor in the Arts and Sciences and lecturer in the College of Law at the University of Iowa.

The Federalist thinking that Kerber explores helps to give greater depth to the more familiar history of Federalist politics, and, beyond that, she brings more of the country to life.

Students of the early American period, especially those with an interdisciplinary perspective, will be interested in Kerber's revision of the Federalists' image and encouraged by the volume and quality of the original material investigated.

Kerber argues that the distinction between Federalists and Jeffersonians was as much cultural as political.... The well-documented study is based on a wide reading of contemporary pamphlets, newspapers, and correspondence.

Convinced that the Federalists have not had a fair shake from Jefferson-worshipping historians, Linda K. Kerber has set out to refurbish their image by examining their rhetoric and ideology. Concentrating on the 'articulate Federalists' (mostly New Englanders) who published orations, essays, and satirical literature, she examines their attitudes toward the arts, science, education, law, and the contemporary American social order.... Her analysis will remain an indispensable introduction to Federalist thought.