Jon Meacham, who was born in Chattanooga and graduated
from the University of the South, is clearly an admirer of fellow Tennessean
Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States and the first to
come from the frontier. American Lion:Andrew Jackson in the White House, Meacham’s 2009 biography of Jackson, is not
biased, however, and clearly presents both the virtues and vices of the man who
considered himself “the people’s President.”
Americans in the early 18th century were
looking for heroes and they found one in the orphaned boy who rose to
prominence and influence as a military leader and planter. Meacham’s theme is that this orphan who never
knew his own father and lost his mother at an early age saw himself as a father
to the American people. With no children
of his own, he had become a father by adoption to several young people and fulfilled
that role to a number of his wife Rachel’s nieces and nephews. When he became President, he saw himself as
the patriarch of a nation that often needed a stern hand to manage its affairs
and keep it together.
Jackson is depicted as a man who stood for the rights of the
common citizen but Meacham acknowledges that, at the same time, he accepted
slavery (and owned slaves) and that he denied protection to Native
Americans. Jackson killed the National
Bank’s monopoly that hampered the nation’s economy and faced down a potential
rebellion led by South Carolina, but he was often mercurial in his choice of
advisors and did nothing to prevent the Trail of Tears that led to the death of
over 4000 Cherokees.
Some of the problems that faced Jackson seem strangely
contemporary—a troubled economy, a bank “too big to fail”, challenges from
foreign powers, even sexual scandals among his associates. He seems to be the first President who
understood the importance of media and established a newspaper friendly to his
causes.
A practicing Episcopalian, Meacham gives particular
attention to Jackson’s faith journey. As
a young man, Jackson was exposed to the teachings of the Presbyterian Church
and seems to have acquired a great deal of biblical knowledge. He did not join the church, however, and
endeavored to honor the “wall of separation between church and state” during
his presidency. Only after he left the
White House did he have a “conversion experience” and acknowledge his adherence
to the Christian faith. To the amazement
of many, he lived eight years after leaving the White House. On his death bed, family and slaves gathered
around and heard his testimony and his belief that all of them, including the
slaves, would be together in Heaven.
When a visitor came to the Hermitage after Jackson’s
death, he asked a slave if he thought that his deceased master was in
Heaven. The slave is said to have
responded, “If the General wanted to go to Heaven, who could stop him?”
A complex man, Jackson helped to redefine the Presidency
in ways that we now take for granted. He
was a transformative leader because he knew how to be transactional, according
to Meacham. He really was “the people’s
President.”
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