[laughter] andrew o'shaughnessy: and we said, we were. and he smiled with the particular grin and said, you are from east texas. [laughter] andrew o'shaughnessy: and my barber who used to work for me here, i used to go to the barber at the student union, and he would welcome me to the united states of texas. so this was my initiation into texas history. i always after that did visited the so-called texan embassy in london, which was actually a restaurant just off trafalgar square. it was not very good. [laughter] it is best to be a part of a federal union. so the election of 1800 is regarded as really the first in the modern history of the west, where power changed hands peacefully from one party to another. i thought, having grown up outside united states, this was undoubtedly wrong, because the british had elections and had had since the middle ages. it is actually true, certainly in the case of britain, that no government ever changed hands because of an election. a fifth of the members of the house of commons are chosen by the king. t

>> next on the presidency, andrew o'shaughnessy discovers the election of 1800 and thomas jefferson's peaceful resolution. he argues it was one of the most toxic in our history, and relied heavily on sheer campaigns -- smear campaigns against ehrenberg, thomas jefferson, and john adams. mr. a shaughnessy is the director of studies at the jefferson study at monticello. this event is one hour. >> and now, let me turn to why you are here this evening, which is not to discuss the 1968 thetion or gas crisis of 1970's, but rather the 1800 election with thomas jefferson, and to hear from a man who has been arguably one of the leading scholars of that most fascinating president of american figures. i speak of andrew o'shaughnessy, from the university of virginia, where he is also director of the international jefferson studies enter at the thomas jefferson foundation. -- center at the thomas jefferson foundation. we are truly honored to have them here this evening. he is the winner of innumerable prices. prizeorge washington book , and an award from the society of military history, among othe

. >> next on the presidency, andrew o'shaughnessy discovers the election of 1800 and thomas jefferson's peaceful resolution. he argues it was one of the most toxic in our history, and relied heavily on sheer campaigns -- smear campaigns against ehrenberg, thomas jefferson, and john adams. mr. a shaughnessy is the director of studies at the jefferson study at monticello. this event is one hour. >> and now, let me turn to why you are here this evening, which is not to discuss the 1968 thetion or gas crisis of 1970's, but rather the 1800 election with thomas jefferson, and to hear from a man who has been arguably one of the leading scholars of that most fascinating president