Ron Chernow, writing of "The Feuding Fathers," in the Wall Street Journal, says
. . . there was nothing genteel about politics at the nation's outset. For sheer verbal savagery, the founding era may have surpassed anything seen today. Despite their erudition, integrity, and philosophical genius, the founders were fiery men who expressed their beliefs with unusual vehemence. . . People who spearhead revolutions tend to be outspoken and courageous, spurred on by a keen taste for combat. After sharpening their verbal skills hurling polemics against the British Crown, the founding generation then directed those energies against each other during the tumultuous first decade of the federal government. The passions of a revolution cannot simply be turned off like a spigot.
In a sidebar, Chernow gives some examples:
Alexander Hamilton on Thomas Jefferson: - "He is not scrupulous about the means of success, nor very mindful of truth, and... he is a contemptible hypocrite."
John Adams on Alexander Hamilton: "The bastard brat of a Scotch pedlar."
Read the article for the horrible things said about President George Washington. Historical perspective deepens our understanding of human behavior and political passions.