Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson

Book Summary/Contents

Andrew Jackson, in the author's words, was "mild, polite, polished, benevolent, and democratic." It would not be in anyone's favor to question the validity of the his words, but to understand them with unrestrained faith in those words will help to insure complete insight into the book. Moreover, this book stresses the immortal fact that Jackson's private life had as much irony and agony as his political/outside life did. With those factors understood,

Jackson's life and the times he lived in, will become clear to all.

The important point to understand about most things in this world is the nature of their origins, Andrew Jackson is no different. Born with no idea as to what his father looks like, Andrew Jackson Jr., third son from Elizabeth and

Andrew Jackson Sr., will be raised at the home of Elizabeth's sister and brother-in-law, the Crawfords in the state of South Carolina. Andrew Jackson Sr. descended from a long line Ulster families that were thrown out of Ireland, seeking refuge in the United States, made their home in South Carolina. Jackson

Sr., dying suddenly before his son's birth, left Andrew to grow up without a male parental figure. Living in the Crawfords gave young Andrew little rewards; he was given very little schooling of basic reading, writing, and figuring. So, how, in fact, does a man that receives less education than the average American at that time, not to mention the likes of John Adams or Thomas Jefferson, be, in the many historians minds, greater than Adams or Jefferson? The long answer to that question will start when "Andy" as the young, and slim Jackson is called, attains to the age of 13.

The year was 1780, British troops had taken South Carolina, Andy's oldest brother had joined the American regiment fighting in their home town, but died due to heat exhaustion in battle. At the sight of his deceased brother Hugh,

Jackson joins the army as a mounted messenger. After the fighting halted, both

Andrew Jackson and his brother Robert (who had also joined the American army by now) went back home to the Crawfords. Even though official battles had been temporarily stopped, the "civil war" raged on as Patriots fought Tories in the towns of South Carolina, catching young Andrew Jackson in the midst of the fight.

In one bloody encounter, ...

... middle of paper ...

...s Calhoun states, "The whole trouble with the Cherokees, …, was precisely their progress in civilization." Jackson, whom sometime ago made treaties and talked of peace with the "5 civilized tribes" of the Southeast, is now driving the Cherokees out of land that the "white, middle-classed" man wants. And so, with the Indian Removal Act of 1830, the Cherokee Indian population was forced to move from Georgia into what is now Oklahoma, losing about 1/4th of the total population along the way.

Merits and Assessment

My assessment as to the merit of this book is that it is one of great moral and intellectual integrity. It cannot stress more on the moral side as it unbiasly tells the reader the whole truth about Andrew Jackson's love life, family life, war life, and political life. This book is intellectually stimulating, making you feel the urge to somehow, some way, relive the life of

Jackson, but you know that is not possible, so you go and reread the book again.

Andrew Jackson and His America clearly depicts emotions, and even though there is no open dialogue, you get a sense of what the characters feel during trying

times.