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Pepperdine Law London Program Hosts Professor Ed Larson

The Pepperdine Law School London Program will host Pulitzer Prize Winner and the Hugh and Hazel Darling Professor of Law, Edward J. Larson, for a lecture titled, "Adams, Jefferson, and the Emergence of the American Two Party System: An Election Year Retrospective." The lecture will be held in the Albemarle Room of the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, at 7 p.m. on July 24.

Dean Ken Starr will introduce the lecture. E-mail Noel Paasch or call +44 (0)7986 787056 with questions or to RSVP.

Larson's newest book, A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential Campaign, has received wide critical acclaim from Publishers Weekly, The New York Times Book Review, and The Wall Street Journal, among others. The book tells the story of the closest-ever presidential election, which pushed our democracy to the brink of breakdown and transformed our politics forever.

A Magnificent Catastrophe recounts how the rivalry and vitriol between the Federalists and the Republicans in the emergence of the 19th century surpassed the competitive nature of even today's political climate. The Federalists would stop at almost nothing to retain power and preserve their vision of America in the face of radical Republicanism, wielding the Alien and Sedition Acts to shutter opposition newspapers, creating a domestic army, and agitating for launching a war with France. Republicans countered by tarring Adams and the Federalists as monarchists who would destroy American democracy. Due to Jefferson's unyielding support of the French Revolution, the Federalists raised the specter of the horrifying reign of terror unfolding at that time and the threat of its spread to America.

The election of 1800 ushered in the party system, drawing the lines of partisan battle that would reshape our politics, while also preserving the institution of democracy. In his account, Larson tells the story of this epic election battle that was so influential to the future of American democracy that Thomas Jefferson deemed it "the second American revolution."

The Pepperdine Law School London Program
Pepperdine University School of Law's London Program, now in its 27th year, gives students the unique experience of studying law in the birthplace of the common law. Courses are offered during both summer and fall semesters, and students have the opportunity to take classes from full-time Pepperdine professors, British barristers and solicitors, and American lawyers practicing in London. Students gain valuable experiences outside the classroom as well, such as competing in moot court competitions against English students from the Inns of Court.

The program attracts distinguished guest professors such as Antonin Scalia, associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, who taught Constitutional Law: Federalist Understanding in the summer of 2007, and Dean Ken Starr, who is teaching Constitutional Law Federal-State Powers this summer. The program is fully approved by the American Bar Association. Visit the Pepperdine Law School London Program here.