Publisher's Synopsis
Explore the legend of American President Andrew Jackson, aka "Old Hickory in The Reign of Andrew Jackson, A Chronicle of the Frontier in Politics, Vol. 10, by Frederic Austin Ogg. This vigorous biography of Jackson emphasizes the myths and character attributes of Andrew Jackson, from his youth to his rise to the Presidency. By focusing on personality rather than on political issues, Ogg mirrors the mood of the nation at the time Jackson was elected.
At the turn of the 19th Century, Americans were beginning to form a unique identity. There were still veterans of the U.S. Revolution, reminding the country of its English roots and fight for freedom. The northeast retained the aristocratic tendencies of their ancestors, with an emphasis on wealth and family name vitally important in all areas of society. But America was expanding southward and westward, creating new frontiers and clashing with Native Americans and Spanish, British and French settlements on the continent. During this period of great change, Americans were taking on new identities that were not driven by family name or the accumulation of wealth. They prized individualism, manliness and other stereotypical signifiers of strength. Jackson came of age during this era, and later exploited the quest for American identity by winning the first presidential election that was principally about regional loyalty and personal characteristics rather than policy. Jackson was born in the Carolinas (there is a dispute about whether it was North or South) to a recently widowed mother. He grew up in circumstances common to the frontier, among people "whose ideal of excellence found its expression in a readiness to fight upon any and all occasions in defense of what they considered their personal honor."
Jackson was never an intellectual. Instead Ogg writes about Jackson's youth as one of near constant conflict, building a tough character who could handle any situation. Jackson and his brother were briefly held prisoners during the Revolutionary War, and he bore a scar on his head from the saber blow of a British Lieutenant whose boots Jackson refused to polish. Jackson's hardscrabble youth served him well again and again, first during his term as solicitor in eastern Tennessee, and later when he fought against the Creek Tribes and led the army against the British in the War of 1812. Ogg portrays Jackson's political rise as a story of the reluctant war hero pressed into service by the will of the people. Ogg skillfully describes bond between Jackson and the "common man," a bond that propelled Old Hickory to the presidency.
The Reign of Andrew Jackson, A Chronicle of the Frontier in Politics, Vol. 10 is an aptly named look at a turning point in American history. Ogg expertly communicates why Jackson became the symbol of the new American frontier and then the young nation itself. At times the book reads like an adventure story; violent quarrels are always breaking out, and Jackson is always there to quell them. The storytelling is brisk and entertaining and will appeal to readers who like history or simply love a good story.
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