Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times

by H.W. Brands

The extraordinary story of Andrew Jackson—the colorful, dynamic, and forceful president who ushered in the Age of Democracy and set a still young America on its path to greatness—told by the bestselling author of The First American .

The most famous American of his time, Andrew Jackson is a seminal figure in American history. The first “common man” to rise to the presidency, Jackson embodied the spirit and the vision of the emerging American nation; the term “Jacksonian democracy” is embedded in our national lexicon.

With the sweep, passion, and attention to detail that made The First American a Pulitzer Prize finalist and a national bestseller, historian H.W. Brands shapes a historical narrative that’s as fast-paced and compelling as the best fiction. He follows Andrew Jackson from his days as rebellious youth, risking execution to free the Carolinas of the British during the Revolutionary War, to his years as a young lawyer and congressman from the newly settled frontier state of Tennessee. As general of the Tennessee militia, he put down a massive Indian uprising in the South, securing the safety of American settlers, and his famous rout of the British at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812 made him a national hero.

But it is Jackson’s contributions as president, however, that won him a place in the pantheon of America’s greatest leaders. A man of the people, without formal education or the family lineage of the Founding Fathers, he sought as president to make the country a genuine democracy, governed by and for the people. Jackson, although respectful of states’ rights, devoted himself to the preservation of the Union, whose future in that age was still very much in question. When South Carolina, his home state, threatened to secede over the issue of slavery, Jackson promised to march down with 100,000 federal soldiers should it dare.

In the bestselling tradition of Founding Brothers and His Excellency by Joseph Ellis and of John Adams by David McCullough, Andrew Jackson is the first single-volume, full-length biography of Jackson in decades. This magisterial portrait of one of our greatest leaders promises to reshape our understanding of both the man and his era and is sure to be greeted with enthusiasm and acclaim.

Genres: Biography, History, Presidents, American History, Nonfiction, Politics, Us Presidents

620 pages, Hardcover

First published September 6, 2005

About the author

H.W. Brands is an acclaimed American historian and author of over thirty books on U.S. history, including Pulitzer Prize finalists The First American and Traitor to His Class. He holds the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his PhD. Originally trained in mathematics, Brands turned to history as a way to pursue his passion for writing. His biographical works on figures like Franklin, Jackson, Grant, and both Roosevelts have earned critical and popular praise for their readability and depth. Raised in Oregon and educated at Stanford, Reed College, and Portland State, he began his teaching career in high schools before entering academia. He later taught at Texas A&M and Vanderbilt before returning to UT Austin. Brands challenges conventional reverence for the Founding Fathers, advocating for a more progressive and evolving view of American democracy. In addition to academic works, his commentary has featured in major documentaries. His books, published internationally and translated into multiple languages, examine U.S. political, economic, and cultural development with compelling narrative force. Beyond academia, he is a public intellectual contributing to national conversations on history and governance.

Reviews

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Update: These days I feel much less ambiguous about Andrew Jackson…suck it Old Hickory.

The Hero of New Orleans, Old Hickory, King Andrew — Andrew Jackson's varied sobriquets belie the daunting task for his potential biographers, and I think H.W. Brands managed to rise to the occasion. Jackson was most definitely a man who contained multitudes, and Brands manages to put it all out there without proselytising.

It's much more difficult to evaluate Andrew Jackson the man than it is the book. Aside from the fact that his legend and legacy have come to represent an array of polarized positions, his actions were, if not contradictory, then at least somewhat confounding. It's hard to reconcile things like his adopting a young Native American boy, Lyncoya, with his presiding over The Trail of Tears. So, as per usual, I'll just offer some assorted points of interest along the Jackson journey.



Jackson at War:
One might say that Andrew Jackson was born to fight. At the ripe old age of thirteen, he joined up with the local militia to take part in the Revolutionary War as a courier. Young Jackson was willing to back up his anti-British beliefs with action. Taken prisoner by His Majesty's men, Jackson earned himself a taste of steel (or whatever swords were made out of back then) by refusing to polish the boots of an enemy officer.



By the time the War of 1812 rolled around, Jackson was in command (first of the Tennessee militia, and then a bunch of other people too). This time, in addition to those nefarious Brits, Jackson and co. were also facing off with the Red Stick Creek Indians.* At this point, lessons had been learned when it came to underestimating the military savvy of the Native populations. The 1763 assault on British Fort Michilimackinac "the swiftness with which the Indians commenced their attacks and the brutality with which they completed them." The Brits were lulled into complacency when a large group of Ojibwas gathered outside the fort for a friendly game of lacrosse .



Suddenly (in a move I can't believe they failed to reference in of Heart of Archness) the players swapped their lacrosse sticks for war axes hidden beneath the womens' skirts, and stormed the gate!



General Jackson did not rule lightly. There's the whole suspension of habeas corpus thing, martial law in New Orleans, the list goes on. But, there's no denying that Jackson had a knack for military leadership.



Jackson in Politics:
Old Hickory was not a "qualified" politician in the normal sense of the word. Military rule was really more his speed. Not that dueling was unheard of at the time, but Jackson was super into it (Brands really breaks down the tactics involved), just one of many manifestations of his short temper and obsession with honor.



The whole lack of experience thing, though, was spun in Jackson's favor as his being a man of the people. He played coy, essentially saying he wasn't running, but hey, if he's what the people wanted, then he would have to step up. So, with or without his consent (but not really), Andrew "I'm just like you" Jackson, was up against three other candidates in the election of 1824 , including John Quincy Adams.



If you're any good at reading pie charts, you've figured out that yes, in fact, Jackson won both the popular and electoral votes. However, he didn't have the majority required, and due to caucusing and some wheeling and dealing, JQA ended up in office. However, the election of 1828 (for better or worse) ushered in Jacksonian democracy by a landslide, and got good old Andy in office.



The Bank Wars:
I know I'm skipping a lot of interesting and important bits (like that whole slavery thing), but since Jackson's beef with big banking was new to me, I'm highlighting it here. In fact, as with most things at the time, the slavery question played a big part in Jackson's anti-bank stance.



Quick and dirty version, Jackson busted out all sorts of novel tools (like the veto) to keep paper currency from taking hold. The political "spin" on it all was pitting the common man (farmers, laborers etc.), against the monied elite.



...and also other stuff:
Just trying to summarize some of my favorite bits from the book, I'm all the more impressed with how adeptly Brands weaves so much material into a single volume. I didn't come away from this a fan of Jackson, but that's not an opinion that is necessarily born from this work. I definitely plan to check out the likes of American Lion because, if anything, this book is short on Jackson's White House years.

___________________________________
* They weren't actually from India, and, thus, not Indians, but I'm forgoing political correctness for clarity here (which Brands does in this case, so you can blame him). Also the source of his "adopted" son, FTR.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Duel

Andrew Jackson killed a man in a duel. Here’s what happened.

Jackson took the strategy of absorbing the first shot, so he could take his time and return fire without distraction. When he pulled the trigger, nothing happened. He realized he only half-cocked the hammer. He then cocked the hammer correctly, fired, and hit and killed his opponent.

The rules of the game in a duel aren’t exactly clear. It involves unwritten codes of gentlemanly conduct. It’s like in baseball, where you have unwritten rules about, say, bunting for a base hit if you have a big lead. Different people have different interpretations of these unwritten rules, so it’s really confusing to know how you are supposed to act. That’s for a baseball game where hurt feelings are usually the cost. Imagine not having clear rules about shooting guns at each other.

Did Jackson act dishonorably? There are a couple things most people agree on. First, it wasn’t dishonorable to adopt a strategy of waiting for your opponent to shoot first. However, if there is a misfire, there is a fairly clear code of conduct that you don’t get a second shot. Jackson’s critics contend what happened was like a misfire, so he was wrong to take a second shot.

Jackson argued that it wasn’t technically a misfire. I’m with Jackson’s critics here. If the code is that you don’t get a 2nd shot after a misfire, when random chance prevents the gun from firing, why should you get a second shot if it was your own mistake that prevented the gun from firing?

The author didn’t offer his own assessment of Jackson’s conduct, but I’m fascinated by this. I’d read a whole book about the Duel, and how the written and unwritten rules of dueling should be applied in this case.

The “Barbarian”

John Quincy Adams, upon hearing that Harvard was granting Andrew Jackson with an honorary degree, bitterly said “I would not be present to witness her disgrace in conferring her highest Literary honours upon a barbarian, who could not write a sentence of Grammar, and hardly could spell his own name.” I decided to read about Andrew Jackson for two reasons – the Duel, and to see if he really was as much of a barbarian as Adams described. I was hoping to hear some funny stories about how vulgar and unrefined he was. However, it looks like my impression of him in this regard was not correct. He didn’t have a classical education, but he was a successful lawyer and could communicate his ideas very effectively. He was a brilliant military tactician and highly skilled at motivating and inspiring his troops. He was certainly a hothead and got into more than his fair share of duels, but he wasn’t the Trumpian style buffoon I had expected.

The person that came to mind as a comparison is Teddy Roosevelt. Some of the similarities are eerie. Jackson is the kind of guy, like Roosevelt, where if you focus on some things and ignore other things, you can admire him deeply. He was courageous, honest, hard-working, and principled. He was a war hero. He wasn’t afraid to confront powerful institutions if he felt they weren’t acting fairly. You look at him from a different angle and there is a lot to dislike: He was pro-slavery, instigated wars, and treated Native Americans inhumanely. He had a huge authoritarian streak – going as far to ignore Supreme Court rulings he didn’t like.

Interestingly, both Jackson and Roosevelt had hand-picked successors who were more conciliatory and intellectual than themselves. Each of the successors served the next Presidential term, thanks to the support of the predecessor, but did not survive re-election, as they were not as charismatic or politically astute as their predecessor. Each of the pairs eventually had a bitter falling out.

The Writing

The author takes the approach of sticking to the facts and not opining much. While I would have liked more analysis, I thought the writing was elegant and fun to read.

You’ll probably feel that some subjects were covered too much, and some important subjects were left out almost entirely. But I appreciate that the author didn’t just do an encyclopedic overview, and instead picked some topics he thought were important and covered them in depth. He did have an overall favorable opinion of Jackson that was expressed in subtle ways, like making excuses for his warring with Native Americans and driving them off their lands.

Overall, I still feel like I don’t quite have a pulse on Andrew Jackson. It’s hard to explain this feeling, it’s just sometimes you come away from a book feeling like you understand what makes a person tick, and sometimes you don’t. I’m not quite there with Jackson yet.

Andrew Jackson vs John Quincy Adams

The section at the end comparing Adams to Jackson was very interesting, though I don’t agree with the author. The author describes the major fault line separating Jackson and Adams was that Jackson had a more expansive view of Democracy than the elitist Adams. I would think of the major fault lines as being that Adams was anti-slavery and anti-war, while Jackson was the opposite. The author discusses this but thinks of these issues as more symptoms than drivers of their differences. I didn’t find it convincing, but I enjoyed the discussion.

[Brett C · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Andrew Jackson wasn't what most of his neighbors would have called genteel..." pg 148

H.W. Brands is a great researcher and author. This was the second book of his I read, the first the Ronald Reagan biography, and I learned a lot. Andrew Jackson had an impressive military career (1812, Battle of New Orleans, etc.), was kind of a short-fused guy who resorted to dueling, owned slaves, spread voting to non-land owning males, went to war with Tecumseh & the Native Americans, and infamous embarked the nation's Trail of Tears.

H.W. Brands always does an excellent job of educating the reader on both fronts: on the focus subject of the book and the historical context of the time. I would highly recommend this and anything written by this author. Thanks!

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considered by some the most dangerous man to be President and others as one of their own that deserved the office, he ushered in a sea change in Washington and American politics. Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times by H.W. Brands follows the future President of the United States from his birth in the South Carolina backcountry to frontier town of Nashville to the battlefields of the Old Southwest then finally to the White House and how he gave his name to an era of American history.

Brands begins with a Jackson family history first from Scotland to Ulster then to the Piedmont region of the Carolina where his aunts and uncles had pioneered before his own parents immigrated. Fatherless from birth, Jackson’s childhood was intertwined with issues between the American colonies and Britain then eventually the Revolutionary War that the 13-year old Jackson participated in as a militia scout and guerilla fighter before his capture and illness while a POW. After the death of the rest of his family at the end of the war through illness, a young Jackson eventually went into law becoming one of the few “backcountry” lawyers in western North Carolina—including Tennessee which was claimed by North Carolina—before moving to Nashville and eventually becoming one of the founders of the state of Tennessee and become one of it’s most important military and political figures especially with his marriage to Rachel Donelson. Eventually Jackson’s status as the major general of the Tennessee militia led him to first fight the Creek War—part of the overall War of 1812—then after the successful conclusion of the campaign was made a major general of the regular army in charge of the defending New Orleans from British attack which ultimately culminated in the famous 1815 battle that occurred after the signing of the peace treaty in Ghent. As “the” military hero of the war, Jackson’s political capital grew throughout the Monroe administration even with his controversial invasion of Florida against the Seminole. After becoming the first U.S. Governor of Florida, Jackson left the army and eventually saw his prospects rise for the Presidency to succeed Monroe leading to the four-way Presidential contest of 1824 which saw Jackson win both the popular vote and plurality of electoral college votes but lose in the House to John Quincy Adams. The campaign for 1828 began almost immediately and by the time of the vote the result wasn’t in doubt. Jackson’s time in the White House was focused on the Peggy Eaton affair, the battle over Bank of the United States, the Nullification Crisis with South Carolina, Indian relations, and finally what was happening in Texas. After his time in office, Jackson struggled keeping his estate out of debt and kept up with the events of around the country until his death.

In addition to focusing on Jackson’s life, Brands make sure to give background to the events that he would eventually be crucial part of. Throughout the book Brands keeps three issues prominent: Unionism, slavery, and Indian relations that dominated Jackson’s life and/or political thoughts. While Brands hits hard Jackson’s belief in the Union and is nuanced when it comes with slavery, the relations with Indians is well done in some areas and fails in some (most notably the “Trail of Tears”). This is not a biography focused primarily on Jackson’s time in the White House and thus Brands only focused on the big issues that is primarily focused on schools instead of an intense dive into his eight years.

Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times is a informative look into the life of the seventh President of the United States and what was happening in the United States throughout his nearly eight decades of life. H.W. Brands’ writing style is given to very easy reading and his research provides very good information for both general and history specific readers, though he does hedge in some areas. Overall a very good biography.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrew Jackson is a difficult subject, who lived during a difficult time and dealt with difficult issues in a difficult manner. I don't mean to be glib here but if one looks at the issues facing America from the Revolution to the Civil War, Andrew Jackson was seemingly directly or indirectly involved. This author does an excellent job in helping us understand those times, those issues, this man and his decisions. Does Remini's three volume bio of Jackson give us more information on such issues as the elections of 1824, 1828, 1832 & '36? Jackson's battles with Biddle? and the Whigs? the members of the Kitchen Cabinet? Attorney General/Chief Justice Tawney? Yes.

On the other hand I got a much clearer understanding of Jackson, the human, from this book - his becoming an orphan, his marriage and its issues, dueling, leading men in war, slavery, the American Indians, his health issues - than I have from the others I have read. And a lot of it is not pretty, but it's coherent and understandable in this author's presentation. I find Brand's writing in this book, and his past books, engaging and exciting - yeah, exciting - for a non-fiction book.

The one fault in this book is the thin coverage of Andrew Jackson - politician - and especially AJ - President. Unclear if the threat of a second volume was an issue here or not. If past history is any indicator, this author has a knack in leading/defining "trends" in biographies/history,so more info on Pres. Jackson could be good news.

As an aside - check the bibliography - secondary sources - for some pithy reviews/recommendations on books covering this era.

[David Eppenstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good biography of a president I never regarded very highly and now think even less of

[Jason Koivu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrew Jackson, one of the most unqualified US Presidents ever. I respect his military service, but the guy just wasn't cut out for the job.

Brands has put together a solid bio in Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times. Though it did nothing to dissuade my low opinion of his political prowess, I would still recommend this as a good read, especially if you're interested in Jackson.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Rev War, pirates, 1814 New Orleans, Native Americans, thoroughbred racing, duels, brawls, OK Corral-style shoot-outs, Franklin cum Tennessee, impromptu international incidents, impromptu executions, mud-slinging campaigns, bigamy, kitchen cabinetry, Nullifiers, slavery, Texas...Jackson was a one-man American History book. Messin' around, doin' some things. Five stars for sheer activity.

[Larry Bassett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrew Jackson believed in democracy that meant for him the rule of the people and in maintaining the union of all the states. He had very little formal education and I thought the book failed to explain how he rose to such Heights in spite of a lack of education. He became a lawyer and a judge and most notably a military general and then threw his heroism and notoriety the president of United States. Although he lived into his 70s he suffered from poor health for much of his life. In some ways I would judge him to be the Donald Trump of the 1850s. He represented the era of the westward expansion of the United States and the democratization of the electorate has so many men achieve the right to vote by becoming property owners the requirement of that day.

The plight of Native Americans is dealt with significantly throughout the book. Jackson fought the Indians and as president but they should be moved west of the Mississippi into their own territories. The infamous trail of tears occurred on his watch as the Seminoles were forced to move west. Jackson is another of the presidents who was a slave owner owning about 150 slaves at the end of his life.

I experienced this book in the audible format. It was well presented. An aspect of history that was included in some detail was Jackson's opposition to the national bank and his effort to replace it with state banks. Jackson remained active in national politics after his two terms as president. The next President Martin Van Buren was essentially handpicked by Jackson and a carbon copy. John Quincy Adams who defeated Jackson with the aid of some political shenanigans in their first contest remained a lifetime political enemy.

This is a very long book and I'm sure the fact that I experienced it in the audible format is a main reason that I got through to the end. The author notes at the conclusion that the spelling throughout the book has been converted to a modern format to save the reader from having to struggle with the very personalized and invented spelling that dominated Jackson's efforts.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is no arguing that Brands is an engaging writer and that much of Jackson's story is captivating. The book is at it's best when showing his rise from relative obscurity to nation-wide fame. While Brands is clearly a fan of Jackson, he shows the man's faults, even if he excuses much of them by arguing that he was a man of his times and little more could be expected. I found this approach to be significantly harder to accept once Brands reached Jackson's presidency. The debate over the bank system gets far more attention than issues of equal (if not greater) importance, like Jackson's policy towards Native Americans. I found it hard to accept that actions that led to the infamous Trail of Tears could be dealt with in a way that left Jackson seeming as little more than a man of consistent and pragmatic views towards these people. Not that I want to see Jackson cast as a villain, exactly. I just felt like Brands rushed past these more difficult moments because they got in the way of a more positive depiction of a complicated and fascinating man. I'd recommend the book, overall, mostly because of Brands's engaging style. I would do so, however, with the suggestion that readers seek out other Jackson biographies to get a broader sense of the man.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a bunch of books on Andrew Jackson - and I have many of them - that focus on a particular aspect of his life or political career. But after finishing Robert Remini's epic three-volume biography, I wanted to follow it up with a shorter, one-volume bio to refresh and reinforce what I had learned from Remini, in a much more concise way. And there are surprisingly few options. So I pulled this 2005 biography by H.W. Brands off my shelf, many years after reading it the first time.

Upon my first reading, I found it to be a decent introduction to Jackson for those who haven't read much about him before, and/or who don't plan to read about him any further. Upon this second reading, I found it to be a decent refresher that hit the highlights that Remini covered in much greater detail. While I had some issues with some aspects of Remini's work, I found that Brands' book overall has far greater breadth than depth, and doesn't ever really get to the core of why Jackson was such a transformative president, and why the reader should choose to read about him, aside from the fact that his life story makes for a rollicking tale.

Brands includes a lot of the "times" in this "life and times" of Andrew Jackson. While this often provides important and welcome context, the structure becomes a bit repetitious and tedious, as Brands often begins chapters with a 10,000-foot view, and slowly starts zooming into Jackson himself, only to zoom back out at the beginning of the next chapter. And sometimes the connection between the 10,000-foot view and Jackson is tenuous at best - one chapter begins with an anecdote about Robert Fulton and the invention of the steamboat. How is this relevant? Because Fulton's business associate was Robert Livingston. Who was the brother of Edward Livingston. Who was Jackson's aide during the Battle of New Orleans. Who first suggested that Jackson ought to run for president. And then the chapter finally gets going.

I thought Brands framed the issue of Jackson and Indian removal in an interesting way. The very first chapter begins by noting "the struggle for North America," which "began long before Andrew Jackson was born." Brands goes on to recount the battles for land and supremacy between Native American tribes who treated war not as a continuation of policy by other means, but as a way of life. Europeans' arrival in North America merely perpetuated this endless struggle, and they happened to be the ones who ultimately won. I'm not necessarily saying I agree with this interpretation, or the implication that Indian removal was therefore inevitable and that Native American annihilation was the only other option, but it's something to chew over.

Ultimately, though, after setting up this scenario, I thought Brands eventually dug himself into a hole by saying the only way to avoid the Trail of Tears would have been to send federal troops to protect the Cherokee and enforce the Marshall Court's decision upholding their right to remain right where they were in Georgia, which he dismisses as preposterous. But... isn't that precisely what happened during Reconstruction and during the Civil Rights era? It may not have been a popular move in many quarters, and there would have been other complicating factors at the time, but sending federal troops to enforce a Supreme Court decision upholding the rights of a minority group is not exactly far-fetched.

The book also doesn't get too in-depth on the issue of slavery, other than to treat Jackson the slaveowner as a man of his times, who was such a believer in democracy that he merely shrugged off Northern concerns and figured the South would ultimately choose to abolish slavery by majority rule when it was good and ready.

Overall, Brands is a very good writer, and despite its shortcomings, I don't think the book is wrongheaded. Errors do sneak in, such as when Brands conflates George Washington's Farewell Address with his eighth annual message to Congress, as though they were the same address. And considering how otherwise well-written the book is, one very clunky sentence construction shows up nearly a half dozen times, when two people are referenced and the sentence has to twist itself into awkward contortions so you know who is doing what to whom - as in, "A British officer... ordered him to clean his - the officer's - muddy boots," and "Jackson urged Taylor to apply the lessons he - Jackson - had learned..."

In a 500-something-page book covering the entirety of Jackson's life, it's unavoidable that his presidency can't be covered in too much depth. The spoils system gets a couple of pages, the reparations fight with France gets part of a paragraph, while the Bank War gets considerably more attention, relatively speaking. It's not really until the very last chapter that Brands begins to explain why Jackson matters. He doesn't provide any meaningful analysis of how Jackson expanded the powers of the presidency, but he does summarize how Jackson pushed to transform the country from a republic, where only the elites' voices mattered, to a democracy, where the common man had a say. And how Jackson believed in the sanctity of the Union above all else.

That leads Brands to rather abruptly introduce Abraham Lincoln in the book's very last paragraph, drawing a direct line between the two presidents, both of whom were strong believers in democracy and the Union. But an exploration of whether Lincoln was really a Jacksonian can fill a book - so ending the book with this mic-drop merely oversimplifies a complicated question, and ultimately positions Jackson as something of a transitional president rather than a transformative president in his own right.

So this is a well-written, enjoyable read that will give the layman a good foundation in learning about Jackson's life and times. But if you really want to understand Jackson, his importance, his contradictions, successes and faults, this should be your first Jackson book - but not your last.

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will admit up front to a certain bias against Andrew Jackson. I side with many of his contemporary critics on a number of his 'successes'. Jackson was a man who believed first and foremost in his own righteousness and infallibility. By the time he was president he truly believed that he was the mouthpiece for the people, and was perfectly happy to stomp over whatever political or legal barricades were put up to stop him.

This book claims to be an unbiased account, and there are reviews of it that praise it's objectivity, but I can't agree with them. Brands does certainly bring up many of Jackson's faults, but he doesn't leave it to the reader to decide if those faults were mortal or not - he spends a lot of time defending Jackson's actions from Jackson's point of view. Ignoring the Supreme Court? Well (here I paraphrase) "Jackson really believed it would be better for the indians to live separately from the whites". I'm sure he did believe that, even earnestly. But what a silly defense for the Trail of Tears.

The positives of this book are that it is thorough, and that it does not cover up Jackson's actions, just comes up with excuses for him. It is not at all impossible to come out of this with a conclusion different than the author, although I have some major issues with describing Lincoln as a Jacksonian. He was an "odd Jacksonian" because he wasn't a Jacksonian, Brands. Believing in the Union was not somehow a singularly Jacksonian idea.

I don't know if this is the best biography of Jackson out there, but it is a good one. I just encourage you to read it with a grain of salt.

[PMB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent bio. I flew through this gripping account of one of our more controversial presidents. Jackson looms large in my hometown of Tallahassee. He’s celebrated at our annual spring festival (growing up my family was fairly active as members of a float crew) and he always inspires protest. And of course, as a graduate of Florida State, I’m reminded of his, uh, regional achievements every time I do the Seminole chop.

It’s easy to pick Old Hickory apart in order to reconstruct the man into whatever symbol fits your interpretation of his place in history. His ruthless expansionist policies; his fanatical service to the military; that tireless advancement of populism; the unflinching devotion to the idea of Union; and his many personal failings, eccentricities, and contradictions; all afford the lesser historian (or perhaps one with an ax to grind) an opportunity to paint Jackson w/ a broad brush. Not here. This book does not shy away from any aspect of its subject, and presents a complex and uncompromised final portrait. Overall, Brand’s analysis neither flatters, nor condemns. Credit is given when due; fault assigned likewise. How we judge the impact of his policies is one thing, but one cannot overstate the importance of Jackson.

Side note: Brand does a great job foreshadowing the catastrophic events that would divide our country in the decades after Jackson’s presidency and death. There's a palpable sense disaster lurking within the text of the closing chapters.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://bestpresidentialbios.com/2013/...

“Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times” is H.W. Brands’s 2005 biography of our seventh president. Brands is a professor at the University of Texas at Austin and a prolific author. He has written nearly thirty books on a wide range of historical topics, including biographies of Ulysses Grant, Theodore Roosevelt and Aaron Burr. He is also the author of one of my favorite non-biography history books: “Lone Star Nation: The Epic Story of the Battle for Texas Independence.”

Although I find myself somewhat disappointed by this biography of Jackson, it is certainly not without merit. Indeed, Brands’s biography is a solid, steady exploration of Jackson’s life and its many contradictions and crescendos. However, after reading several earlier biographies of this president, I’m not sure what new insight or analysis Brands offers and, as a result, why a reader new to this president should choose Brands’s biography over others.

To its credit, Brands’s biography does a much better job than most biographies in providing the reader with a broad, relevant historical framework within which to place Jackson and his actions. Where other biographies assume the audience is aware (by whatever means) of the events of importance taking place in the nation’s capital while Jackson is roaming the frontier, Brands never leaves such knowledge to chance. Instead, he is careful to ensure the reader is cognizant of important moments in our nation’s history that impacted the political and economic climate in which Jackson operated.

In addition, Brands’s quest to add context to his discussion of Jackson’s life also leads to his inclusion of a number of topics (and characters) I have not read about in previous presidential biographies. Among these are useful snippets regarding Alexis de Tocqueville’s trip to America, a tactical analysis of “dueling” which was a favored form of dispute resolution in Jackson’s early life, a helpful explanation of the issues surrounding British impressment of American sailors and colorful descriptions of Davy Crockett, Sam Houston and Jean Lafitte (each of whom, the reader quickly agrees, deserve vibrant and spirited introductions).

However, for all I liked about Brands’s biography, I found it far from ideal. First, given his propensity for describing lesser-known historical figures thoroughly in vivid language, he is surprisingly deficient in his introduction of more critical characters such as Martin Van Buren (the “Little Magician”) who was to Andrew Jackson much as Karl Rove was to George Bush. Other lesser-known, but equally critical, players are left poorly introduced as well such as Amos Kendall and Francis Blair, who formed the core of Jackson’s “Kitchen Cabinet” and were each tremendously important to the story of Jackson’s presidency.

Second, certain historical events are less well-covered than seems appropriate, such as Jackson’s decision to replace nearly his entire initial Cabinet (causing no small degree of controversy within the Senate) as well as the presidential campaigns of 1824 and 1828. Brands’ treatment of the former feels needlessly rushed – almost perfunctory – while his description of the latter seems woefully incomplete with almost no attention dedicated to Van Buren’s masterful behind-the-scenes advocacy of Jackson’s candidacy.

Stylistically I tend to enjoy a more smoothly-flowing, narrative style of writing than that which Brands offers in his “Andrew Jackson.” This biography often seems like a collection of detailed, highly factual (but not particularly opinionated) newspaper articles; they are individually informative, but collectively lack a seamless, cohesive story or theme. In fact, while reading Brands’s biography, a new student of Jackson might actually be unaware of the overwhelming historical significance of Jackson’s presidency and his numerous accomplishments.

Brands seems to prefer for the facts speak for themselves, but at the cost of allowing a less-attentive reader to miss the forest for the trees. If you are not a sophisticated student of history or had not previously read Remini or Marquis James, you might inadvertently miss the awe-inspiring significance of Jackson’s expansion of the power of the presidency (made even more dramatic by his previous distaste for a strong federal government). And unlike most other Jackson biographers, Brands does not take Jackson to task for being a slaveowner or for his brutal treatment of the Indians.

Finally, Brands’s most thoughtful impressions and perspectives of Jackson are left to the last six or eight pages of the book. These are easily the most valuable pages of his biography, and are among the most insightful pages of any of the presidential biographies I’ve yet read. But the wisdom they impart comes too late to appropriately augment the wisdom contained in the previous five-hundred-plus pages. Even a measured sprinkling of this insight across the previous chapters of the book would have been incredibly useful.

Overall, H.W. Brands’s “Andrew Jackson” is a good, but not great, biography of Andrew Jackson. His writing style, failure to highlight important themes throughout the book and a few curious omissions are contributing factors. Subjectively, the most disappointing issue for me was the fact that I rarely found moments when I simply could not put the book down. Although Brands’s biography is detailed, workman-like and free of bias, for me it does not provide enough analysis or insight, and its emphasis seems to be on presenting topics accurately rather than with passion and interpretation.

Overall rating: 3½ stars

[Frank Theising · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I had heeded the review of a fellow reader of presidential biographies in choosing a single book on Andrew Jackson as I make my way through one book on each president. This book was comprehensive but felt somewhat uneven. The book is punctuated by excessively long swaths of historical context before getting to the point on how Jackson fit into the events of the day (context is good of course, but the amount was overkill here). Jackson’s early life (pre-presidency) was covered in great detail, but the presidential years felt somewhat rushed (consequently my notes below on that section are rather truncated and I will capture the presidential years in my review of other books on the subject).

To his credit, the author was very objective in covering a very controversial president. Jackson is both revered as the defender of the common man and the person most responsible for ushering in American Democracy, but also reviled as a dueler, war-monger, slave owner, and man responsible for crimes against various Indian tribes. Brands does a great job of explaining the man in the context of his own time as well as his underlying motivation (usually driven by a foundational belief in defending the Union and Democracy at all costs from any and all threats, be they internal (secessionist, aristocratic elites, etc) or external (British, Spanish, French, or Native American tribes on the frontier).

More than any other presidential biography I have read thus far, Brands’ work does a fantastic job explaining the personal life of Jackson and his undying devotion to his wife Rachel (most presidential bios seem to gloss over their home life). However, I have a feeling it is hard to ignore with Jackson as Rachel was a constant target of Jackson’s political enemies.

Overall, I was impressed with the first half of the book, but wanted much more detail on his (incredibly influential) presidential years. 3 stars.

What follows are my notes on the book:

His family was of Scotch-Irish descent. Emigrated from Ireland to PA, later moved to Waxhaw region of the Carolinas. His father died 3 weeks before Andrew was born. His mother moved in with relatives.

At age 14 he fought as an irregular and insurgent (child soldier) against the British during the American Revolution. He demonstrated great bravery but also witnessed a lot of brutality (the death of loved ones and the distraction of his family‘s property). He was captured with his brother and sent to Camden. Conditions in the POW camp were atrocious and smallpox ran rampant.

His mother Elizabeth traveled to the prison and offered to exchange British POWs for her sons. On the journey back his older brother Robert died from smallpox. Jackson, walking barefoot to the Carolinas in the cold contracted smallpox but it had not incubated till his journey home and he grew grievously ill. His mother fatigued, caught cholera and died within days. Andrew just 14 years old, had lost his entire family and would face the world alone.

When his grandfather passed away overseas, Jackson inherited £300. He traveled to Charleston to collect his inheritance and awed by big city life, quickly frittered away the money gambling. He returned home to his 200 acres, but had no intention to farm after seeing big city life. Looking to get ahead, he apprenticed himself to a lawyer.

He was a precocious teenager, always pulling pranks. His early law career saw little success. He was not particularly handsome but had a gaze and demeanor the captivated other men.

When NC established a court for its frontier territory (that would later become Tennessee) Jackson was selected as the local prosecutor & he journeyed west. Shortly thereafter he initiated his first duel with another lawyer that had outclassed him in a civil suit. Both men deliberately missed, and their honor was “upheld.”

Rachel Donelson, descendent of the famous Donelson Expedition into the Cumberland, married a man named Robards. After an unfounded suspicion of infidelity, Robards abandoned her and she returned to Nashville to her family‘s estate. She took in male borders to help defend her estate from Indian attacks. Jackson was one of these men.

Robards agreed to reconcile with his wife. Given the impossibility of divorce in those days (required expensive travel & political connections), she consented. Robards became suspicious of Rachel and Jackson. Jackson, his honor offended by the accusation, confronted Robards. This only inflamed the situation and Roberts again abandoned his wife.

After Robards abandoned Rachel again, Jackson grew enamored with her. They determined to be together, even if it meant fleeing to Natchez. When news reached them that Robards had sued for divorce, they married and returned as husband and wife (likely by eloping). Being 22 years old, Jackson had no political ambitions and had no idea how this would come back to haunt him (the divorce took two years so they likely married before the divorce was legal).

He began to acquire large quantities of land through speculation (on credit). When he as unable to sell it all for a profit in Philadelphia it put him in a terrible position financially.

After one of his land purchasers passed a bad note, Jackson had to repay all the fiend’s creditors. He sold his dry goods store just to fulfill his bills then returned to TN. He began buying and selling slaves to work his growing land.

Jackson joined the Republicans in their uproar over the Jay Treaty. When it was clear that the territory had enough people petition for statehood, a constitutional convention assembled in Knoxville. Jackson had a large influence there, including over the decision to name the state Tennessee.

With the upcoming election between Adams and Jefferson, the Federalists tried to delay the admission of TN as a state. It was admitted, but the Federalists did however find a way to keep the state to one representative in Congress until after the next census. That representative was Andrew Jackson.

Jackson traveled to Philadelphia for his term and witnessed Washington’s departing speech. He was one of a handful of Republican senators who objected to the speech on the grounds that it seemed too much like a monarch addressing parliament. He successfully proposed and passed funding to reimburse TN militia. When Blount was removed from the Senate, the TN Legislature elected Jackson to the Senate.

Annoyed with the constant bloviating over trivial issues, Jackson quit the Senate after 3 months and returned to TN. John Severe, fearing the return of an ambitious rival, appointed Jackson to the state Supreme Court (to remove him from seeking office). Jackson accepted and began traveling the circuit around the state.

When the position of commander of the TN militia opened, Jackson and Sevier both campaigned for it. The tie vote was broken by the governor in Jackson’s favor. Sevier went on to be elected governor, but their feud grew. Sevier insulted Rachel and was challenged to a duel. Sevier (as the higher ranking man) delayed confronting this up-and-comer until they accidentally crossed paths. The ad hoc duel devolved into farce with both sides circulating wild stories about it.

After Burr’s duel with Hamilton, Burr fled west and befriended Jackson. The two cooked up visions of attacking Spanish FL or TX. When news reached Jackson of Burr’s secret plans to capture New Orleans and lead a breakaway of the West, Jackson was shocked at his own naïveté and unwitting participation in their treason (Burr was captured but ultimately acquitted of treason).

Jackson purchased a famous racing horse. After his victory, Jackson found himself in a duel with Charles Dickenson, the owner of a rival racing horse. Dickinson hit Jackson but not fatally. Jackson’s return shot killed Dickinson. Jackson’s reputation took a deep hit in society after this duel.

President Jefferson’s embargo against the British (over their impressment of US citizens on the high seas) crippled trade and led to a tsunami of foreclosures and defaults in the West, even Jackson and his family were affected. To ease his debt burden, he sold his profitable estate and downsized to the Hermitage in 1804. By 1829 he owned 100 slaves.

Jackson agreed with new governor Blount on the need to put distance between whites and Indians. Tecumseh rallied a multi-tribe coalition to fight a race war against the whites. When Madison finally asked Congress to declare war, Jackson was enthusiastic to take the war to the Creeks in retaliation for a previous attack on white settlements.

Jackson enlisted a large number of men and brought his force to Natchez. Once there, the secretary of war sent a letter disbanding Jackson’s militia and compelling them to return at their own expense to Nashville. Jackson disobeyed orders and out of his own pocket funded the cost to return his men to Nashville (he returned to a hero’s welcome).

After serving as the second in a duel, the Benton brother confronted Jackson, determined to give him a thrashing (later to be MO Senator Thomas Hart Benton). Upon passing them one of the Bentons shot Jackson in the shoulder and left arm. A knife fight erupted. Jackson refused amputation of his left arm.

Tecumseh preached race war and the extermination of the white race. The Red Sticks, a sect of the Creeks, attacked Fort Mims and slaughtered women and children raising alarms across the US. Madison recalled the TN militia and prepared them for war against the Creeks (as part of the western front of the War of 1812). Through quick thinking and solid leadership, Jackson crushed the Red Sticks at Talladega in spite of constant supply problems.

He led his men to a decisive victory at Horseshoe Bend over the Red Sticks and was the lone bright spot in the War of 1812. Madison sought to capitalize on Jackson’s popularity by promoting him into the regular Army. William Henry Harrison’s resignation opened up that possibility. Before he could go to New Orleans, Jackson had to secure the FL coast from potential flanking maneuvers. The US occupied Mobile Bay. Madison gave explicit instructions not to enter Spanish territory but Jackson argued that the British use of neutral Spanish territory gave him moral authority to enter FL. Disobeying the President, he attacked Pensacola and ensured the capture of town and Spanish fort.

J. Q. Adams and John Clay sent to Ghent to negotiate an end to the war.

In New Orleans, Jackson made an initial attack that was inconclusive but shocked the British with unusual boldness for an American. With his rag tag army, he made sound strategic decisions and strong defensive lines that crushed British attempts to capture the city. Despite being outnumbered, Jackson inflicted crippling losses on the enemy at the cost of only 13 dead.

Even after the British withdrew, he maintained martial law and was brought before a judge and fined. He became an overnight celebrity. Madison invited him to DC (in part to assure his carefully planned succession to Monroe). Jackson was made commander of the southern half of the US Army.

The Spanish, unable to keep foreign powers out of Florida, gave Jackson a reason to fill the power vacuum there. The Seminole Indians (along with slaves and refugees from other tribes) flaunted both US and Spanish law. Jackson refused to follow Madison’s orders to remove white settlers from Indian lands. Madison, not wanting to alienate Jackson’s many followers backed down.

After ratification of the Adams-Onis Treaty that seeded Florida to the US, Congress downsized the army, eliminating Jackson’s position. Monroe seeking to see save face for the general, appointed Jackson governor to formerly Spanish territory. Jackson was once again elected to the Senate (against his genuine wishes as he hated the pompous Senate).

Jackson went out of his way to avoid making enemies in the Senate. In the upcoming presidential election there was a four-way race between John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson, and William Crawford. Jackson won the popular vote and lead in the Electoral College but nobody had a plurality. The election moved to the House. Henry Clay shifted his supporters to Adams giving him the presidency. When Adams appointed Clay SecState, Jackson supporters amped up the accusations of a corrupt bargain and seting up one o fthe bitterest elections in US history. In effect, Adams’ presidency was crippled from the get go.

Rachel died in 1828. That same year, Jackson would defeat Adams (56-44% in the popular vote/68-32 Electoral College). The campaign was brutal and Jackson was furious over the attacks over his late wife. The early months of his presidency were overshadowed by the Eaton Affair (attacks on the character of sec of War Eaton’s wife…principally led by Calhoun who sought the scandal as a way to discredit Jackson). Van Buren, wisely read the tea leaves and secured Jackson’s favor when he defended Mrs. Eaton.

The inauguration and following party was mobbed by the common people (an absolute travesty and sign of things to come according to Adams and the establishment).

NOTES MORE SPARSE HERE DUE TO SPACE CONSTRAINTS…WILL ADD MORE DETAILED NOTES ON JACKSON PRESIDENTIAL YEARS IN REVIEW OF Lion of Liberty.

Jackson averted the nullification crisis (whereby states ignored Federal law) by amending the “tariff of abominations” (carrot) and threatening military action against SC (stick).

Jackson clashed with Nicholas Biddle over renewing the charter of the Bank of the US. Jackson’s withdrawing of funds from the Bank and transferring them to the state banks led to a short term financial crisis. Both sides had good reasons for their actions (Biddle defending the broader US economy and Jackson defending the common man from centralization of financial power/lending).

Clay rose to great power within the Whig Party as the Anti-Jackson. Jackson would cruise to victory over Clay in the election of 1832 (76-17% in the Electoral College). Unfortunately, Jackson was about the only thing holding the Whigs together and that party would cease to exist long after Jackson’s presidency. Jackson spawned and supported a number of influential protégés: Van Buren, Houston, Polk. John Quincy Adams viewed the reelection and rise of popular democracy with utter dismay (viewing it as an opening for demagoguery and superficial popularity contests).

Van Buren succeeded him as president, only to have his term implode as a result of the financial Panic of 1837. When Van Buren ran again in 1844, Jackson essentially disowned him when he spoke against Texas annexation, shifting his support to Polk.

Jackson lived to see Texas annexed.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book I’ve read on Jackson in the last 18 months. For more on the Presidency and less on his former life--take a look at Meacham's book, American Lion. I must admit that issues like Biddle and bank crisis make my eyes glaze over.

One of the exciting things about this book for me was discovering the contexts of Jackson’s life. I tend to view history as this set of discrete facts, tenuously connected by time. But reading Jackson truly highlighted the interconnectedness of it all. Before reading this book I had no idea of more things than I can include here, but among them are the following:

-Jackson fought in the Revolutionary War as a boy;
-gritty details of Jackson’s Indian escapades;
-Davy Crockett, Sam Houston, and Andrew Jackson fought together in major Indian battles;
-Jackson married a married woman;
-Jackson killed a man in duel;
-Jackson regularly rubbed shoulders with several well-known nemeses, like John Q. Adams, Henry Clay, and John Calhoun;
-Aaron Burr approached Jackson with designs of treason;
-how nasty political campaigns were clear back then;
-that his wife died after he was elected but before he could get to Washington and that Emily Donelson, his niece was first lady;
-the Margaret Eaton affair and its affect on Washington politics (this is set out in much great detail in Meacham’s book and worth reading for that section alone).
-The Civil War almost began in the 1830’s and but for Jackson and South Carolina’s fear of him, it probably would have (wonder if it would have been better for it to have happened then);
-Sam Houston was Jackson’s protégé, was a Governor of Tennessee, and gave it all up over woman, fled to the Texas territory, and arose from that debacle like a phoenix;
-Washington Irving used to hang out with Jackson in the White House;
-Roger Taney (author the Dred Scott opinion) was Jackson’s attorney general.

Anyway, you get the idea. The book was full amazing revelations. I highly recommend it.

[Aaron Million · Rating 3 out of 5]

Workmanlike, somewhat bland account of Andrew Jackson's life. This is not a poorly written book as Brands is a very good writer. However, as a biographer, he seems to lack the style and quality of a Chernow or a Caro. Brands does not reveal any new insights into Jackson's tumultuous life, and the book feels oddly antiseptic to me - I just could not get engrossed in it.

The best part, or parts, of the book is when Brands talks about pressing and important issues that were helping to define America then and later. His strength here is in setting the stage for some of Jackson's actions: the Indian wars, the War of 1812, the Revolutionary War, life on the Tennessee frontier in the late 1700s and early 1800s, and the United States' insatiable lust for territory. Many authors presume that readers are familiar with all of these themes. Brands does not, and I like that aspect of this book.

However, he just falls short of really delving deep into who Jackson was. What I did see was someone who I did not like: hot and quick-tempered, easily offended, militant, stubborn, racist, and uncaring. While Brands somewhat tries to whitewash Jackson's abuse of Indian tribes and his owning of slaves by repeatedly explaining that he was no worse, but probably better, than most men of his time in the South, I am not convinced. Jackson seemed like an all-around war-monger who, while possessing a tender side towards his immediate family and his troops (provided they gave 100% complete obedience to him), was more interested in dispensing his own brand of vigilante justice. I think Brands misses the mark here.

Grade: C+

[Lauren Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was torn between a 3 and a 4 for this. My main criticism is that the book should have had broader coverage of the time since it is called Andrew Jackson: His Life and TIMES. Brands should have given some background, for instance, on the currency issue since it is something very important to Jackson's presidency. But I learned some interesting things--the succession issue came up long before the civil war and didn't have anything to do with slavery but with tariffs. Since the South was a net importer and the North was a net exporter, the South suffered from tariffs designed to protect Northern manufacturers. The book also shows that "Democracy" was not a given in the early days--there was a distrust by many of the popular vote. Jackson's election--affected as it was by a surge of popular opinion towards him--was yet another reason for some people to distrust him as they distrusted popular opinion.

I liked the way Brands showed the difference between the public Jackson (angry, quick to battle) and the private Jackson (tender, affectionate). But I found it strange how Jackson's child and all but one of his foster children disappears from the narrative altogether. He and his wife adopted orphaned Native American children. The author never discusses whether they were treated as equal to their natural son or not. Perhaps it is that Brands is so torn between "the life" and "the times" that each gets short shrift.

[Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this biography of Andrew Jackson. What I want in a presidential biography, thorough and long with plenty of primary sources mixed in. (Most people want that, right?) It did bog down a little bit in the middle, but overall I was very satisfied. I also thought that Brands nailed the landing at the end. Something I really appreciate about the author is that from the beginning of the book, he began explaining the historical context that would influence Jackson's military and political decisions later on in his life. Jackson was responsible for some objectively horrible things, but he didn't do them suddenly or on a whim. Lots of things throughout his life shaped him into making these decisions. This does not at all excuse the awful things, but teaches us to keep a sharp eye for our own blindspots that are brought about by invisible cultural influences on us.

[Mark Cheathem · Rating 1 out of 5]

A wretched book. Brands doesn't tread any new ground, and he relies too heavily on a fraudulent source to take him seriously as an authority on the Jacksonian period. IMHO, Brands cranks out too many books too quickly.

[Kusaimamekirai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrew Jackson was not a likeable human being. Yet he was without question a remarkable one.
He was violent, blunt, profane, insubordinate, a gambler, slaveowner, vindictive, created the political "spoils" system we still see even to this day, and most of all committed what we would probably consider today war crimes against Native Americans and British soldiers.
Even his supporters (of which he had many) would find it difficult to argue he wasn't all of these things.
And yet, he was a devoted family man who supported to his own financial detriment his irresponsible sons. He was a man who despite being orphaned at a young age and without formal schooling survived myriad hardships to raise himself to the presidency of the United States. He was fiercely loyal to those close to him (chief among his seemingly endless penchant for duelling well into middle age was one over a slander toward his wife). And he was a man who was despite his flaws, was unshakeably loyal to the Union. From being a soldier at the age of 13(!) and taking a sword to the head from a British soldier for refusing to shine his shoes to as a general saving New Orleans from British invasion in 1812, to finally as president threatening to invade South Carolina if they continued down a path of secession.
Perhaps it was an upbringing of struggling for everything he ever earned that made Jackson a man who had little time or patience for debate or negotiation. Jackson's world view was the wealthy vs. the poor, Jackson vs. his enemies, America vs. everyone else(including Native Americans).
This is a fascinating and well written book but I will admit to having to take long breaks from it. Partly from having a difficult time dealing with the cold and emotionless manner in which Jackson dealt with the Native American "problem". Reading Jackson's matter of fact words about the best way to make them give up was to "capture their women" or in regard to Indians who wouldn't sign treaties renouncing their land "They shall have provisions to carry them away. We do not want them. We wish them to join their friends that they all may be destroyed together" is chilling.
The author tends to be forgiving of Jackson in this area by pointing out that there weren't many other options available to a rapidly expanding country and by the way, Jackson adopted a Native American boy so he couldn't have been all bad. I humbly disagree.
For me this was the book's only weak point. There are lengthy passages devoted to the battles over the establishment/revocation of the Bank of the United States but comparatively little given to the policies that forced what Jackson would have referred to as "civilized Indians" living east of the Mississippi who would be forced to resettle in the West via what would be later known as the Trail of Tears. Likewise very little is said about Jackson the slaveowner other than he sold slaves, but never families. There were quite a few suspicious slave deaths on his plantation but the author through Jackson's letters assures us these were the actions of a rogue overseer who Jackson repeatedly reprimands but never seems to actually do anything concrete about.
Perhaps it is fitting that a biography of a colossal but flawed personality is commendable in so many respects yet still has its flaws.

[Jerome Otte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clear, balanced, and well-written biography.

The narrative is insightful, engaging, and very readable and mostly moves along at a good pace, the writing is clear and precise, and Brands does a great job showing Jackson’s humanity, and balancing Jackson’ life with the events that shaped it. Brands stresses Jackson’s commitment to national unity and the lengths he was willing to go to maintain it, even if it meant antagonizing his superiors or flaunting the law. He also covers Jackson’s sense of honor and his unwillingness to let pass any challenges to his honor or those of his friends. Brands also does a great job putting Jackson into his historical context and showing how the era’s political climate evolved.

Brands also, of course, describes Jackson’s views on the slavery and Indian questions, and links them to Jackson’s nationalism; for example Brands argues that Jackson, believing the states would abolish slavery eventually, saw abolitionists as endangering the Union. Jackson, Brands contends, also viewed the Indians not in terms of personal enmity, but as potential threats to white settlers and potential allies of foreign powers like Britain. Brands disputes the idea that Jackson’s relocation policies were motivated by humane concerns over the Indians’ welfare.

Most of the book’s problems are minor, like calling William Blount “James,” or a few typos. Some more coverage of colleagues like Van Buren and Blair might also have helped, as would more material on Jackson’s presidential campaigns and his decision to sack many of his cabinet members. The narrative is a little slow-paced at times and doesn’t always feel cohesive; at other times it reads like a collection of articles.

A comprehensive, accessible, and well-researched work overall.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

H.W. Brands captures the personality that lifted Andrew Jackson from his poverty-stricken childhood to his successful law practice in Tennessee, to his military career culminating with the victory in New Orleans, to his successful run for the presidency. A fascinating look at an extremely complex personality.

[Tim Sandell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and accessible biography of a fascinating man. The embodiment of the American dream: poor, orphaned child to President.

11 down.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

H.W. Brands is a prolific author of history/non-fiction, with several critically acclaimed biographies published before the Jackson story, including "T.R." about Theodore Roosevelt, and "Traitor to His Class" about Franklin Roosevelt. He is able to get a ton of detail about Jackson's busy life into this one-volume, 560 pages of text, covering the life of the Seventh President.

Jackson was the first person to become president who was not born into Southern planter aristocracy or Northern Yankee gentility. In fact, he was the first in a line of, it almost seems, obligatory nineteenth-century presidents who were born in log cabins. His poor North Carolina beginnings shaped his attitudes about the duty of government to represent and protect the interests of the common (white) man. He would embrace the small-government, agricultural- republic philosophy of Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans, transforming their party, with the assistance of Martin Van Buren, into the modern Democratic Party. His era represented a real turn in the political foundation of America, when the Founding Fathers' system of electing leaders from among the economic elite was replaced by the far messier democratic practice of choosing candidates from among professional politicians affiliated with modern political parties.

I was not previously aware of how the Revolutionary War further impoverished Jackson, with the loss of his entire immediate family. He was a thirteen-year-old regimental courier; an older brother, Hugh, had died fighting the British the previous year. Andrew and his other older brother, Robert, were captured and ended up in a prison camp where disease was rampant. A British officer demanded Andrew to clean his boots; when the teenager refused, he was whacked on the side of his head with a sword. The visible scar remained with him for the rest of his life; his resulting hatred of the British would be at least partially assuaged in a later war when Jackson, as a militia general commanding an armed force consisting of regular army soldiers, militia soldiers, freed blacks, frontiersmen and pirates would serve a humiliating defeat to the British army at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. His brother died of smallpox while in the camp. Andrew's mother secured his release, but he was orphaned at age fourteen when she died.

This is the sort of early-life scenario which leads to the actor's becoming either a criminal or a self-made success. Jackson took the latter path when he studied for the bar after the war. Back then, of course, many lawyers received their educations by working, and learning from, established attorneys. It was especially possible to start a successful practice in this manner on the frontier. In 1787, Jackson was admitted to the bar and moved to the North Carolina district of Tennessee. He worked hard in the ensuing years to prosper as a farmer/businessman, soldier and politician.

The first of these pursuits led to the purchase of a plantation, the Hermitage, near Nashville. Jackson had already established himself as a lawyer and slave merchant. Starting with about nine slaves and less than two hundred acres, Jackson's holdings increased in time to over a thousand acres. This eventually required the need for owning several dozen slaves.

His country lawyer connections no doubt aided his start in politics. He was the first elected U.S. Representative after Tennessee was admitted to statehood in 1796, and served as the state's first U.S. Senator. He resigned that position after a short time in office and was appointed Judge of the Tennessee Supreme Court.

He received a commission of colonel in the Tennessee Militia in 1801. In this capacity, during the War of 1812, he defeated Red Stick's Creeks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814. This, combined with the New Orleans victory over the British, would make him a national hero.

Jackson was placed in charge of the military expedition sent to fight the Seminoles and Creeks in Georgia several years later. Neighboring Spanish Florida was sparsely garrisoned as a remote outpost of its mother country, and its swamps were a refuge for runaway slaves from the United States. Jackson's forces crossed the international line, captured Pensacola and deposed the Spanish governor there. He was instrumental in forcing the Spanish to cede Florida to the United States. Prior to that, his forces had captured two British subjects who were working with their Spanish allies to foment intrigue against the United States. He created an international incident when he ordered their executions. You can almost see Andy rubbing that old scar on his face when the bottom was dropped out of the gallows. Jackson became military governor of Florida in 1821.

It was just a matter of time until the popular, headstrong Jackson entered a presidential race. He ran in three races, the first of which he lost by being outmaneuvered in the House of Representatives in favor of John Quincy Adams, in 1824. Brands makes enjoyable reading of this turbulent time in the Nation's history, when Jackson served in the White House from 1829 to 1837. Politics was at least as dirty then as it is now. Jackson suffered personally when the legitimacy of his marriage was made into a campaign issue. He had met Rachel Robards shortly after he moved to Tennessee and she became the love of his life. Trouble was, she was married, unhappily, to Lewis Robards, who was supposedly abusive to her. Brands gives a clear account of the sometimes complex issues involved with Rachel moving in with Andrew, then getting married after learning that Lewis had obtained a divorce. Unfortunately, the divorce did not happen, and Andrew remarried Rachel, in 1794, after Lewis actually obtained the divorce. This did not create a stir on the late-eighteenth century frontier, but the record of living in sin with a married woman, and legally committing bigamy was resurrected to great effect by Jackson's opponents in 1828. Jackson was really stung by the accusations leveled at his wife during the campaign. The real tragedy was that Rachel died just weeks before Jackson traveled to Washington to take the oath of office.

Brands covers all of the complexities of the important national issues at stake during Jackson's White House years. The one with the most impact on the nation's future was Jackson's vehement opposition to renewal of the charter of the Second Bank of the U.S. Jackson was incensed that the Bank had made the government vulnerable to foreign interests, made the rich richer, and exercised too much control over members of Congress, [proof that the past is not really past:]. The nation's banking system became hostage to a blood feud conducted between Jackson and the bank's director, Nicholas Biddle. Jackson also became mired in the "Nullification Crisis", a foreboding of the events of 1861 in which the future first state of the Confederacy, South Carolina, declared that it could nullify the 1828 federal tariff laws. Jackson, a Southern slaver, ironically rejected the South's legal arguments this time, by asserting that South Carolina was on the brink of insurrection by denying the supremacy of federal laws, and he came close to using the military to prevent threatened secession. The crisis passed after a compromise was hammered out in Congress.

The issue that brings arguably the most condemnation on Jackson's head is his enthusiastic support of Indian removal. The lands of the tribes living in America's Deep South were coveted by land speculators; this issue became acute when America's first gold rush followed the discovery of gold in Dahlonga, Georgia in 1829. Congress passed, and Jackson signed, the Indian Removal Act into law in 1830. This required the various tribes to move from their lands east of the Mississippi River to government-provided land west of the River. Many, including Jackson, justified this land grab as a protective move to allow the Indians to leave the areas where they were threatened with violence if they stayed. This argument ignored that many of the Indians, including the Cherokee nation, were living peacefully on farms and towns, wearing European clothing and educating their children in European-type schools. Resistance was not tolerated, and removal usually happened at gunpoint. First, in 1831, the Choctaw, then the Seminole in 1832, the Creek in 1834, the Chickasaw in 1837, and, finally, during the administration of Jackson's second-term vice-president and successor, Van Buren, the Cherokee were moved in 1838. These forced marches of families, with nothing but what they wore or carried, over hundreds of miles, in sometimes extreme winter conditions, to unfamiliar lands were termed "Trails of Tears", although this term is usually ascribed to the Cherokee odyssey, when over 4,000 people died on the trip.

One interesting factoid is that Jackson was the first President to be targeted, in office, with an assassination attempt. On January 30, 1835, a whack job named Richard Lawrence approached Jackson while he walked through the halls of Congress. Using the single-shot, flintlock pistols in use at the time, he aimed and pulled the trigger of the loaded weapon point blank at Jackson. Incredibly, the pistol misfired (not unusual for these type of guns); then, he drew another freakin' loaded gun, cocked it, and was not subdued until he pulled the trigger. Another misfire saved Jackson, who then tried to club the guy to death with his cane. Jackson, dodging two bullets so to speak, was actually, at this time, carrying around another bullet in his chest that had been inflicted years ago in a duel. Jackson had been shot by, and then killed, his dueling opponent but doctors decided the risk of removing the bullet would be too great.

I'm telling you, there is enough stuff in this biography for a movie, or a mini-series.

The Hermitage today is a National Historical Landmark. The original Greek Revival style plantation house Jackson lived in is open to the public. So is the home's garden, where Jackson and Rachel (and I think two infant children) are buried in a copper-roofed domed limestone tomb. Many of the home's furnishings are original. I found the place very historically interesting during a visit years ago, although, considering that it consisted of a pre-Civil War plantation built and maintained by slave labor, there was little to provide insight on the impact of the lives of the slaves who toiled there. Nevertheless, if you're ever in Nashville, go out to the Hermitage for a real historical experience.

[Daniel Hull · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative book, if not overly insightful or entertaining. Brands seems to be better covering topics or time periods, and less with biographies.

And his ultimate claims are that Lincoln was the evolution of Jacksonianism and that the undivided Union after the civil war stood as a triumph ans tribute to Jackson. I disagree with the first claim and strongly disagree with the second.

All people claim Lincoln as their own and he did embody most of what was best in all traditions of American politics to that point. So yes, there is part of the Jacksonian transition that Lincoln was formed by. But Lincoln also transcends such narrow classification.

On the second claim, Jackson’s expansionism at the expense of all else helped to sow the seeds of the civil war and maybe help accelerate it. His record as a preserver of the Union does not stand in comparison to Lincoln. Or even to Jackson’s presidential rival, John Quincey Adams.

[Jennifer]

DNF

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Federal Union: It Must Be Preserved."

Brands' sympathetic biography of America's first true populist president is worthwhile for its consistent reminder that Unionism wasn't always anathema to the South and that populism is just as divisive then as it is today.

Jackson was, if nothing else, a polarizing figure as his political ascendancy marked the death-knell for the Federalists and those few hangers-on that remained within the Democratic-Republican party (J.Q. Adams). Jackson was one of those rare creatures, a Southern Unionist, and watching him navigate the various (and repeated) nullification debates is fascinating, as its unionism (Federal over state power) was so foreign an idea to Jeffersonians while his populism ("regular" people being the source of political authority and power) rubbed so many Federalists and their successors the wrong way. Jackson's approach to alienate elements of both sides while still remaining intensely popular is nothing short of amazing as it ushered in a wholly new way to view America's approach to representative democracy (with the latter part gaining prominence).

On a personal level, Brands does a fine job shining light on Jackson's almost chilvalric/Don Quixote-like devotion to his mother, wife, and elevation of women generally. It wasn't until the bizarre Eaton affair where the wife of won of his aides fell afoul of Washington society that marked a shift in his view of the fairer sex. I've read a couple bios of Jackson and the amount of energy that all involved spent on what is essentially gossipy drama still astounds me.

Brands doesn't shy away from Jackson's treatment of American Indians but he places it in the proper context of Jackson's view of the Nation. Jackson allied with multiple tribes during his military career and and generally treated them with respect due as allies. But when it came time to decide between letting tribal interests (or Supreme Court decisions) have authority over or dictating the interests of the nation, it's a foregone conclusion which direction Jackson would choose.

Jackson's physical ailments and volcanic temper as a result are also highlighted as is his truly fascinating early life. With Jackson's multiple duels an prominent feature I kept going back to Ron Burgundy's line "Brick KILLED a guy!" This 2005 bio was clearly the impetus for Brands' 2018 "Heirs to the Founders" that tried to be a triple bio of Henry Clay, John Calhoun, and Daniel Webster--three highly influential Americans during the time. But unlike that work which was weakened by trying to be three biographies in one and never settled enough on one or enough on a theme, Brands is at his best in this singular focus on a individual that demands a singular focus.

Ultimately, Jackson comes across as a man that was easy to hate, easy to love, and impossible to ignore. A fine biography.

[Alec Monnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is strongest when Brands delves into anecdotes and fleshes out the character of Jackson and his associates. For example, a story about the first ever Republican presidential nominee, John C Frémont, happening to be in the same hotel when his future wife’s uncle (the brother of future senator Thomas Benton) shot and almost killed Jackson, was one of my favorite historical coincidences I’ve ever read. The book is also strong in its discussion of Jackson’s exploits at war, particularly in the battle of New Orleans.

However, it is very weak in other points. Brands chronically fails to discuss the implications of Jackson’s policies. For example, there is practically no mention of the trail of tears. There were literally two paragraphs about it in the entire book. Another instance of this failure is Brands’ non-discussion of what came to pass after Jackson decided not to re-charter the Bank of the US. I have no idea what happened or how the states dealt with it, and Brands’ explanation was really lacking. And as a final example, Brands mentions several times how Francis Blair, who became a close associate of Lincoln, was an advisor of Jackson. This is an obvious connection that could’ve been taken advantage of, but Brands goes no further than mentioning the fact that they spoke on occasion.

Given the constraints of a one-volume biography of someone of such import, though, this book does a good job at detailing Jackson’s character in an entertaining way.

[Bookmarks Magazine]

Critics agree that even though there's mild interest in the life of President Andrew Jackson, the author who could spark a forest fire of curiosity would be acclaimed biographer, H. W. Brands, who teaches at the University of Texas at Austin. In tackling the life and times of Jackson, Brands doesn't overlook any of the controversial aspects of "Old Hickory" and his history. Who remembered that Jackson killed a man for disrespecting his wife, was fiercely protective of his honor, and adored veto power (Brands claims he vetoed more bills than the previous six presidents combined)? While critics praised Brands for placing Jackson squarely within the context of the republic's formative years, they faulted him for offering scant new material and focusing more on Old Hickory's military career than his influential political one. Still, this warts-and-all biography will engage readers interested in the nation's early history.

This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.