Andrew Jackson
On Andrew Jackson I read Teri Kanefield’s “Andrew Jackson: The Making of America #2”.
I found this book quite short. That might be why it’s marked for “middle school” readers0. It may also be for the reason that Andrew Jackson was not as literate and grammatical and prolific as presidents of the past. So maybe there’s not a “John Adams Journal” to dump into the pages (I’m looking at you McCullough).
I thought Kanefield was helpful guiding me through Jackson’s actions. What were his motivations? Often personal pride and wanting to tear down ivory towers. What did people think at the time? Mixed, some thought he was an outrageous character and some saw him as a legendary fiery character to lead them. Knowing these things, how can we judge his actions? Sometimes rightfully harshly such as his actions to push the Cherokee out of their native lands in Georgia or his dissolution of the national bank.
Many other readers on this site have pointed similarities to President Donald Trump. I think these are apt comparisons. I couldn’t help but think about the incoming president when I read about Jackson’s “kitchen cabinet”: a group of family and friends he met with instead of his official cabinet. Or the rotating set of press secretaries. Or the incitement of crowds. Or his desire for loyalty. Or his ego. Or his stacking of the Supreme Court: picking a new chief justice much more aligned with strict originalism than John Marshal.
When I’m an old man I look forward to Trump’s biography. I look forward to a more neutral look to the outrageous character of our time. What is madness and what are his ideas I may not yet understand or appreciate? Where did he come from? And how might we look upon his presidency with decades of space?