by Jon Meacham
First published 2017
Jon Meacham examines Andrew Jackson, the seventh president who rose from orphaned poverty to reshape American politics. The author traces Jackson's path from frontier lawyer to war hero to two-term president who championed common citizens against established elites. Meacham explores Jackson's military victories, his defeat of privileged John Quincy Adams in the presidential race, and his success at building political consensus while fighting government corruption. The biography confronts Jackson's contradictions: a populist leader who owned slaves until death and treated Native Americans with cruelty. Meacham shows how Jackson's political skills delivered major legislative wins, including preventing South Carolina's secession. The book follows Jackson through his retirement at his Tennessee plantation, the Hermitage, where he stayed politically active until his final days. Meacham argues that Jackson's complex legacy continues to influence American politics today.
Genres: biography, history, 20th-century, american, 19th-century, american-history
Vibes: intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: political-drama, rise-to-power
Setting: Tennessee, The Hermitage
Period: 19th Century
98 pages · Kindle Edition · Time
Content warnings: slavery, violence