THE LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON by ROBERT V. REMINI (1988)

I chose to read about Andrew Jackson because he appears to be President Trump's most admired predecessor. Now I can see why. Jackson, like Trump, represented himself as a populist. He championed the common man rather than the aristocracy. However, he seems to have been sincere in his belief that he represented the will of the people, while Trump's actions in office do not appear to be compatible with his campaign promise to "drain the swamp." I suspect that Trump also shares Jackson's opinion that the President (because he is elected by the people as leader) should have more power than the Supreme Court and even Congress.

Jackson was a war hero (as an Indian fighter and at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812), which accounted for his popularity. During his presidency, he prevented South Carolina from seceding from the Union, dismantled the Second Bank of the U.S., and paid off the national debt. Those were the most positive actions. On the negative side, he favored the extension of slavery to new states and sponsored the Indian Removal Act, which led to the infamous Trail of Tears.

He was no stranger to scandal, primarily because he and his wife Rachel were "married" before her divorce from her first husband was finalized. He was a man of violent temper, and fought duels, in one of which he killed his adversary.

From searching the internet, I found this biography of Jackson to be the most universally acclaimed. It seems to me to be slanted to a more favorable viewpoint. For example, Remini indicates that Jackson actually believed that he was "saving" the Native Americans by forcing them to remove from their lands, because they would thus be removed from the conflict with new settlers, and that he did not foresee that the removal would cause hardship. I don't buy it. I think he just didn't care, because he favored the fortunes of Anglo Americans.

I have found it highly instructive to learn more American history by reading presidential biographies. However, I believe I made a mistake by not starting with Washington and reading about the presidents in order. That would give me a more coherent picture of how we came to be the country we are today. So I will start over. Maybe I will live long enough to complete the list, ending with the Democratic president elected after Donald Trump.