It was considered unseemly to seek votes or speak ill of the opposition. In a pamphlet titled, “The Prospect Before Us,” the Scottish immigrant described Adams as a “hideous hermaphroditical character, which has neither the force and firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman.” (For his trouble, Callender would eventually be convicted of violating the Sedition Act and jailed, only to be freed when Jefferson took office.)Ĭandidates in this era operated under both social and statutory constraints. In American politics in those early days, the parties were less important and the candidates didn’t campaign much in person, mostly allowing partisan allies and hired hands to do the dirty work.Īnd there was none more foul than Jeffersonian hatchet man James T. The first race of the new century was a rematch of the 1796 contest, pitting President John Adams, a Federalist, against Thomas Jefferson. Republican President Thomas Jefferson and his predecessor, Federalist President John Adams Getty Images As if nothing today has ever happened before.”ġ800: ‘That hideous hermaphroditical character’ “I have to laugh, when I’m not weeping, at the utter abysmal ignorance of the way that politics and the history of politics is often reported. “The machinations, the backstabbing, the hideous caricatures and slurs were just devastating,” historian Joan Waugh told CNN. The contests of the 19th century routinely descended into cesspools of public deviance, racism, and religious and personal slander. Presidential candidates, their campaigns and supporters have been slinging mud since the Founding Fathers were jockeying for power in the aftermath of the revolution. Clinton too has shown a willingness to blitz Trump – though in less graphic terms – during speeches and interviews on the trail.īut does the current election season represent a new low in American politics? History says no – and a group of historians interviewed by CNN agree.Įxhibit A: “That hideous hermaphroditical character, which has neither the force and firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman.”Įxhibit B: “Around him, as the candidate for the highest office in the gift of the people, the most corrupt, the most designing and the most dangerous of the community rally.”Įxhibit C: “We are Republicans, and don’t propose to leave our party and identify ourselves with the party whose antecedents have been rum, Romanism, and rebellion.” The 2016 race has been notably nasty, with Trump assuming the attack dog role campaigns have traditionally outsourced to running mates and surly surrogates. As Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton prepare to square off Monday night in their first debate, the expectations are clear: Political bloodsport in primetime.
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