AMERICAN LION: Andrew Jackson in the White House
Jon Meacham
Random House
Biography
ISBN: 9781400063253
I’ve always had something of an affinity for Andrew Jackson. Perhaps it’s nothing more than the fact that we share a birthday (March 15th). Or maybe it’s because he’s generally regarded as one of the progenitors of the modern Democratic Party, of which I’ve been a member for almost 40 years. But now, after reading Newsweek editor Jon Meacham’s rich, gracefully written biography of our seventh president, I’ve discovered new reasons to admire this colorful and controversial leader for the decisive role he played in shaping the modern presidency in the midst of a turbulent period of American history.
Drawing upon a diverse and impressive array of sources, including letters in private hands for 175 years, Meacham (like Jackson a Tennessean) paints what he describes as “not a history of the Age of Jackson but a portrait of the man and of his complex relationships with the intimate circle that surrounded him as he transformed the presidency.” Born in humble circumstances and orphaned by the age of 14, Jackson rose to the pinnacle of power amidst the rude environment of the American frontier. He killed a man in a duel and was a ruthless military leader, whose victory over the British at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815 catapulted him to national prominence. After winning a plurality of the popular vote and then losing the 1824 election to John Quincy Adams in the House of Representatives, Jackson captured a decisive 56 percent majority in 1828.
Two dramatic political battles marked Jackson’s presidency: the conflict surrounding the nullification doctrine advanced by the state of South Carolina and its chief advocate John Calhoun (Jackson’s first-term Vice President), by which it claimed the right to reject laws passed by Congress, and the fight over the charter renewal of the Second Bank of the United States. Despite his belief in the principle of states’ rights and the desirability of a limited federal government, Jackson maintained an unshakeable determination to preserve the unity of the new nation. “Convinced that the Union should stand strong, with the people at its mystical center,” writes Meacham, “Jackson did not believe any amount of Southern sophistry --- as he would have seen it --- could destroy America.” In the case of the Bank, Jackson saw himself as “the embodiment of the people standing against entrenched interests” and prevailed in his effort to block the renewal of the Bank’s charter, enduring withering criticism and the formal censure of the Senate in the process.
Meacham connects Jackson in a straight line to Abraham Lincoln, the next great president after a forgettable string of eight, ranging from mediocre to abysmal (Van Buren to Buchanan). Indeed there’s even a link between the two, as Jackson named a 24-year-old Lincoln to the job of postmaster of New Salem, Illinois in 1833. Anyone not intimately familiar with the history of the Jackson era will come away from this account with an appreciation of the fact that had it not been for Jackson’s determination to quell the threat of Southern secession there may have been no Union left for Lincoln to preserve a generation later.
While his portrayal of Jackson clearly is sympathetic, Meacham makes no attempt to deify his subject. Jackson was a slave owner, “blinded by the prejudices of his age,” and never questioned the morality of that despicable practice. And he had no qualms about supporting the forced relocation of Native American tribes, culminating in the Cherokee “Trail of Tears,” in which nearly a quarter of the Cherokee Nation disappeared. These less attractive aspects of Jackson’s character are balanced against Meacham’s portrait of “Old Hickory” as a tender and attentive family man, dependent on his niece Emily Donelson, who served as White House hostess when Jackson’s wife Rachel died shortly after the 1828 election, and her husband Andrew, his political confidante.
“The idea and image of a strong president claiming a mandate from the voters to unite the nation and direct the affairs of the country from the White House took permanent root in the Age of Jackson,” Meacham concludes. Reading those words, it’s hard not to appreciate their relevance on the eve of a new presidential administration owing its victory, in large measure, to an extraordinary grassroots campaign. Thanks to this wise and nuanced portrait of Andrew Jackson, it’s possible to see the historical link between these eras, no matter how improbable the outcome might have appeared to Barack Obama’s predecessor of nearly two centuries ago.
--- Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg (mwn52@aol.com)
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