Click on the player below to listen to the podcast talk or read CW's live blogging with Ed Larson.

Click here to save the part one mp3 to your computer. Part two here. Audio courtesy of the Glamour Bar. Sound recording by Tom Lee Pettersen at Meta Music Media.

Part One

Part Two

6:32 | A Letter from the President Larson received a handwritten letter on White House stationery from President George W. Bush who, apparently, identified with Jefferson (the winner, of course). "He ran out of room on the page and the lines kept getting smaller and smaller as he got closer to the bottom of paper and even curled up on the side a bit so that he'd have room left over to sign 'George W. Bush' at the bottom!"

6:25 | Campaigning in the 1800s Did the candidates in the 1800s actively campaign? Yes. First, the newspapers. Before, there was little news other than shipping and merchant news, but during the campaign both parties actively created newspapers--federalist and democratic, possibly even two or three--which would come out daily or weekly. "It presented the news, ALL the news, but had a very partisan slant," says Larson. The stories were picked up and run by different newspapers in different states. Second, there were think committees and town committees that would actively campaign, distributing candidates' speeches and so on. Third, speeches and direct comments. Adams, apparently, liked to talk, so he got "on the stump" when he began to fall behind, actively speaking and campaigning. Jefferson, on the other hand, was apparently a brilliant writer but terrible speaker. Both candidates would also write letters, statements, commentaries and such that would be published and distributed by their supporters.

6:19 | The Nature of the System Says Larson, "It's like pounding a square peg in a round hole. Finally they got it in there and I don't think they'll ever get it out!"

6:12 | Is it a Different World? The British system is very different from the current American system which was, of course, the grounding which the colonies were moving away from. "It's the American system today that's inflexible," says Larson. "Basically the only reason America is one of the few countries in the world with a two party system is because the electoral college requires you to get a majority which essentially necessitates a two-party system." Larson says the system was never intended to be an avenue of democracy, it was intended to be used to elect governments within districts, not nationwide. The district leaders would then go and elect the president and there was never supposed to be a nationwide election. But, "it's very difficult to change the Constitution," says Larson, and as the system is intricately tied to it, they're essentially stuck with it. But currently, "little states get disproportionate power and Republicans get disproportionate power. it's a relic from the past. The U.S. senate--America's supposed to be the land of democracy--is the most malapportioned legislature in the entire world."

6:07 | Undercurrents The religion vs. state debate played a large role in the election in the 1800s (Jefferson vs. Adams--Godfaring vs. Atheist) and Larson feels that this remains a very strong undercurrent in the current election. People fear the establishment of a state church and the use of the power of office to tackle social issues with a strong religious significance--gay marriage, abortion, Islamism, etc. "Who decides how far the government can go on these issues is the Supreme Court," says Larson. "The democrats will try to wear religion on their sleeves while on the other side McCain will distance himself as far as he can (and hopefully not lose the evangelical vote in the process) but will distance himself." Basically, both sides will kowtow to the religious sentiments of the populace by playing their religious tendencies up or down to reach a religious middle ground anonymity of sorts. Question answered in full, got it. Thanks prof.

6:03 | Consummate Professor We're still on the answer to the previous question ... the professor is very thorough.

5:54 | Church vs. State Then "This has always been a major issue in America," says Larson. The U.S., springing from European nations which always had a strong tie between church and state, was playing off the tradition that it was founded off of. Some of the U.S. colonies / states approached it differently. Some were bounded strongly in that tradition (like Virginia or Massachussettes) while others did not (such as Rhode Island). Immediately after the formation of the republic, the battle began. "The Federalists tended to be strong supporters of the church at the state level while the democrats tended to support the disestablishment of church." The Federalists felt that the church was a fundamental foundation of the civil order--"ordered liberty," vs. the simple "liberty" favored by the democrats. 1947 was the first time that the Supreme Court reinterpreted the Constitution to apply to the state level, not just the national level, meaning the individual states could no longer simply do whatever they wanted.

5:52 | Ode to University We're strongly reminded of the U.S. history course we never took in university. The professor is swiftly covering the evolution of American political history. Thankfully, there's no test afterward. We hope.

5:42 | Chop off his Head! During the reading, Larson, in a bit about France (the other nation which claims to have brought fraternite, liberte and egalite to the world--any wonder that these two self-proclaimed beacons of light of life, liberty and democracy have an ongoing rivalry?) pronounces the word guillotine like "gill-o-teen." Sorry, as intermediaries in the French language, we can tell you that the proper pronunciation is "gee-yo-teen" as a double L in French turns into a Y sound. But then, of course, thanks to the achievements of France and America, Larson is free to pronounce guillotine any way he wants. Hurray for freedom of speech.

5:33 | A Detailed Reading Larson reads a selection of his piece to the assembled audience. We're reminded of Christopher Koch's earlier statements that not many authors seemed to be doing readings at the festival. It seems Larson is trying to make up for this.

5:28 | The First Republic Larson sets up his approach to the session saying he will read some section of his work, then open for questions later. He begins with a statement that, as the first modern republic, the U.S. had to figure out its own form of government--from scratch. It developed a two party system. His book, A Magnificent Catastrophe is on the formation of this two-party system.

5:23 | Welcome The Deputy Consul General of the U.S. Consulate introduces Edward J. Larson and begins with a quote from the NY Times, saying that "The election doesn't have to be boring." Says Larson, "I didn't know it was, but it could be in comparison to the election of 1800."