Andrew Jackson: The Making of America #2

by Teri Kanefield

Overview

Born into poverty, Andrew Jackson (1767–1845) rose to become the nation’s seventh president and the founder of the Democratic Party. When the War of 1812 broke out, Jackson’s leadership earned him national fame as a military hero, and during the 1820s and 1830s he became an influential, and polarizing, political figure. Jackson is best known for making America more democratic. The problem was that, for Jackson, “the people” were white and male. So while he moved the United States toward a true democracy, he also trampled on the rights of minorities, appointing proslavery Supreme Court justices and giving America the Indian Removal Act, which resulted in the Trail of Tears. The book includes selections of Jackson’s writings, endnotes, a bibliography, and an index.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419734212
Publisher:	ABRAMS
Publication date:	03/26/2019
Series:	Abrams Making of America Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	788,399
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Teri Kanefield is a lawyer and the author of The Girl from the Tar Paper School, The Extraordinary Suzy Wright, The Making of America series, and more. She lives in San Luis Obispo, California.

Table of Contents

Prologue: A Mob in the White House 1

1 A Brutal Boyhood 5

2 Head of All the Rowdies 24

3 Romance on the Frontier 34

4 Congressman Jackson 49

5 Justice, Jackson Style 60

6 The Beat of the War Dram 75

7 The Battle of New Orleans 91

8 The Corrupt Bargain 104

9 Demagogue or Passionate Patriot? 121

10 The Indian Removal Act 142

11 Who Decides? 158

12 Jackson's War with the Bank 171

13 Nullification 181

14 Legacy 198

Notes 205

Time Line 215

Selected Writings of Andrew Jackson 217

"The Hunters of Kentucky" 224

Bibliography 227

Acknowledgments 230

Index 231

Editorial Reviews

**STARRED REVIEW**
"This book is an eye-opening, accurately researched, well-written depiction of Andrew Jackson and his presidency. Kanefield does an excellent job of describing Jackson’s qualities as a leader—both good and bad—while interweaving his personal life and the impact it had on his role as president."

School Library Connection

2018-03-04
This evenhanded, largely unflattering portrait of Andrew Jackson acknowledges that he was a controversial figure in his time and remains so to contemporary Americans, venerated by some and despised by others. This complete biography assesses Jackson's successes and failures in business, politics, the military, his personal life, and as seventh president of the United States. Though he espoused the principles of egalitarianism, dignity, and freedom, he "never questioned the morality of slavery." Kanefield notes Jackson's embracing of paternalism, "the belief that white women and all people of color were better off under the dominion of white men." Regarding Native Americans, Jackson's "view was that Indians were like children who tended to be cruel and vicious and needed stern punishment to force them to behave in a civilized manner." Supporting these characterizations are direct quotes from Jackson himself, although interestingly, Kanefield never actively describes Jackson's words or actions as racist. Although Jackson defied federal laws by attacking Indian villages on the Tennessee frontier and refusing to enforce the Supreme Court ruling against the Indian Removal Act, Kanefield acknowledges his courageous, uncompromising stance in the Nullification Crisis with South Carolina during his presidency. In assessing his legacy, Kanefield observes, "Jackson's brand of conservatism—including his nationalism and notions of white male supremacy—threads its way through American history from his time to ours, and remains a powerful force in our politics."A concise profile that successfully reveals Jackson's personal complexities and contradictions and his controversial legacy as a public figure. (maps, archival images, chapter notes, timeline, bibliography) (Biography. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews

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