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Presents a biography of Andrew Jackson ... Read more

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Perfect for the Age Group
My son (age 8) is slightly obsessed with American presidents right now so we have done our fair share of reading on this subject. Some of the books are full of information, but difficult to slog through because of how 'dry' they are. Some are written in an exciting way but a little too light on the facts. This book was a perfect mixture of information and age appropriate humor. My son has enjoyed this book more than any of the other President biographies he has read. He especially loved the cartoons and laughed out loud several times. He also learned a good amount of information about Andrew Jackson, including the things that history sometimes likes to gloss over (Indian Removal Act). I was pleased and my son was very pleased. I hope our library has more of this series, and if they don't, I might just have to get the entire collection myself. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (16)

Good reading, with one quibble...
Willentz did a good job of putting aside his personal political views in writing about Jackson, and he truly showed how Jackson defied any definition in context of the current political parties. The prose was easy to read, and he nicely encapsulated in 166 pages the complex work of an American President who was larger than life. The minor quibble: his assertion that Jackson was not pro slavery per se. I see his point that Jackson was trying to keep the union together and was at times harsh with the South. But I find it hard to define someone who owned slaves as not pro slavery. It's one thing to put a historical figure in the context of his/her time, and another to try to create a construct that doesn't pass the smell test.

That aside, I would recommmend this book as a worthy addition to the series, which overall has been excellent.

The Tale Of Old Hickory
The American Presidents series turns in another interesting, well-written installment!

In this book, written by Sean Wilentz, all the relevent areas of Andrew Jackson (U.S. President #7) as both man and political figure are touched on, including:

-His somewhat unsteady value system that championed the rights of the "little man" yet saw little problem looking the other way (like all Presidents before him) when it came to confronting the practice of slavery.

-His epic battles against the National Banks, which will give the yeoman economist a much better understanding of the American currency system thanks to Wilentz's easy explanation of rather complicated events.

-His exploits in the military, where he made a name for himself (and quite an explosive reputation as well).

-Also, three other major issues that cropped up during (or as a result of) his administration: the nullifiers uprising, slavery, and America's westward expansion.

You truly don't have to be a Presidential expert to enjoy this book, as it perfectly walks that fine line between thorough, easy explanation and information pertinent enough to actually learn about Jackson and his time period.After reading, it makes me want to continue on my journey through the Presidents!

Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was and is a controversial character in the United States.Some people love him and some people hate him.This book does a wonderful job of discussing some main events that shaped Jackson's life and presidency.This book sticks to Andrew Jackson and does not explain the histories of many things that are included in the text.It assumes that the reader has a basic understanding of some major American historical moments.For example, the war of 1812, the second bank of the United States, the panic of 1819, some of the assimilation policies for Native Americans, etcetera.The author is somewhat biased; he tries to stick to the facts yet tends to defend Jackson on some of his major controversial policies.Overall this book is a good read and will definitely give an accurate account of Andrew Jackson.

Jackson and democracy (4.25*s)
This compact book is a very insightful look at the controversies and complexities of Andrew Jackson and his Presidency. His early standing in life and his personality are certainly unique when compared to all prior Presidents: very impoverished background, his family all dead by his fifteenth birthday, no education to speak of, a tendency towards violence and revenge, a fierce and headstrong military leader, etc. The American Revolution supposedly elevated the common man to be the foundation of the nation (We the People), yet the American aristocracy ruled until Jackson's broad appeal got him elected in 1828. By far the most interesting aspect of this book is the contemplation of Jackson and his connection to democracy. Did the people rule during his Presidency? Did he enhance democracy? Or was he a demagogue, steering his own course under the pretence of following the people's will?

The author outlines the key currents that ran through Jackson's Presidency. First of all, he was a fierce nationalist. No issue could be permitted to undermine the Union and he dealt with them accordingly: sectionalism, nullification, abolitionism, Congressional petitions, incendiary mail delivered to the South, and the like. His antipathy towards privilege was expressed in his purge of officials in the upper layers of government and in his Bank wars: not renewing the charter and the removal federal government deposits. Closely tied to his dislike of moneyed elites was his fixation on western expansion, which he saw as economic opportunity for the little guy: Jefferson's "empire of liberty. " His summary and harsh removal of Indians all across the South and his fixation on annexing the Mexican state of Texas were justified in these terms.

Jackson was a believer in the concept of popular sovereignty, in other words, majority rule. Since Congressmen were directly elected within small districts, Jackson held that his nationwide election established him as the true embodiment of the people's will. Virtually by definition, his actions as President expressed the desire of the majority. Prior to his Presidency, the assumption was that Congress was the superior part of the federal government. But Jackson overrode Congress repeatedly with his use of the veto power, little used before his Presidency. His veto of state-level internal improvements was especially vexing to proponents of Henry Clay's American system.

The author explores the contradictions and soundness of some of Jackson's policies. While the lack of governmental control of Nicholas Biddle's Bank of the United States was without doubt inconsistent with democracy, Jackson's handling of the entire banking situation created havoc in the economy for years, including a severe depression in 1837 after he left office. Jackson's notion of who belonged to the political community was highly limited. Rights of participation did not apply to Indians, slaves, and women. As a consequence, expansionism and the denunciation of abolitionism overlooked brutal Indian removal and full support of slavery. He viewed abolitionists as political opportunists with no real concern for slavery. His policies were consistent with the position that he should represent the views, if not prejudices, of the majority of white men. His exclusions and policies kept the lid on severe social cracks and regional differences for a few years, before it all exploded in the 1850s and led to the Civil War.

The author touches on attempts to understand Jackson in terms of the modern concepts of liberal and conservative. Neither label really works. Jackson's extreme dislike for economic elites would put him in disfavor with modern conservatives. His exclusion of minorities would hardly endear him to modern liberals. The activists of Jackson's time, that is the social reformers, invariably were found in the Whig Party, not the Democracy. The democracy that Jackson supported was theoretical and procedural, not consisting of activists desirous of including all Americans and struggling for change. Note the complete flip flop of party philosophies in our time.

While the author sees the contradictions and controversies surrounding Jackson, he gives Jackson much credit as being the first President to represent the will of the people as he defined them and to encourage rightful beliefs in popular sovereignty. But Jackson's simplistic views of democracy in the face of the developments of territorial expansion, the extension of slavery, and immigration proved woefully inadequate only a few years after he left office. The formation of the Liberty Party, the Free-Soilers, the Know-Nothings, and the Republicans and the demise of the Whigs and the recasting of the Democracy reflected the highly contentious nature of American understandings that began in Jackson's time and continued to the Civil War. Jackson did reshape the Presidency. But clearly he demonstrates that there are limits to policies of containment of core issues and to precipitous actions, even in the name of the people.

Populist Andrew Jackson leads the country.
Another interesting read in the American Presidents series.For the most part, these books are insightful on how we view our past Presidents.Jackson was a populist with some views on how the country should be run.Unfortunately he was also a slave owner and drove the Indians past the Mississippi River.Present day views on both actions are negative.However, Jackson combated the elistist element in American society and opened up politics to the more common man.

This is a nice read about Jackson.Some present books are even better, but this short read will bring the basics on Jackson to a reader. ... Read more

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The Seventh President of the United States ... Read more

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Most people vaguely imagine Andrew Jackson as a jaunty warrior and a man of the people, but he was much more—a man just as complex and controversial as Jefferson or Lincoln.Now, with the first major reinterpretation of his life in a generation, historian Andrew Burstein brings back Jackson with all his audacity and hot-tempered rhetoric.

The unabashedly aggressive Jackson came of age in the Carolinas during the American Revolution, migrating to Tennessee after he was orphaned at the age of fourteen.Little more than a poorly educated frontier bully when he first opened his public career, he was possessed of a controlling sense of honor that would lead him into more than one duel.As a lover, he fled to Spanish Mississippi with his wife-to-be before she was divorced.Yet when he was declared a national hero upon his stunning victory at the Battle of New Orleans, Jackson suddenly found the presidency within his grasp.How this brash frontiersman took Washington by storm makes a fascinating story, and Burstein tells it thoughtfully and expertly.In the process he reveals why Jackson was so fiercely loved (and fiercely hated) by the American people, and how his presidency came to shape the young country’s character.


From the Trade Paperback edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

The Jacksonian warmongering spirit of vendetta
Historical masculinity vs. Contemporary Masculinity
Is it the triumph of intellectual rationality over ruffian physicality, or a Jacksonian warmongering spirit of vendetta?

By Brian D'Ambrosio

Spring is rife with emotionally ebullience. It's the ideal season to explore the depths and probe the unobstructed boundaries of intrinsic behaviors, all while thawing out from the long, frostily cold vagaries of winter's character consuming frigidity. Is there a better time of the year for calmness, prudence, self-analysis, and perhaps even self-deprecation? Being a history buff I tend to stock up on political biographies during the winter months, and through Andrew Jackson (1767-1845: 7th President of the U.S. 1829-1837), I've once again come face to face with the elemental problem of resolving - or at least broaching - the somewhat amorphous (and perhaps therefore indefinable) subject of true masculinity.

The manliest president of all-time has got to be Andrew Jackson: he had lured away another man's wife and took her as his own; he relished killing and unapologetically engaged in dueling; he invaded Florida without constitutional consent; patriotic to a fault, he had ordered the deaths of insubordinate American militiamen during the War of 1812. Fiery, rebellious, fiercely patriarchal, he, as one contemporary catalogued, "did not like or dislike people; he loved them or hated them." Herein references the problem: Is Andrew Jackson a correct, defensible masculine model? If so, this presupposes the inherently violent, dastardly, nature of masculinity.

Jackson was a man of unwavering principles, "an irascible man easily angered, a man who held back little." Jacksonian principle, according to Andrew Burstein, author of The Passions of Andrew Jackson, was as simple as it was ironclad: to be the object of slander was worse than death, for, in his eyes, mortality preserved "good character," and a "good heritage" descended to one's children; calumny left one alive, but "a living monument to disgrace," and only transferred "infamy" to one's surviving family members. Indeed, any comment that challenged his thinking, judgment, or sensibilities, he deemed to be an affront to his masculinity. A duel was the honorable and "gentlemanly" way to settle such disputes, the ultimate recourse to mend wounded pride.

Was masculinity the duel itself, or was it the courageousness of a participant to show up and fight until the bitter end? Is pure masculinity brisk, mature judgment, sophistication of taste, keenness of thought, and lucidity of reasoning - intellectual discernment rather than ruffian physicality?Or is manliness the use of force to repel or displace those considered suspicious, ill-fated enemies - Spanish, British, and Indian? Is it the brutish implementation of this force?Is it a fistfight, a duel, or the knowledge of exotic wines? Eloquent pen? Or mighty sword? In Jacksonian America, "enemies were a necessary stimulus."

Then perhaps residual Jacksonian masculinity, when applied to modern variables, is the end result, the bottom line stats, the final score of a football game. We won. They lost. Or vice versa. Perhaps modern masculinity is the emotion wrought from the engagement of such a contest, the way it felt to fumble or flub away a seemingly insurmountable lead.

In these times, for a man to be a rightful, sincere man, he needs to delicately and sensibly commingle the very best characteristics of enduring masculinity with the emerging senses of newfound masculinity. The residually masculine part of my character wishes that I could have been a goon in the National Hockey League, dropping the gloves and engaging in fistic discord against opponents of equal prowess - night after night, shift after shift. It's the part of me that loves the beautiful brutality of boxing, doesn't like to be outpaced on hiking trails, cares about the way I look, and casts aspersions on the unfriendly, or, at times, unfamiliar.

This appealing, cultivating, present day masculinity wonders how it feels to be one of those boxers' wives, ruminates about the physical, emotional and natural interconnectedness derived through hiking, and scarcely cusses. It's the part that flosses teeth and steams vegetables. This masculinity appears more concerned with emotional appeals to reason than spite-filled vitriol, and realizes that self-improvement cannot be static.

Toward the end of his life, Jackson, remained as blunt, tempestuous, explicit, and opinionated as he had been when only a young man, failing to outgrow the advocacy of violent masculinity to decide personal quarrels. As Burstein puts it, even at advanced age, "He was not given to reflection, but he maintained sturdy principles of conduct, that, in his mind, never steered him wrong."

Perhaps this is the greatest failure of the defiant nature of Jacksonian language and its rigidly principled masculinity: it failed to see past exaggerated pride and bloated ego, and remained stuck in the frontier impulses and obligations typical of its day. It was incapable of seeing problems. It did not allow for the free exchange of ideas. It did not learn from reading, nor did it aim to improve its self-worth through the acquisition of new knowledge.

Modern masculinity should make a conscience decision to at least attempt to conduct itself in a manner most antithetical to such misbegotten notions of valor and pride. It should draw strength and justification from a specific American tradition that stresses economic mobility, political action, and industrious work habits as the foundation of individual dignity and manliness of character.

Indeed, contemporary masculinity should continue to learn from - as well as struggle to avoid through recognition - the pitfalls of the antiquated and unstable ingredients of Jacksonian moral fury.

THE PASSIONS OF........ANDREW BURSTEIN
BOY, TALK ABOUT DECONTEXTUALIZED HISTORY!ANDREW JACKSON WAS A RACIST-AS OPPOSED TO WHO IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY ON PLANET EARTH!HE DEFENDED HIS PERSONAL HONOR-YOU MEAN LIKE HAMILTON AND BURR?HE SUBJECTED THE INDIANS TO BRUTAL EXPULSIONS-LIKE THE INDIANS DID TO US(ON OCCASION)AND TO EACH OTHER.HE ONLY BELIEVED IN DEMOCRACY FOR WHITE MEN(WELL,AT LEAST!).HE WAS FARTHER AHEAD ON THAT ISSUE THAN GEORGE WASHINGTON,JOHN ADAMS AND ALEXANDER HAMILTON(NOT TO MENTION KING GEORGE III)!THE THING ABOUT OLD HICKORY WAS THAT HE WAS IMPLACABLE IN DEFENSE OF HIS COUNTRY AND HIMSELF(GOD FORBID!)AND CLAWED HIS WAY FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE SOCIAL ORDER TO THE TOP WITH NARY A BY YOUR LEAVE TO THE SOCIAL ELITE OF THE TIME(GOD BLESS AMERICA!).AND ISN'T THAT REALLY MR. BURSTEIN'S HANG-UP? THE COMMON FOLK MAKING THEIR OWN WAY WITHOUT THE PERMISSION OF ELITE IVORY TOWER SOCIAL ARBITERS LIKE HIMSELF?!NOT THAT I HAVE AN OPINION.

An interesting viewpoint
I found this book to be a very interesting if unflattering take on Andrew Jackson. The title is revealing-this book is primarily intersted in what made Jackson tick. This isn't done with new age psychoanalysis but by looking behind the actions Jackson took. Thus there is considerable time spent on Jackson's duels, physical confrontations and his political battles. Because of this there may be an imbalance in the book towards the negative actions Jackson took-such as his duels, disregard for military or political authority and his actions towards even his allies among the native americans. However the book makes it clear that it was these very traits that made him the General and President that he was. For a more positive and comprehensive book on Jackson read Brands book. Beter yet read them both.

The perfect biography for me
If you are looking for a biography that takes you inside the head of the man, explains what makes him tick and how he managed his personal life and career, in as few pages as possible, this is it. If you want a thousand pages of historical broken-glass-studded factoids raked over your eyeballs in excruciatingly slow motion, look elsewhere. Personally, I prefer the former style of bio. The 325 pages read as 225. When I had finished I felt like I really knew Jackson, his relationships, and what about him contributed to his achievements. By contrast, I reached the same point after a mere 700 pages of D'Este's Eisenhower bio - which spared me from having to read the last 165 pages!

Hit and Miss
This book will surely enlighten those that want to learn more about Andrew Jackson. It does however glaze over a few of the mans more notorious deeds. There was barely a page devoted to the forced relocation of the Cherrokee and other tribes of indians that lived East of the Missippi. Today this would have been a crime against humanity and it led to the Trail of Tears which is one of the more humiliating parts of American history. Nothing at all was mentioned of the fact that this was done with the Supreme Court saying that such an action was unacceptable. The subject of the closure of the National Banks could have done with some more discussion as well. The book did give the reader a bit of a look into the "What was he thinking?" question that most modern minds are led to ask when thinking of some of the actions of Gen. Jackson.
It's shortcomings aside, I am glad to have read it as it is a good look into an all too often forgotten time of American history. ... Read more

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History of Andrew Jackson, pioneer, patriot, soldier, politician, president (1904) ... Read more

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America's first "popular" President, a young Andrew Jackson is dramatized at the moment he defends his and his wife's honor in a duel which results in a life-long untreatable wound. Friends and colleagues cannot allay his outrage and his need for "satisfaction." Jackson sees himself as a man of the people and his actions speak to the frontier sensibilities of an expanding America. ... Read more

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The Frontier President
For one whose hazy memory of Jackson from a mandatory American history college course is limited to the wild party that followed his inauguration, Lorraine Ash's one-act play serves to introduce me to the frontiersman who would be inaugurated as the seventh president 23 years later. The setting and the time frame is one day at the Jacksons' log home, The Hermitage, that culminates in his victory of a duel precipitated by his opponent's spreading of gossip related to Jackson's marriage to his beloved wife Rachel.

Through dialogue and physical description, Ash paints a word picture of the man as an opportunist, as a man proud of his ability to speak with his fists and his gun rather than with words, as a man who stoically endured and recovered from a series of illnesses and injuries, as the first man of the common people and the Democratic party to be elected president. Jackson's voluble denunciation of American Indians and the British gives present day readers a vivid impression of popular sentiments common among the "new" Americans of the early 1800s.

Ash follows the script with a section that summarizes headlines for the period of Jackson's two terms of office and another section that summarizes his personal history. These two sections greatly enhance the value of the script for the student and for the casual reader; they pack a wealth of history in a few pages.

Pauline Ellen Lee, EdD ... Read more

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State of the Union Address by Andrew Jackson

Here it is, the State of the Union Address. Every president makes them.

Kids need a quick and easy school report, trying reading these in class.

Need a quote to spruce up any report or presentation then this is for you.



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Henry Clay (1777-1852) was an American statesman from Kentucky. He served as Speaker of the House of Representatives, a U.S. Senator, and Secretary of State. In this speech of April 30, 1834, Clay severely criticized President Andrew Jackson.

... Read more

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This historical volume is from 1900 and is a biography on Andrew Jackson.

CONTENTS

I.The Waxhaws and the Wilderness
II.Congress: The Bench: The Mlitia
III.Tohopeka and Pensacola
IV.New Orleans
V.The Seminoles and the Politicians
VI.The White House


... Read more

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Best Quotations ofAndrew Jackson, "Old Hickory," Seventh President of the United States, Born 1767, died 1845. ... Read more

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This is a biography of President Andrew Jackson that was part of a series of books written in the 1800's about Presidents and other leaders. These "True" biographies tried to paint a picture of the human side of these historic figures. Here's how the book is described in the preface:

"To repeat what has already been said elsewhere, here
is an attempt to make a picture in words of a man;
to exhibit a personality; to show that personality in
touch with its human environment ; to declare
what manner of man was he whose name is on the
title-page.

Not to chronicle events, therefore, but to describe
a being ; not to write a history of the time, but to
give an impression of a period associated with its
dominant personal force, has been my task. "

... Read more

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Dear Reader:

The Childhood of Famous Americans series, seventy years old in 2002, chronicles the early years of famous American men and women in an accessible manner. Each book is faithful in spirit to the values and experiences that influenced the person's development. History is fleshed out with fictionalized details, and conversations have been added to make the stories come alive to today's reader, but every reasonable effort has been made to make the stories consistent with the events, ethics, and character of their subjects.

These books reaffirm the importance of our American heritage. We hope you learn to love the heroes and heroines who helped shape this great country. And by doing so, we hope you also develop a lasting love for the nation that gave them the opportunity to make their dreams come true. It will do the same for you.

Happy Reading!

The Editors ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Book
I purchased this book for my 10 year old grandson; however, when looking it over before I gave it to him I was impressed. ... Read more

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This book was written in the 1880s. It's a well done biography of the 7th and 8th Presidents. The author wrote this about this addition to a series of books:

"Written so as to interest all readers, especially young people, and designed to be strictly accurate and valuable, and to give the results of the latest research.

The intention is to make it the Standard series of its class."

... Read more

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Andrew Jackson, his intimate circle of friends, and his tumultuous times are at the heart of this remarkable book about the man who rose from nothing to create the modern presidency. Beloved and hated, venerated and reviled, Andrew Jackson was an orphan who fought his way to the pinnacle of power, bending the nation to his will in the cause of democracy. Jackson’s election in 1828 ushered in a new and lasting era in which the people, not distant elites, were the guiding force in American politics. Democracy made its stand in the Jackson years, and he gave voice to the hopes and the fears of a restless, changing nation facing challenging times at home and threats abroad. To tell the saga of Jackson’s presidency, acclaimed author Jon Meacham goes inside the Jackson White House. Drawing on newly discovered family letters and papers, he details the human drama–the family, the women, and the inner circle of advisers–that shaped Jackson’s private world through years of storm and victory.

One of our most significant yet dimly recalled presidents, Jackson was a battle-hardened warrior, the founder of the Democratic Party, and the architect of the presidency as we know it. His story is one of violence, sex, courage, and tragedy. With his powerful persona, his evident bravery, and his mystical connection to the people, Jackson moved the White House from the periphery of government to the center of national action, articulating a vision of change that challenged entrenched interests to heed the popular will–or face his formidable wrath. The greatest of the presidents who have followed Jackson in the White House–from Lincoln to Theodore Roosevelt to FDR to Truman–have found inspiration in his example, and virtue in his vision.

Jackson was the most contradictory of men. The architect of the removal of Indians from their native lands, he was warmly sentimental and risked everything to give more power to ordinary citizens. He was, in short, a lot like his country: alternately kind and vicious, brilliant and blind; and a man who fought a lifelong war to keep the republic safe–no matter what it took.

Jon Meacham in American Lion has delivered the definitive human portrait of a pivotal president who forever changed the American presidency–and America itself.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (210)

Careful!You're going to feel like you're in a dissertation
A good read if you're interested in a peek at the inside of the first people's presidency. Think Gossip Girl meets the American Presidency, but be careful. You're going to feel, at times, like you're inside a dissertation.

Not exactly what I was expecting but still an interesting read
Not only did this book tend to focus on the author's interpretations on Jackson's inner most feelings based on pure speculation, it also focused on what the author dubbed Jackson's "inner circle" to the point where in certain chapters of the book, Jackson himself did not even seem to be the main topic.

With that being said, it was still a fun read and a very unique way to tell the story of the Jackson era.

Entertainment Tonight
Criteria for book reviews span quite an ocean of thought, but there are certainly standards to which we all must agree.One of those standards is "truth in advertising."Upon purchasing this tome, I truly believed I would be reading an eminent historian's view on the Jackson administration and ideas on nullification, the national bank, slavery, sectionalism, and other
relative topics.

Instead I was confronted with a book mostly concerned with the social life of Washington during the Jackson years.I was so sorry to have heard Peggy Eaton's name by the time I finished this.
My goodness, would Meacham have just called this "Margaret Eaton and her exploits during the Jacksonian era?"Yes other topics were explored, but Meacham seems to have assumed the role as reporter from "Entertainment Tonight" in Jacksonian America.

So please, the author is a superb wordsmith and spins a great tale.
The scholarship here is imaculate.I just expected something different. I expected history, not gossip, inuendos, and games.
I hope Meacham has a great career.So talented and gifted.But next time try to find a better title and try to address issues related to the title.

Horrible Overseas Customer Service ! ! !
Ordered this book with Amazon ... had a question about the pricing of my order and received an "oversea" customer service department.The call quality was horrible. the individual did not overlly understand my issue and kept calling Ma'am when I am a male. Corrected him and he apologized by saying "Sorry Ma'am".Very disappointed in Amazon's customer service department ! ! !Would seriously consider using another ordering website when ordering items now and during the holidays. Asked the gentleman if there was someone in the States who could assist me and he said no "It was all overseas" ....

Boring
I'm not much of a fan of early 19th century history, but this book got glowing reviews (the Pulitzer, no less!), so I put this on my Christmas list.A year and a half later, I am still trying to slog through it.Meachem just couldn't capture my attention.It's hard to imagine how he manages to make Andrew Jackson boring, but he does. ... Read more

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From a childhood steeped in poverty, violence, and patriotic pride, Andrew Jackson rose to the heights of celebrity and power. The first popularly elected president, he won admiration by fighting corruption, championing the common man, shaping the power of the executive office, and preserving the fragile union of the young United States.
Yet Jackson's ruthless pursuit of what he believed to be "progress" left indelible stains on the nation's conscience: broken treaties and the Trail of Tears are among Old Hickory's darker legacies.
Vivid detail and unflinching analysis characterize Albert Marrin's fascinating rendering of the adventurous life, painful complexity, and continuing controversy that define the Age of Jackson. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Marrin does it again!
Albert Marrin should have stayed in junior high as a teacher.That way maybe we would have a lot more history lovers in America!Since he chose another career path, I am very happy that he continues to write for young people (now more kids can learn to love history!).
As usual, Marrin does an excellent job not only of presenting an memorable character, but explaining the events surrounding his life.I would not recommend this book for younger than at least 7th or 8th grade, but I would recommend it even for adults who want a readable, clear explanation of Old Hickory and his times!Thanks again Mr. Marrin!

Vivid, unbiased history
While I have heard great things about Albert Marrin's books, this is the one and only so far that I have read. But yes, it is true: Albert Marrin is a fantastic author and historian who presents the good and bad of this controversial president come alive for young adult readers--or anyone else that would read this.

First off, it's a great-looking book, which is pretty much why I wanted it in the first place. Marrin organized everything very well, showing the different phases of Old Hickorie's life and then his policies. There are plenty of labeled drawings to add a little bit extra to the present discussion.

I especially liked how Marrin approached the subject of Andrew Jackson. While this president was certainly beloved by many people, it's quite possible that he would have been completely despised today save by those our society already completely despises. Simply put, he was a racist, one who put whites above everyone else, namely blacks and Native Americans. He was against the abolitionists and this was the guy who inniated the infamous Cherokee "Trail of Tears."

And yet Jackson was pretty much a product of his time and that is all anyone can do about it, whether we liked his views or not. Despite this abhorencies, Jackson did plenty of good, plenty of shaping of the new nation.

Even though it is clear that Marrin hated many aspects of Andrew Jackson he did appreciate many others. Jackson was a champion of the common people and believed that it was their liberty he was elected to preserve. That shows, for good and bad, all throughout this book.

It's well-written and well-researched, and Marrin is careful not to take sides. ... Read more

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United States presidential inauguration. Oath of office of the President of the United States, Inaugural ceremony prayers (US presidential), Inauguration, First inauguration of Andrew Jackson, January 20, 2005 counter- inaugural protest, Inauguration of Barack Obama, State of the Union address, United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (15)

Hold the hero worship
Robert Remini is no doubt one of the most celebrated Jacksonian scholars, and his profound admiration of the seventh president is well known.Any informed reader coming to this book will expect excellent scholarship and a deep pro-Jackson bent.But this book goes beyond "positive press" into the realm of hero worship.It is smooth and easy to read; a good choice, perhaps, if you are dreading having to read a history book.Just understand that there are divergent opinions about General Jackson.So, for instance, where Remini shakes his head in wonder at his "sharp contrasts, angular twists, and sudden turns" in his personality, another would suggest there is an easier way to understand this man:a leader of men, a man of fine physical courage, but at the end of the day a warlord; a man who weighed decisions by his own ambitions and sense of right, hang what any man (or document) may say; a demagogue, and easy prey for the likes of Martin Van Buren.We are also reminded through this book that Remini wrote it 45 years ago, and the viewpoints of a more Euro-centric America show. For instance:during the First Seminole War, the Seminole Indians fled to Spanish Florida in the belief that they were safe from Jackson in Spanish territory.Jackson interprets the event like this: "When the Indians heard they had been turned over to the tender mercies of Andrew Jackson, they fled in terror . . . To the red men all Jackson needed to do was simply point at them and they perished where they stood."Sigh . . .

Another Remini Masterpiece
I have read several of this author's works, and have never been disappointed. It is easy to see why he has become an acknowledged expert on the "Age of Jackson." His writing is always very easy to digest, and his insights are illuminating. I highly recommend this book, and the audio version is equally enjoyable.

Interesting book.
We had to read this book in my AP U.S. History class.It is good.My theory on the reason why Remini wrote this book was to explain why Jackson did the things he did like the duels and make up for them.I never realized how interesting the presidents were espically Jackson.Good book to read.

Setting The Record Straight: Remini, Jackson and the Spoils System
Few Americans have won the mythical status enjoyed by Andrew Jackson.Often portrayed, in his day and since, as the champion of the common man, Jackson came to Washington as an outsider, the first President born outside the thirteen original states, indeed the first president born neither in Virginia nor Massachusetts. Throughout Jackson historiography, Jackson via his policy of `rotation' in office has been accused of instituting the spoils system in American politics. This criticism highlights how Whig myths have come to permeate the historical writing on this subject.

Starting with James Parton in 1860, anti-Jackson historians have followed this criticism, blaming Jackson for replacing a supposed merit system with a partisanship that corrupted the civil service for generations. Despite further research since Jackson's time, many historians have uncritically repeated these accusations without examining the actual record of appointments during the presidency unhappily described by some as "The Reign of Andrew Jackson".

There have been essentially four cycles of studies into the life and Presidency of Andrew Jackson. The first cycle began soon after the death of Jackson with the "liberal patrician" or "Whig" school, who were generally unfavourable towards the policy of rotation. Most familiar is James Parton's classic The "Life of Andrew Jackson". So critical of rotation was Parton that he stated "this single feature of his administration would suffice to render it deplorable rather than admirable."Other members of the "Whig" school include Sumner, Schouler and Von Holst, all very critical of Jackson's policy of rotation. Parton's biography was the standard source on the Jacksonian era, until the second cycle represented by the Progressive Historians, such as John Spencer Bassett's "The Life of Andrew Jackson (1911), which cast Jackson in somewhat of a different light. Bassett reduces the amount of blame put on Jackson for rotation by suggesting that his democratic views made him oblivious to unintentional dangers from partisan appointments. However, the Progressives shared with the Whigs the view that Jackson had brought a spoils system to national politics and that its effects were negative.

Historians in the third cycle of Jacksonian studies, of which Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.'s "The Age of Jackson" (1945) served as a pivotal work, shifted attention away from Jackson himself towards larger forces in his era. Historians of the third cycle, such as Hofstadter and Hammond, debated the effects of class and culture in determining party differenceswhile showing little interest in evaluating Jackson's rotation policy, though tending to criticise it briefly.No biographies of Jackson discussed the policy of rotation in depth during the next thirty years.

The appearance of Robert V. Remini's three-volume biography of Jackson marked the start of the fourth cycle of interpretation. Based on modern scholarship, Remini covers all aspects of Jackson's life and career, demonstrating his contribution to the great developments of nineteenth century America, particularly empire, freedom and democracy. By returning to first hand sources, Remini shows that the policy of rotation in office has been exaggerated and misunderstood. However, having set himself the remarkable task of producing a thorough study of the life and Presidency of Jackson, Remini did not have the scope for a detailed re-interpretation and re-evaluation of rotation. Since Remini's work there have been many scholarly works on Jackson, but none offer an in-depth reassessment of rotation as touched upon by Remini.

Remini states that Jackson has received a disproportionate share of the blame for the spoils system and that there is a need to disprove the Whig myths, which have come to permeate the historical writings of historians over the generations.Remini was not the first to stress the need for such a revision; in fact a similar plea was expressed by J.R. Poinsett in the "Oration on the life and character of Andrew Jackson, delivered July 4, 1845" when he stated about Jackson, "His instinctive love of justice... gave a high tone to his government and exalted the honor of his country. His hatred of corruption rendered his administration pure.... I will content myself with expressing my belief that in future time the impartial historian will justify both his motives and his conduct on this trying occasion.

Remini offers the reader a great insight into the pioneering mind of one of America's greatest Presidents.


[The above Review is taken in part from 'Andrew Jackson's policy of 'Rotation in Office' by Alexander Rayden. © Copyright 2005 Alexander Rayden, All Rights Reserved].

Snatching Democracy from the Jaws of Oligarchy
Few American presidents could be said to have left such a distinctive mark on the office and the nation as Andrew Jackson.Even as Jackson's legend fades into the mists of the past, we owe it to ourselves to reach back and draw it up into the light of honor accorded such giants as Washington, Lincoln and FDR, because Jackson was a figure of equal stature.One way to accomplish this is to read Robert V. Remini's concise history entitled simply Andrew Jackson, a quick, yet surprisingly thorough chronicling of Jackson's many achievements as president, politician, general and pivotal figure in the establishment and settlement of the state of Tennessee.

What makes Jackson so interesting is the way his checkered past shaped the trajectory of his Presidency.Decades before Lincoln, he was the first president to be born into rustic circumstances and rise above them to achieve greatness, but unlike Lincoln, his story is not that of a paragon of virtue overcoming adversity with folksy charm and wit.Jackson was a bully, an adulterer, a blowhard and a holder of grudges, character flaws that he eventually reshaped to his advantage, and to that of the nation's.

Humiliated and wounded as a boy during the Revolution, Jackson carried a lethal grudge against the British that eventually got its airing during the War of 1812 when he commanded US forces in the Battle of New Orleans and won a lopsided victory that sent a stinging message to the rest of the world about the folly of underestimating America's determination to defend its sovereignty.

It made him a hero and launched his political career, an enterprise that might have been merely interesting were it not for Jackson's staunch determination to take the smug creatures of privilege in Washington by the scruff of their collective neck and teach them a stern lesson about whose country it really was.By 1828 the nation was already in danger of being sold out to the highest bidder and Jackson rose to power on the promise of snatching Democracy from the jaws of Oligarchy.Remini's speculates that, in some measure, this came from Jackson's early experience after having been ripped off in a land deal by moneyed interests.

In any case, Jackson was as good as his word, going after the all powerful National Bank with a vengeance, staring down the threat of secession on the part of South Carolina over a question of tariffs, and defeating formidable political foes with equal helpings of restraint and ferocity.Jackson helped found the state of Tennessee, was instrumental in the establishment of the Democratic Party, virtually invented modern campaigning, was the first president to wield the veto with brio, and elevated the office of the Presidency to its present formidable role.But Jackson's most lasting contribution was his faith in and reliance on the people, even after he'd been elected, a true Democrat of a type almost entirely missing today and one not likely to be resurrected any time soon.

Remini is a comprehensive Jackson scholar, one whose works on the Hero of New Orleans number eleven.This book is more or less an abridged version of his longer work and represents a cherry picking of facts and reflections.Regrettably, the book favors facts over reflections which is unfortunate, because one would like to know more about Remini's interpretations of events.But if you want to pick up a basic understanding of Andrew Jackson and his importance to American history this book is a wonderful start.

Jackson's parting words on leaving office were, "Remember, my fellow citizens, that eternal vigilance by the people is the price of liberty, and that you must pay the price if you wish to secure the blessing."What politician would ever say that today?

That Jackson is increasingly forgotten when discussing the great Presidents of our history says something, too, about our ability to retain the blessing for future generations.
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