The Life of Andrew Jackson

The Life of Andrew Jackson

by Robert V. Remini
The Life of Andrew Jackson

The Life of Andrew Jackson

by Robert V. Remini

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Overview

"A wonderful portrait, rich in detail, of a fascinating and important man and an authoritative . . . account of his role in American History.” —New York Times Book Review

The classic one-volume abridgement of the National Book Award-winning biography of Andrew Jackson from esteemed historian Robert V. Remini.

As president of the United Sates from 1829 to 1837, Andrew Jackson was a significant force in the nation's expansion, the growth of presidential power, and the transition from republicanism to democracy. A forceful yet sometimes tragic hero, Jackson was a man whose strength and flaws were larger than life, a president whose convictions provided the nation with one of the most influential and colorful administrations in our history.

In this enthralling, meticulously crafted abridgment, Remini captures the essence of the life and career of the seventh president of the United States.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780061807886
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: 02/16/2010
Series: P.S. Series
Pages: 412
Sales rank: 320,180
Product dimensions: 5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Robert V. Remini is professor of history emeritus and research professor of humanities emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago and historian of the United States House of Representatives. He is the winner of the National Book Award for the third volume of his study of Andrew Jackson, and he lives in Wilmette, Illinois.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter One

Boy from the Waxhaw District

It was not half an hour before dawn, January 8, 1815. A thick mist rolled from the murky waters of the Mississippi River and covered the ground separating two armies facing each other. Slowly, as the light of the new day spread across the plain, the mist gradually thinned and drifted away, revealing the British army, in magnificent array, stretched across two-thirds of the open field. A short distance in front of them and crouched behind an open ditch, American militiamen, sharpshooters, frontiersmen, pirates, blacks, army regulars, and others, waited for the attack to begin, their guns pointed straight ahead.

Then, with a screech, a Congreve rocket rose from one flank of the British army, followed by a second that ascended from the other flank. They signaled the beginning of the Battle of New Orleans.

Displaying superb military discipline, the army of redcoats charged forward. The Americans saw them and cheered. They had been waiting for hours for this moment and could scarcely contain their excitement and joy. Their guns trained on the brightly colored targets before them. Trigger fingers tensed. Suddenly the entire American line was illuminated with a devastating blaze of fire. A battalion band in the background struck up "Yankee Doodle" as artillery, rifles, and small arms emptied into the faces of the oncoming British. The initial roar of defiance no sooner echoed away than another thundering rebuke smashed into the scarlet ranks. And with each volley, dozens of redcoats crumbled to the ground.

The commanding officer of the American forces, General Andrew Jackson of Tennessee, stood behind the ditch in a central position and surveyed his line with rapid glances to the left and right. His soldiers loved him and had already dubbed him "Old Hickory" in recognition of his strength, tenacity, and courage. At the moment he looked calm and resolute. He stood ramrod straight, surrounded by his aides, when suddenly he raised his voice in a single command. "Give it to them, my boys," he called to his men. "Let us finish the business to-day."

"Fire! Fire!" ordered General William Carroll to the Tennessee and Kentucky sharpshooters. And it was executed with deadly precision. Not hurriedly or excitedly but calmly and deliberately. Hardly a shot was wasted by the skilled marksmen as row after row of American riflemen shattered the advancing column. One British officer said he never saw a more destructive fire poured upon a single line of men. Every shot seemed to find its mark; scores of soldiers pitched to the ground, many of them falling on top of one another.

Then it happened. The advancing troops lost their nerve and the column halted. "The horror before them was too great to be withstood." They could no longer face the "flashing and roaring hell" in front of them. They recoiled and began a general retreat.

The commanding officer of the British army, Lieutenant General Sir Edward Michael Pakenham, saw his men halt and turn around and he rode forward from his position in the rear to stop them. "For shame, for shame," he screamed at them, "recollect that you are British soldiers. This is the road you ought to take," he admonished as he pointed to the fiery furnaces before them.

A shower of lead balls from the sharpshooters behind the ditch greeted Pakenham's call to advance. One shattered his right arm, another killed his horse. Mounting an aide's pony, Pakenham pursued the retreating column with cries to halt and reform their line.

They heard him. Once out of range of the fierce American rifles their spirits surged again. They advanced once more. At the same time a column of 900 Highlanders off to the left side of the line were ordered to cross the field and help their comrades. The tartan-trousered Highlanders followed an oblique route to the right while the once-fleeing column headed back toward the ditch.

But the ditch saw what was happening and responded instantly. Round, grape, musketry, rifle, and buckshot raked the entire length of the Highlanders' line. The carnage was frightful. And once the British column returned within rifle range the mud ditch barked its command to halt. Round after round smashed into the British ranks. One thirty-two-pounder, loaded to the muzzle with musket balls, crashed into the head of the column at point-blank range and leveled it to the ground, some 200 men killed or wounded in this single salvo. In the fire General Pakenham was struck several times. One bullet ripped open his thigh, killed his horse, and threw both to the ground. As his aides started to lift him, a second shot struck him in the groin and Pakenham instantly lost consciousness. He was carried to the rear out of gun range and propped up under an oak tree in the center of the field. Within minutes Lieutenant General Sir Edward Pakenham died.

The brave Highlanders halted not one hundred yards from the ditch, taking round after round from the Americans until more than 500 of them lay on the ground. At last they too turned and fled in horror and dismay. The British army lay shattered on the field.

The Americans stopped firing when the redcoats retreated out of range. Then word was passed down the line to cease fire. The men rested on their arms. The entire assault had taken hardly more than two hours, the principal attack lasting only thirty minutes.

General Jackson walked slowly down the line with his staff, stopping at the center of each command to congratulate the men on their bravery and skill. Then, the entire line suddenly burst forth with loud and prolonged cheers for their General. Jackson nodded and gestured his appreciation. The cheering continued for many minutes.

But when the Americans scaled the parapet they had built behind their ditch and wandered around the battlefield, their smiles and happy countenances vanished as they gazed upon the horror stretched out...

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Chronology of Jackson's Life, 1767-1845 xi

Genealogy of the Jackson Family xv

1 Boy from the Waxhaw District 1

2 Frontiersman and Lawyer 14

3 Congressman Jackson 28

4 The Duel 42

5 Old Hickory 55

6 The Creek War 68

7 The Battle of New Orleans 86

8 Indian Removal 105

9 The First Seminole War 116

10 Governor Jackson 129

11 An Era of Corruption 137

12 "Jackson and Reform" 157

13 The First People's Inaugural 172

14 The Reform Begins 183

15 Political Upheaval 190

16 Return to Reform 208

17 The Bank War Begins 220

18 Jackson and the Union 233

19 The Union Preserved 244

20 "The Grand Triumphal Tour" 252

21 Panic! 261

22 The End of the Bank 272

23 The Hermitage Fire 278

24 Jacksonian Diplomacy 283

25 Jacksonian Democracy 295

26 Texas 309

27 Life in the White House 315

28 Farewell 327

29 Retirement 336

30 The Silver Jubilee 342

31 "We Must Regain Texas" 346

32 "We Will All Meet in Heaven" 354

Notes 361

Bibliography 397

Index 399

Maps and Floor Plans

The Creek Campaign, 1813-1814 76

Route of British Invasion 94

Battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815 98

Indian Removal-Southern Tribes 107

First Seminole War, 1818 123

Hermitage, First Floor 300

Hermitage, Second Floor 301

The White House, 1833, Main Floor 318

The White House, 1833, Second Story 319

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