Passion and Principle

Sally Denton read from her book Passion and Principle: John and Jessie Fremont, the Couple Whose Power, Politics, and Love Shaped Nineteenth-Century America, published by Bloomsbury USA. She described the lives of John and Jessie Fremont, a nineteenth-century political power couple. John Fremont, 1813-1890, was the first Republican candidate for the U.S. presidency and was defeated by James Buchanan in 1856. Aside from his national political aspirations John Fremont played a key role in the westward expansion of the United States and was a traveling partner of Kit Carson. Jessie Fremont, 1824-1902, was the daughter of Senator Thomas Hart Benton, a Democrat from Missouri who was a political adviser who assisted her husband in his presidential campaign. After her presentation the author responded to audience members' questions. close