Review of The Life of Andrew Jackson by Robert Remini and American Lion by Jon Meacham

Without a doubt, the leading expert on Andrew Jackson among the World War II generation was Robert Remini.  Remini, Professor of History at the University of Illinois at Chicago and historian of the US House of Representatives from 2005-2010, published a three-volume biography of Jackson between 1977 and 1984.  This biographical series is considered by most historians to be the definitive modern work on Jackson.

In 1988, Remini published a one-volume abridgement of his earlier series entitled The Life of Andrew Jackson. This shorter biography of Old Hickory masterfully sums up the life of this complicated figure whose life and actions defined an age.  Remini takes a standard, mostly chronological approach to narrating Jackson’s life, at least until he reaches Jackson’s presidency.  Then he wisely shifts to a more topical approach, devoting a chapter to Jackson’s war on the Bank, another to his dealings with Indians, and so on.  This topical approach helps the reader best understand Jackson’s presidency by staying focused on one issue at a time.

Remini’s abridged life of Jackson is well-written and engaging. At times (for example, when he narrates the Battle of New Orleans) it even reads like a novel.  Remini’s portrayal of Jackson is also highly sympathetic.  He gives Jackson high praise for his foreign policy, his facilitating the paying off of the National Debt, and his concern for the common man (or at least the common white man).  At times his evaluation of Jackson borders on hagiography, as in the following passage:

Andrew Jackson was one of the few genuine heroes to grace the presidency. He was courageous and strong.  And he was indomitable.  The American people always believed that as long as General Andrew Jackson lived, the democracy was safe (326).

Still, Remini does not hesitate to take Jackson to task when he feels it to be necessary.  Remini justly criticizes Jackson’s Indian policy, which led to the disastrous “Trail of Tears.”  Also, Remini criticizes Jackson for killing the Second Bank of the United States, while at the same time praising his motivation for doing so (to check the influence of the nation’s rich and powerful over the working class).

Twenty years after Remini published The Life of Andrew Jackson, another influential Jackson biography emerged. In that year, popular biographer, journalist and former Newsweek editor Jon Meacham published American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House.  Meacham’s Pulitzer Prize-winning biography is about the same length as Remini’s abridgement, and like Remini, Meacham holds a generally favorable view of his subject.  There, however, the similarities end.

As the title of his work suggests, Meacham is primarily interested in Jackson’s presidency.  Accordingly, Meacham devotes very little space to Jackson’s life prior to and after his presidency.  This approach will appeal to readers who are mainly concerned with Jackson as president, but readers interested in Jackson the congressman, senator, general, and former president may feel a bit shortchanged. 

Without a doubt, the greatest difference between the two biographies is the amount of space the authors devote to the “Eaton Affair”, the conflict between Jackson, his Defense Secretary John Eaton and Eaton’s wife Peggy with the rest of Jackson’s cabinet over Mrs. Eaton’s reputation as a loose woman.  Remini devotes but a single chapter to the conflict, while Meacham devotes part or all of several chapters to it, making it one of his most emphasized aspects of Jackson’s presidency.  After listening to American Lion on audiobook twice and then reading a print copy, I could not escape the conclusion that Meacham devotes far too much time to the affair.  The portion of the book that deals with the Eaton affair reads very much like a soap opera.

Meacham’s writing style is crisp and engaging (which is not surprising, given his background as a journalist), and his life of Jackson is an excellent introduction to the subject. I liked it so much that I assigned it to my History 1301 (beginning to 1877) classes.  I made the assignment, however, prior to learning about Remini’s abridged biography. As good as American Lion is, I believe that The Life of Andrew Jackson is even better.  Next Fall semester, I plan to assign Remini instead of Meacham. Still, you will not regret reading either one.  If possible, read both.

Review of John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, a Private Life

John Quincy Adams is usually remembered more for his service outside of the presidency than for his presidency itself.  In John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, a Private Life, historian Paul Nagel builds upon this commonly-held view.  In well-crafted prose, Nagel highlights Adams’ long service as a diplomat, a career that culminated in an outstanding eight-year tenure as Secretary of State.  He also chronicles Adams’ post-presidency as an abolitionist congressman, during which Adams tirelessly sought to stymie southern slaveholding interests in the Congress and to promote the antislavery cause.

Nagel affirms the lack of impact of JQA’s presidency most significantly by devoting only a single chapter (out of fifteen) to it.  From its very beginning, Adams’ presidency was overshadowed by the larger-than-life figure of Andrew Jackson, whose claim that Adams had made a “corrupt bargain” in 1824 to steal the presidency from Jackson made Adams seem like an illegitimate president.  In addition to being hampered by Jackson’s shadow, Adams simply did not possess the correct “skill set” (to use a modern term) to be an effective president.  He was insecure and could be exceedingly irritable, lacking charisma and effective people skills.  These issues, much more than anything he did wrong as president, set him up for a crushing loss in his rematch against Jackson in 1828.

Nagel’s telling of Adams’ life is highly psychological, relying heavily on Adams’ copious diary entries to dig deep into his inner thought life.  For the remainder of this review, I will focus on two very interesting things about JQA that I learned.

The first major thing I learned involves JQA’s relationship with his parents, especially his mother Abigail.  I knew from reading David McCullough’s biography of John Adams and from watching the miniseries based on the book that John was a highly demanding father.  The senior Adams was a loving and dedicated father who did everything he could to help his eldest son.  But he often went beyond this, attempting to impose his own desires for his son’s education, career, and marriage upon JQA. In short, he often tried to micromanage JQA’s life, to the latter’s continual annoyance.

As Nagel points out (and this is something of which I was previously unaware), Abigail Adams was even more heavy-handed with her son, at times even crossing the line into manipulation.  Even after JQA reached adulthood, Abigail never hesitated to upbraid him for poor (in her opinion) choices and to tell him what she thought he should do. JQA finally became so irritated with his mother’s constant guilt trips that he quit responding to her letters for lengthy periods of time. Nagel’s portrait of Abigail as a nagging, manipulative mother contrasts greatly with David McCullough’s portrayal of her as a near-saintly wife and mother.

Another key aspect of JQA that I gleaned from Nagel’s portrait is the sixth president’s great insecurity. Despite his many great achievements (serving frequently in the diplomatic corps from age 14 until age 50, mastering several languages, writing several books, serving in the US Senate, teaching at Harvard, being Secretary of State, being elected as US President, and later serving as an influential Congressman), JQA was plagued by constant doubts about his own achievements and a lifelong fear he was wasting time and being lazy.  Seldom if ever have I read of someone who did so much yet felt he did so little.  This constant self-doubt was aggravated by a tendency toward depression, which seems to have been worse when Adams was not in politics.  Adams always claimed he would have been happier as a scholar and writer, and yet he was happiest when he was fighting political battles.

In summary, John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, a Private Life is a fascinating glimpse of one of the most brilliant men who has ever occupied the White House. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who is interested in the early history of our nation.