The First Populist: The Defiant Life of Andrew Jackson
A revelatory, timely, and masterful biography of President Andrew Jackson that offers a new perspective on this charismatic figure in the context of American populism—identifying the reasons for his popularity as it shows us the man and politician in his full complexity.

A number of bestselling and award-winning biographies have been written about the seventh president of the US, but none have placed Andrew Jackson within the context of populism. Now, historian David S. Brown traces Jackson’s unusual life and legacy and sheds new light on his place in our nation’s history, focusing on his role as a populist leader.

Andrew Jackson rose from rural poverty to become the dominant figure in American politics between Jefferson and Lincoln. His reputation, however, defies easy description. Some regard him as the symbol of a powerful democratic movement that saw early 19th century suffrage restrictions recede for white men. Others stress his prominent role in removing Native American peoples from their ancestral lands, which were then opened to create a southern cotton kingdom, home to more than a million enslaved people.

A self-defined champion of “farmers, mechanics, and laborers,” Jackson railed against the established ruling order, fostering a brand of democracy that struck a chord with the common man and helped catapult him into the presidency—he was the first westerner, first orphan, and first prisoner of war to occupy the office.

Drawing on a wide range of research material, The First Populist takes a fresh look at Jackson’s public career, including the momentous Battle of New Orleans and the far-reaching Bank War; it reveals his marriage to an already married woman, a deadly duel with a Nashville dandy, and analyzes his magnetic hold on much of the country at the time.

Presenting a full portrait of a controversial American life, The First Populist offers a new way to interpret Jackson’s legacy, connecting “Old Hickory” to a longer history of nativism, dissent, and partisanship that has come to define our current times.
"1140524446"
The First Populist: The Defiant Life of Andrew Jackson
A revelatory, timely, and masterful biography of President Andrew Jackson that offers a new perspective on this charismatic figure in the context of American populism—identifying the reasons for his popularity as it shows us the man and politician in his full complexity.

A number of bestselling and award-winning biographies have been written about the seventh president of the US, but none have placed Andrew Jackson within the context of populism. Now, historian David S. Brown traces Jackson’s unusual life and legacy and sheds new light on his place in our nation’s history, focusing on his role as a populist leader.

Andrew Jackson rose from rural poverty to become the dominant figure in American politics between Jefferson and Lincoln. His reputation, however, defies easy description. Some regard him as the symbol of a powerful democratic movement that saw early 19th century suffrage restrictions recede for white men. Others stress his prominent role in removing Native American peoples from their ancestral lands, which were then opened to create a southern cotton kingdom, home to more than a million enslaved people.

A self-defined champion of “farmers, mechanics, and laborers,” Jackson railed against the established ruling order, fostering a brand of democracy that struck a chord with the common man and helped catapult him into the presidency—he was the first westerner, first orphan, and first prisoner of war to occupy the office.

Drawing on a wide range of research material, The First Populist takes a fresh look at Jackson’s public career, including the momentous Battle of New Orleans and the far-reaching Bank War; it reveals his marriage to an already married woman, a deadly duel with a Nashville dandy, and analyzes his magnetic hold on much of the country at the time.

Presenting a full portrait of a controversial American life, The First Populist offers a new way to interpret Jackson’s legacy, connecting “Old Hickory” to a longer history of nativism, dissent, and partisanship that has come to define our current times.
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The First Populist: The Defiant Life of Andrew Jackson

The First Populist: The Defiant Life of Andrew Jackson

The First Populist: The Defiant Life of Andrew Jackson

The First Populist: The Defiant Life of Andrew Jackson

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Overview

A revelatory, timely, and masterful biography of President Andrew Jackson that offers a new perspective on this charismatic figure in the context of American populism—identifying the reasons for his popularity as it shows us the man and politician in his full complexity.

A number of bestselling and award-winning biographies have been written about the seventh president of the US, but none have placed Andrew Jackson within the context of populism. Now, historian David S. Brown traces Jackson’s unusual life and legacy and sheds new light on his place in our nation’s history, focusing on his role as a populist leader.

Andrew Jackson rose from rural poverty to become the dominant figure in American politics between Jefferson and Lincoln. His reputation, however, defies easy description. Some regard him as the symbol of a powerful democratic movement that saw early 19th century suffrage restrictions recede for white men. Others stress his prominent role in removing Native American peoples from their ancestral lands, which were then opened to create a southern cotton kingdom, home to more than a million enslaved people.

A self-defined champion of “farmers, mechanics, and laborers,” Jackson railed against the established ruling order, fostering a brand of democracy that struck a chord with the common man and helped catapult him into the presidency—he was the first westerner, first orphan, and first prisoner of war to occupy the office.

Drawing on a wide range of research material, The First Populist takes a fresh look at Jackson’s public career, including the momentous Battle of New Orleans and the far-reaching Bank War; it reveals his marriage to an already married woman, a deadly duel with a Nashville dandy, and analyzes his magnetic hold on much of the country at the time.

Presenting a full portrait of a controversial American life, The First Populist offers a new way to interpret Jackson’s legacy, connecting “Old Hickory” to a longer history of nativism, dissent, and partisanship that has come to define our current times.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781797139708
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Publication date: 05/17/2022
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 1.50(h) x 5.00(d)

About the Author

David S. Brown teaches history at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. He is the author of several books including The Last Populist; The Last American Aristocrat; Paradise Lost: A Life of F. Scott Fitzgerald; and Richard Hofstadter: An Intellectual Biography.

Jacques Roy is a audio narrator and actor, known for The Lower Angels and Room and Board.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Populist Persuasion 1

Part I Man on the Make

1 Ulster to America 9

2 Forged in War 16

3 But a Raw Lad 22

4 Western Apprentice 28

5 The Conspiracy Game 36

6 Marriage(s) 40

7 Nashville Nabob 44

8 The Outsider 49

9 Justice Jackson 54

10 Befriending Burr 61

11 The Duelist 70

Part II Hero for an Age

12 Erratic Rehabilitation 81

13 The Creek War 89

14 Sharp Knife 97

15 Optional Invasion 102

16 To New Orleans 107

17 A Victory More Complete 112

18 Defend or Endanger 119

Part III Warrior Politics

19 Removal by Another Name 127

20 The Chieftain 130

21 Phantom Letter, Full Invasion 137

22 Congressional Qualms 147

23 Florida's Revenge 154

24 Ebbing Old Republic 160

25 Call of the People 166

26 To Make a Myth: The Election of 1824 177

Part IV King of the Commons

27 In Slavery's Shadow 187

28 Jacksonians 192

29 First from the West 197

30 The People's Pell-Mell 205

31 New Politics, New Men 210

32 Peggy vs. the Moral Party 215

33 Economy and Expansion 227

Part V A World of Enemies

34 The Graves of Their Fathers 237

35 Cornering Calhoun 247

36 Kitchen Politics 254

37 Breaking the Bank 259

38 More Popular than a Party 269

Part VI Center of the Storm

39 The Nullification Crisis 275

40 New England Swing 286

41 Shades of Caesar 294

42 Censure 299

43 Facing Europe 307

Part VII Southern Sympathies

44 Jackson and the Abolitionists 315

45 Removal Redux 321

46 To Kill a President 326

47 Texas Again 330

48 The Jackson Court 334

49 The Politics of Succession 338

50 Administration's End 344

Part VIII Winter's Wages

51 Unquiet Retirement 349

52 The Last Push 356

53 No Terrors 361

54 Heroes and Villains 365

Acknowledgments 370

Notes 371

Illustration Credits 402

Index 404

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