The first presidential contest: 1796 and the founding of American democracy

Introduction : the unintentional campaign

A new republic and its discontents

Popular politics in a postcolonial nation

The Jay Treaty crisis and the origins of the 1796 campaign

From measures to "that man" : toward the presidential option for political change

The long goodbye : finding candidates in the shadow of Washington

The first culture war : themes and issues of the Federalist campaign against Thomas Jefferson

His rotundity : themes and issues of the democratic-republican campaign against John Adams

Taking the electoral college to school : how presidential electors helped create the national presidential election rather than preventing it

The party racers : voting for president in 1796

Epilogue : kiss my ass and go to Hell.