The Age of Jackson (Back Bay Books (Series)) (Paperback)

~ Arthur Meier Schlesinger Jr. (Author) "FOR THE White House the new year began in gloom..." (more)
Key Phrases: specie clause, executive despotism, independent treasury, Van Buren, New York, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

A landmark in American historical writing. -- Marquis James

An original, brilliant and monumentally massive historical work...It is a major achievement -- The New York Times

Performed not merely adequately but brilliantly . . . a remarkable piece of analytical history. -- Allan Nevins --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. won the Pulitzer Prize for The Age of Jackson. It is a triumph of historical scholarship, analysis, and interpretation and throws much new light on a host of Americans, well-known and less well-known, who come to life in remarkable portraits that are both brilliant and sensitive. We learn a good deal that is new about the Jacksonian era, its relation to the Jeffersonian age it succeeded and to the periods that have followed.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 577 pages
• Publisher: Back Bay Books (November 28, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316773433
• ISBN-13: 978-0316773430
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #248,317 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic That is Still Deeply Relevant, November 8, 2005

By	Sam A. Mawn-Mahlau (Winchester, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Age of Jackson (Hardcover)

This book is a classic of American History, and is very much a chapter in Schlesinger's broader project of discovering the roots of (then-) modern liberalism through history. This is a book that is best described as a history of ideas, and particularly of the idea of democracy as it expanded in the 1830s and 1840s, embracing universal suffrage and economic as well as political egalitarianism. The book very much reflects the time in which it was written and the debates which it was part of, and, like much history of the period, seeks to refocus discussion of American history away from themes of frontier and nationalialism.

There are several things this book is not:

This book is not a comprehensive history of the period;
it is not even a social or economic history of the period;
it is not a biography of Jackson (indeed, Martin Van Buren may well receive more ink than Jackson in this book); and
it is not an attempt to write a definitive work; rather, it is a voice in a rather lively debate.

Schlesigner's voice in the book is clear and open. His own biases and prejudices are on the surface, not hidden and not given any claims of a "disinterested" scientific approach. Yet his research and his mustering of support are thorough and meticulous, and he is just as clear in discussing the shortcomings of his analysis (such as in the closing chapters) as in describing the shortcoming of other's analyses.

His fundamental argument is that the Jacksonian intellectual tradition was the first American intellectual tradition to clearly recognize a need for economic as well as political egalitarianism, and the first to make good on the fundamental concept that "All men (still men in the Jacksonian age) are created equal." He focuses on the entire intellectual movement of Jacksonian Democracy, not exclusively on the General himself, and shows the differing currents of thought and how they interacted to create a policy that fundamentally based itself on addressing a conflict between classes.

Schlesinger's project does have difficulty in dealing with reactions to slavery, which cut across class and ideological lines, and he wrestles through this to recognize in the end that a fundamental conflict of the time was the conflict between a sectionally and ideologically motiviated politics, resulting in much "crossing of aisles" and in radically different alliances in the 50s and 60s than existed in the 30s and 40s. Perhaps, however, it is just as important to examine ideologies that go beyond the Jacksonian economic perspectives and focus on underlying religious and moral views. Schlesigner also wrestles briefly, and less successfully still, with the impact of immigration and the opening of the frontier on the development of American political ideas. In doing so, at the end of the book, however, he is more laying out the areas needing further work than attempting to actually tackle the issues in detail.

Some of the many strenghts: Schlesigner provides us with the most coherant discussion before or since of the failure and demise of federalism, gives us the best history before or since on the battles over the 2nd National Bank, and brings out significant parts of the Jacksonian inheritance that had long been underappreciated. He incorporates original material into his work in a way that animates the material, makes it clearly understandable, and provides it context. Perhaps most importantly of all, he contributes a voice to American history that is personal and open, and puts the biases and personal intellectual struggles of the writer on display as part and parcel of his analysis.

Since Schlesinger's time, much has changed, but, in the developing debates Jacksonian Democracy is perhaps even more relevant. For example, there is again an alliance between economic and religious conservatives as there was in the Harrison/Van Buren election. Other reviewers have criticized, for example, Schlesigner's finding of common cause with the radical Jacksonians given Schlesinger's prediliction for "big government" liberalism; yet Schlesinger is very clear and insightful in showing how that the Jacksonian opposition's early view of limited government was inspired by the clear alliance of government and business at the time to the detriment of the common person, and that the view of government involvement developed significantly as the Jacksonians consolidated power and then watched it dissipate. We are once again in an era where the conservative party is increasingly the party of a bigger, more expansive and intrusive government, one which actively promotes policies geared toward conservative causes and business interests, and where liberals are, once again, more often the voice of governmental restraint. Schlesinger's analysis is helpful in tying together the development of differing approaches to government all in a common attempt to serve and respond to egalitarian social concerns. Schlesigner also is careful to call out the discontinuities between Jacksonian Democracy and the New Deal, highlighting in particular the struggles of the Jacksonians with industrialization, immigration and slavery.

While this book is highly recommended for all, and, indeed, is among the very best American History works, it is particularly recommended for those seeking intellectual roots for egalitarianism.

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Historian; A Great President, March 30, 2000

By	David M. Koss (Rockville, Maryland) - See all my reviews

When, as a young man, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. published "The Age of Jackson" he gave us an insightful volume about the founder of the modern Democratic party, and of the critical generation of U.S. History that followed the presidencies of Madison and Monroe, and preceded the woefully incompetent administrations that helped to precipitate the Civil War. From the vantage point of the year 2000, it is easy to criticize the author for failing to take Jackson to task for his vile policy toward native Americans. It is also much harder for intelligent Americans of today to understand the merits of Jackson's opposition to the Bank of the United States. But his opposition to the Bank of the United States was derived from a populist streak that makes liberals cheer, and his position on other major issues justifies the honors bestowed on him by today's Democrats (just as Republicans have "Lincoln Day" dinners to annually honor their party's best President, Democrats have "Jefferson-Jackson Day" dinners to honor their party's two founders).

"The Age of Jackson" is probably the second place that all college history students should turn to, as they study pre-Civil War America, second only to getting the raw outline of events from their required textbook. Of course, the Schlesinger book is no longer the final place for the student's research; more recent, albeit less well-written works must be studied as well. Still, historians would be hard-pressed to ignore this classic.

23 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Flawed but Essential Reading, July 26, 2002

By	Timothy J. Graczewski "tgraczewski" (Burlingame, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As has been pointed out by other reviewers, Schlesinger's work is essentially an all-out assault on conservatism in American politics masked as a history of Jacksonian America. Not an attack on the "conservative" position on this or that topic, mind you. Rather, he argues that there is some sort of innate dark side in America - the conservatives - that has consistently and relentlessly tried to deprive society of freedom and liberty at every turn.

Schlesinger twists and bends and stretches American history in his attempt to show how the national saving grace of liberalism has continued in one uninterrupted line from Jefferson to Jackson to Lincoln to Wilson and, finally, to FDR, even though the issues, parties and arguments have changed radically. (Had this book been published in the late- rather the mid-twentieth century, I'm sure the author would have demonstrated the role Johnson, Carter and Clinton played in that continuum.)

Schlesinger saves his most impressive feat of historical casuistry for explaining how and why the Democratic Party wasn't "really" the political party of slavery and oppression. By 1848, in Schlesinger's analysis, the two central parties, Democrat and Whig, existed in name only. All the radical (read "truly liberal") elements of the Jacksonian tradition had joined the Republican Party by 1858 (conveniently allowing them to take credit for the Civil War and destroying American bondage), but were back in the Democratic Party by the time big business usurped the GOP during and after Reconstruction.

With such a contemptuous and sarcastic review, you might be wondering "so why the 4 stars"?

Well, it has been said that the field of economics progresses one funeral at a time - and I would argue the same holds true for the study of history. Whatever this book's faults, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. is one of the most influential historians of the twentieth century and this book shaped the minds and ideas of a generation of liberal intellectuals, including senior Democratic statesmen. For anyone interested in learning more about Jacksonian America and understanding one popular, albeit controversial, interpretation of its roots in modern American liberalism, this book is essential reading.