Apostles of Revolution

Jefferson, Paine, Monroe, and the Struggle Against the Old Order in America and Europe

John Ferling

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Year: 2018
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9781632862112
• Subtopic: Political Biographies
• Index: History

From acclaimed historian John Ferling, the story of Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and James Monroe's involvement in the American and French Revolutions and their quest for sweeping change in both America and Europe.
Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and James Monroe hazarded all in quest of revolutions. As founding fathers, they risked their lives and their liberty for American independence, and as reformers, each rejoiced at the opportunity to be part of the French Revolution, praying that it in turn would inspire others to sweep away Europe's monarchies and titled nobilities.
For these three men, real revolution would lead to substantive political and social alterations and an escape from royal and aristocratic rule. But as the eighteenth century unfolded, these three separated onto different routes to revolution—two became soldiers, two became writers, and two became statesmen—and their united cause but divided means reshaped their country and the Western world.
Apostles of Revolution spans a crucial time in Western Civilization. The era ranged from the American insurgency against Great Britain to the Declaration of Independence, from desperate engagements on American battlefields to the bloody Terror in France. It culminates with the tumultuous election of 1800, the outcome of which – according to Jefferson – saved the American Revolution.
Written as a sweeping narrative of a turbulent and pivotal era, Apostles of the Revolution captures the spirit of our founding fathers and the history of America and Europe's great turning point.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Dedication
• By the Same Author
• Title Page
• Contents
• Preface
• Prologue
• Chapter 1. “The Destinies of Life”: On the Road to Bigger Things
• Chapter 2. “The Birthday of a New World Is at Hand”: Revolutionaries
• Chapter 3. “These Are the Times That Try Men’s Souls”: Paine and Monroe Go To War
• Chapter 4. “Defending Our Fanes and Fire-Sides”: Winning the Revolutionary War
• Chapter 5. “The Times That Tried Men’s Souls, Are Over”: Peace and New Departures
• Chapter 6. “My Country Is the World”: Paine and the Early Years of the French Revolution
• Chapter 7. “Itching for Crowns, Coronets, and Mitres”: The Rise of Partisan Politics
• Chapter 8. “The Only Man Who Possessed the Confidence of the Whole”: Partisan America in a Predatory World
• Chapter 9. “I Relinquish Hope”: The French Revolution in France and America
• Chapter 10. “A Continued Scene of Horror”: Paine, Monroe, and the Luxembourg
• Chapter 11. “The Federalist Tide Is Strong”: Gloomy Years for the Apostles of Revolution
• Chapter 12. “The Reign of Witches”: The High Federalists Take Charge
• Chapter 13. “I Know of No Republic Except America”: Endgame
• Chapter 14. “Death Has No Terrors for Me”: Closing the Age of Paine
• Afterword
• Abbreviations
• Select Bibliography
• Notes
• Index
• Illustrations
• A Note on the Author
• Also Available from John Ferling
• Copyright