American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House

This weeks book of the week, American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham, was originally reviewed on October 31, 2021 on YouTube, but is now available on Rumble and PodBean.

The cocktail I made for this book comes from food.com and is called Old Hickory. It is 1.5 ozs dry vermouth, 1.5 ozs sweet vermouth, 2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters, 1 dash orange bitters, and a lemon twist to garnish.

I almost, for like a minute, worried this might not be the right book for Andrew Jackson. It still might not be. Generally, I have been preferring books that cover their whole life, and this one glosses over everything that happened prior to his becoming the 8th president, although it does hit on some particularly spectacular highlights…like right after he obtained his license to practice law, he challenged opposing counsel to a duel. I sort of feel like all lawsuits should be resolved in this manner. The judge can be the referee. The jury can be witnesses.

And it covered the old scandal about his wife having still been married when they got married. Jackson at the time claimed that they had been told Rachel’s first husband had petitioned for divorce, which had been granted. More likely, he had filed, but it was still pending when Jackson and Rachel married. Or…and this one is a really fuzzy memory from a different book I read a few years ago, where divorce in America was kind of a laissez faire affair. Basically, if the couple said they were divorced, then it was so. But that might have only been applicable to poor people. And Rachel Donelson, aka Rachel Robards, aka Rachel Jackson, was NEVER one of the poor people, having been raised among Tennessee gentry and married Kentucky gentry, before marrying Andrew Jackson.

So, Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767, and his father died prior to his birth. Since his mother was now a widower with three boys to raise, and so she was taken in by relatives as a domestic servant. Jackson was a bit sensitive about being the poor relation, and had a bit of a hot temper, challenging kids to fights, and people to duels seems to have been a way of life for him. Now, the things that were completely glossed over, at least so far, are that Jackson served as Senator from Tennessee in 1797 to 1798, and again from 1823 to 1825. He was the first territorial governor of Florida in 1821, was a member of the House of Representatives from 1796 to 1797 and was Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court from 1798 to 1804.

What IS covered in depth is that his men loved him. During military campaigns, he earned the unswerving loyalty of every man who served under him. His family loved him. While he and Rachel never had children of their own, they were always part of the lives of the Donelson family children, who were always in and out of the Jackson’s home in Nashville, TN. Additionally, when one of the Donelson cousins had twins, they asked the Jackson’s to adopt one of them. And when he was on campaign, Jackson found himself the guardian of a Native American child who was orphaned during the campaign. So…kudos he took care of the child? On the other hand, had he not been campaigning, the child might not have been orphaned to begin with.

So that is what my current concern is. This book has not really addressed some of the known atrocities of Jackson’s early military campaigns. I mean, he was known to be a fierce Indian fighter, it was certainly used to bolster his military reputation on the campaign trail. But this has not been addressed. Yet. I do not yet know if it will be addressed. I’m actually going to be a bit put out if I have to revisit Andrew Jackson next month. I mean, I know about it, because it’s been addressed, to some extent or another, in the books I read on Madison, Monroe, and Adams. So why has it been basically ignored in the book ON Jackson?

Also not addressed is how incredibly contentious the 1824 and the 1828 presidential campaigns were. Or that the contention, arguably, began with Jackson’s campaign. And how Jackson basically created modern politics. I get it though. He’s trying to focus on the positive aspects of Jackson. But last months book on John Quincy Adams fully addressed both the good and the bad of JQA, bringing to light the incredible things he accomplished, while also highlighting his absolutely human flaws. I’m hoping this one will do the same for Jackson. So, I guess I’m a little unsure here. We’ll see how the author addresses the Trail of Tears. But just in case, I’ve started scoping out backup Andrew Jackson books. I probably won’t know until I reach the bitter end if this is a decent overall biography. And you know I’ll let you know what I think.

Ok, so now it’s starting to get good. Jon Meacham identified four defining issues for the start of Jackson’s.

1.       Nullification

2.       The Bank of the United State

3.       Indian relocation

4.       Mrs. Margaret Eaton

In 1828, Congress passed, and President Adams signed, a tariffs bill, designed to significantly increase the cost of set imported goods. The south, specifically South Carolina, called them the Abominable Tariffs, and used this as a platform to try and push nullification of federal law. Now, the 10th amendment absolutely grants the states broader power over the government than the government is supposed to have over the states; however, the constitution also grants congress the right to levy taxes and tariffs. So, this did become a matter of state versus federal power. And Jackson, being a bit of an authoritarian control freak, was absolutely against nullification. He saw South Carolina’s desire for nullification as a direct challenge to his authority. Because Jackson disliked anyone disagreeing with him and saw it as a personal attack. Much like politicians today.

The Bank of the United States. This was, essentially, the front runner to the Federal Reserve. Started under Alexander Hamilton when Washington was president, the Bank of the United States was in charge of the national debt and the national treasury. Jackson disliked and mistrusted banks. He especially disliked debts and was pleased that the budget and bank were on track to pay off the national debt in January 1933. But he disliked the bank. While not too much has happened yet to the bank, there are dark rumblings. I wonder what will happen in part 2.

Indian relocation. This is the big one. More than fending off nullification and the possible secession South Carolina was floating, more than ending the Bank of the United States, Jackson is remembered for his absolutely atrocious Indian policy. And I’m torn on how Meacham is handling this. On one hand, he is absolutely owning that the policy sucked, and that Jackson’s handling of this was a failure and national disgrace. However, he one notes it as…white people. Because of course. And this truly is a one note, and it’s not even the correct note. Was racism a problem in the 19th century? Yes. Of course, it was. But saying the need for expansion was SOLELY due to white people racism is disingenuous and does not come even close to telling the whole story.

Now, Meacham does a good job pointing out that there was not, like even a little bit, universal support, for Jackson’s intentions regarding the tribes in the Southeast United States. A significant portion of the North vehemently disagreed, and introduced policy after policy to congress, pushing that the treaties in place should be honored. The problem, as per usual, was progressivism. The Native tribes were seen as standing in the way of progress as, yes white, settlers, were looking to improve on the land and make their own way in the world. And instead of sending the white settlers west and saying, hey, we have treaties with these tribes, but we have this land, we don’t know what’s there, why don’t you go settle that land, they determined the native tribes had to go, and offered them a great deal of money to do so. Because it never occurred to the persons in power that there might be MORE native tribes on the land west of the Mississippi. I would posit this had less to do with race, and more with wanting to settle voters on the land where their votes would garnish more power to the central government. Send them to the land west of the Mississippi, and they do not belong to any voting state. Which means no allotted congress critters….no votes for president. I think this had less to do with greed, then with power. But that is just my opinion. Because…white people.

The final issue haunting Jackson’s first 2 years in office was Mrs. Margaret Eaton, the new bride of Jackson’s secretary of war, John Henry Eaton. Peggy Eaton was young, and beautiful, and a new widow, her prior husband having been only four months in the grave when she married John Eaton. This was quite the scandal. And her parents having owned a boarding house added to the scandal, as did her flirtatious and vivacious personality. The rumors flew that she was a tramp, that she had miscarried a child while her former husband had been at sea for year, that she frequently was a door prize at her parents’ establishment. And the cancel culture came for her. No joke. The cancel mobs have always been a thing, we’re just a little more aware of them now thanks to social media.

It started, with Vice President Calhoun’s wife, Floride Calhoun. Mr. and Mrs. Eaton called on the Calhoun’s, as was appropriate. The Calhoun’s did NOT return the call. The rest of the Washington elites took their queue from the Calhoun’s rejection, including Emily Donelson, Jackson’s niece, and hostess, as Mrs. Jackson had died a week after he was elected to the position of President. And because men just want peace in their house, the husbands all agreed with their wives, with the sole exception of Secretary of State Martin van Buren. He saw the Calhoun’s rejection, and realized political opportunity was in his hands. He embraced Mrs. Eaton and supported them socially. He even tried to broker peace between Emily Donelson and Mrs. Eaton; however, he missed the mark, basically advising Emily that she didn’t actually dislike Mrs. Eaton, she was taking her advise from the rest of Washington, not making up her own mind. Whether that is true or not, is completely irrelevant. Just the suggestion that she was that easily swayed offended Emily and she dug her feet’s in and began to viscerally dislike Margaret Eaton.

The social whiplash from this ongoing scandal, called The Petticoat Affair if anyone wants to google it, led to a break in the Jackson clan. During the trip home to Nashville in the Summer of 1830, Emily was given the option: Make nice with Margaret Eaton, or don’t return to the White House when we return to Washington DC. And Emily’s reasons for not making nice with Margaret, sort of make the case that she was swayed by others, rather than her own opinion. She knew that if she was seen to embrace Margaret in Nashville society, that information would make its way back to Washington, where she would then be shunned herself. She didn’t have the courage to stand up to the cancel mob. But Margaret did and cared not one whit what the culturati in DC thought about her.

And that is where part 1 ends. The next part covers years late 1830 to 1834. So, we’ll see what happens next, tomorrow.

When Jackson returned to DC at the end of 1830, it was not a happy home. Andrew Donelson came with him, but Emily and her children stayed in Nashville. Since family was very important to Jackson, this caused a hole in his household. However, obedience was ALSO important to Jackson, and he would not have Emily at the White House if she could not be a gracious hostess to all his guests, including Mrs. Eaton. So, Emily stayed, and Jackson returned to DC.

Then in early 1831, van Buren gave Jackson a gift. He saw a way out of the détente over the Petticoat Affair, and he laid out his plan to Jackson. Van Buren and Eaton would both resign from the cabinet, and Jackson would force the rest of the cabinet to resign, allowing him to start fresh with a whole new, hopefully scandal free, cabinet. Van Buren would accept a posting to London with the diplomatic corps, and this would also allow van Burn to publicly campaign on Jackson’s behalf in the upcoming 1832 election. Eaton would return to Tennessee, where he would stand for a position as Senator. This plan went down exactly as van Buren saw it, and Jackson’s life snapped back in to place, leaving him clear to deal with the bank, the nullification problem, and the Indian removal situation.

Now, this next section I read had mostly to do with the escalating campaign for 1832, and the bank. In 1832, the charter for the Bank of the United States was set to expire. Congress, as expected, renewed the charter. Jackson vetoed it. His reason for doing so is he saw the Bank of the United States as competition for his power. That is NOT the official reason for the veto. The official reason is that the bank was prone to giving loans to the well to do, and not everyone had the means to apply for a loan. Solid reasons that certainly appealed to the masses. But this leaves the question of, how will the federal finances be handled with no bank? This question has not yet been answered, but I’m only halfway through the book, so hopefully, it resolves before the end.

The other issue so far addressed is the Cherokee nations refusal to get with the program and relocate west of the Mississippi. Their first appeal to the Supreme Court netted a loss, as they appealed based on their status as a sovereign nation. The Supreme Court basically said, we don’t have authority over international courts, we can’t hear this case. The next case, it took me a minute to figure out what was met. In Georgia, the State of Georgia had passed laws that no white people could live on Cherokee lands. This SEEMS like a Cherokee friendly move. However, it takes away the autonomy of the Cherokee nation to decide who can and cannot BE on their land. So, when two missionaries, who had in fact been living on Cherokee land, were arrested, tried, and sentenced to 4 years of hard labor by the state of Georgia, the missionaries appealed to the Supreme Court. And won. The Supremes said determined that as the Cherokees are a sovereign nation and can decide to let whoever they want on their land.

Now, this was a political ploy. How so, you might ask? The Supremes issued this decree right before they closed their session. Which meant it was up to the state of Georgia to accede to the ruling, or not. If Georgia did not accede, then it was on Jackson to go order troops to Georgia to enforce the sovereignty of the Cherokee nation. Which Jackson was loath to do since he wanted the Cherokee’s gone. Lucky for him, Georgia did not push the issue. So, for the time being, the bank and nullification are the two concerns in Jackson’s life.

Now, Jackson knows that if he wins re-election, South Carolina is going to push the nullification issue. And he fully expects that as part of that, they will move to seize federal forts in South Carolina. And to successfully to that, the men, and officers at said forts would have to agree with South Carolina and the plans for nullification. So, he very quietly orders troops he knows to be loyal to go to South Carolina and take over the forts and sends the troops in South Carolina somewhere else.

And this is where I’ve stopped for this post’s reading. The charter for the Bank of the United States has been vetoed. And Jackson has won his re-election campaign. And as he anticipated, South Carolina is pushing the nullification issue, although they have not yet made any move on the forts.

At this point, this book has won me over. I was a little worried this was going to try and downplay the executive power grabs Jackson made and try to gloss over the dirty dealings with the Native Americans. It does not. So far, it highlights the power grabs, and tries to explain Jackson’s reasoning and justification for such, without giving any implication if those reasons are good or bad. Just laying out the facts, and the reader can decide for themselves. Exactly like a good book should. Can’t wait to see what happens next.

This…is ALL the drama. At this point, Jackson has won the Petticoat Affair. He never caved, but the Eaton’s retired gracefully from the field, allowing his family to rejoin him with no quarter being given. Everyone saves face, although Eaton did lose his bid for the Senator from Tennessee. Jackson has, essentially, tabled the Indian question for now, in favor of dealing with nullification, and the Bank of the United States. So, what happens next?

Step 1. Jackson wins reelection in 1832. Once that particular hurdle was jumped, he starts with the nullifiers. He managed to beat the nullifiers on two fronts. But it was by no means a sure thing. First, he convinced Congress to lower the tariff rates. This was a narrower tightrope than one might think. If he lowered the tariff too much, the north would start looking at nullification as a viable option. Don’t lower it enough, and the other southern states might take up South Carolina’s cause.

In conjunction with negotiating with the nullifiers over the tax rate, Jackson worked to push through the Force Bill, which would allow him to respond with military action should South Carolina proceed with nullification even if the tariffs were lowered. And while there was historic precedence which would allow Jackson to respond militarily regardless, the passage of the Force Bill was tacit approval of Jackson’s actions by Congress.

Now, the compromise tariff came from a most unexpected quarter—Henry Clay. Clay despised Jackson; thought he was a dictatorial despot. However, Clay also loved the Union, and was sure nullification would lead to secession, which would lead to Civil War and the dissolution of the Union. So, Clay managed to swing an agreeable rate to all concerned parties. And his new tariff rate was approved by Congress and signed by Jackson. Also passed by Congress was the Force Bill, which was handily signed by Jackson.

Both these options made Jackson happy. His powers were expanded through the force bill, and the South, including South Carolina, backed off on nullification. 1833 looked to be a good year for the president.

Having overcome that hurdle, Jackson’s next task was eliminating the Bank of the United States. In order to effectively do this, he had to find someplace else to store the funds of the United States Treasury. Fortunately for Jackson, there were several state-run banks that were happy to take up that burden. Unfortunately, Nicholas Biddle, who oversaw the Bank of the United States, was not going to take political cancellation sitting down. However, Biddle miscalculated. He fought back by calling due all outstanding loans and restricting additional extension of credit, directing complaints to the President’s office. Jackson was ready for this, though, and believed the people were with him, and that Biddle’s only bid was to keep the wealthy on his side.

Ultimately, Jackson won. While the charter for the Bank of the United States was approved by Congress, Jackson vetoed it and moved the funds to multiple state banks. Congress lacked the required two-thirds vote to overturn the veto. However, Congress did censure Jackson, on March 28, 1834:

“Resolved, That the President, in the late Executive proceedings in relation to the public revenue, has assumed upon himself authority and power not conferred by the Constitution and laws, but in derogation of both.” (p. 279)

The censure stung. What also stung was international politics. On the same day Jackson was censured, France decided not to repay the United States for damages incurred to the US during the Napoleonic wars. Jackson took both personally.

“When he pondered what the Senate had done, Jackson could not get it out of his head that a verdict had been rendered against him, and against his vision of the presidency. When he though of France, Jackson was convinced that both he and America were being put to the test—that his honor and the honor oof the nation were now in question.” (p. 279)

And out of the blue, France decides it will NOT be paying its agreed restitution. We came very close to war on this, when the French reversed themselves again. Apparently, Jackson was the abyss that looked back when France decided not to pay, and they decided it was not worth the risk.

Jackson protested the Senate’s censure, which was not immediately repealed, but was removed just prior to his leaving the office in 1837. I’m having a hard time deciding if Jackson had that much force of character, or if the rest of the men in the 19th century were just that spineless (except for Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, and John Quincy Adams, who stood up to him just fine). And despite the censure, Jackson continued removing federal deposits from the Bank of the United States.

On January 8, 1835, the national debt was paid in full. I believe this was the first and last time the national debt was paid in full. I could be wrong on that. Maybe I’m thinking there is some future president who actually balanced the budget. Regardless, this was a big deal. Less than a month later, Jackson survived a second assassination attempt. The first attempt, though, may have been more a matter of assault, vs assassination, as I don’t think the guy was armed. THIS guy though, Richard Lawrence, was definitively armed, with two pistols, both of which essentially misfired…the powder was too damp to catch. The odds of both guns failing were 125,000 to 1.

Jackson is the first president to have an assassination attempt against him, whether it was one or two attempts. And rather than reflectively wondering if it was his policies they were objecting to, or if maybe they were just insane (Lawrence claimed to be the King of England), Jackson believed his political rivals had hired assassins.

Right around this time is when Congress decided to issue their gag order on petitions regarding abolition. And whereas John Quincy Adams took up this cause with a vengeance, becoming a fantastic champion of freedom, Jackson quickly sided with his one-time nemesis and former vice-president John C. Calhoun, maintaining that slavery was their right and a part of the South’s way of life. But Jackson had done his part to preserve the Union for another generation, and the only thing left to settle was the Indian Question.

On December 18, 1835, the Osceola Seminoles attacked a Florida militia wagon train at Kanapaha. The Seminole were badass warriors and they fought against removal for SEVEN years. In Georgia, Jackson’s men were working on completing the Cherokee removal On December 29, 1835, the Jackson administration signed the Treaty of New Echota with the Cherokee Nation; however, the Cherokees who signed the treaty, did NOT represent the tribe. The Treaty Party represented about 1,000 members of the tribe. The National Party, under Chief John Ross, represented about 16,000 members. And they were against removal. But the administration, as politicians every when, choose to believe what they want to believe. And so, the forceful removal of the Cherokee began in 1838, under the van Buren administration. But the groundwork was inarguably laid by Jackson.

On December 25, 1835, the Donelson family, who had been with Jackson from the beginning of his White House journey, excepting the brief kerfuffle over Margaret Eaton, celebrated Christmas at the White House with President Jackson. In a little less than a year, Emily Donelson, who had been Jackson’s official hostess, died from consumption. She started getting sick in August, and by December had died. Jackson was devastated, as was Andrew Donelson, and the Donelson children. Emily was the beating heart of that family.

Jackson did manage to get his censure rescinded, in January 1837. On March 4, 1837, Martin van Buren was sworn in as the 8th president of the United States. Jackson seemed to enjoy retirement, interacting with the children in the family, offering advice, and career recommendations to Andrew Donelson. Jackson died on June 8, 1845, and was buried next to Rachel at The Hermitage, the Jackson plantation in Nashville, TN.