Andrew Jackson and the Bank War (Norton Essays in American History) (Paperback)

~ Robert V. Remini (Author)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert V. Remini is professor of history and research professor of humanities at the University of Illinois in Chicago.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co.; 2nd edition (November 17, 1967)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393097579
• ISBN-13: 978-0393097573
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #645,329 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gem of a book, October 7, 2002

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

After reading Bray Hammond's "Banks and Politics in America" and his trenchant critique of the Jacksonian assault on the Second Bank of the United States (BUS), I was interested to learn how Robert Remini, a historian known for his pro-Jackson tilt, responded to that attack on the Old Hero.

The answer is: he responded with a crisp, cogent and remarkably fair and insightful history of the struggle over the BUS.

The BUS had a profound political, economic, and social impact on American life during its short life (1816-1836). In his book, however, Remini seeks to address just one side of the controversy: the political. He concedes that there was much good in the BUS from a strictly economic perspective and destroying it without a concrete plan to replace the monetary institution undoubtedly did harm to the American economy as a whole. But, Remini argues, it was the political implications of the War - not the Panic of 1837 or the subsequent failure to adopt central banking in the US for nearly a century - that had the more far-reaching consequences.

It has been argued that Jackson was the first modern president. It is undeniable that the power of the presidency took a giant leap forward during Jackson's two-terms and Remini shows that those monumental gains in power came mostly during and because of the Bank War.

In particular, Remini argues that the Bank War is directly responsible for three areas of enhanced presidential power: 1) the use of the veto to reject legislation for purely political rather than constitutional reasons, thus inserting the president into the legislative process and, in effect, making his opinion count for two-thirds of both Houses of Congress; 2) even though Remini believes that the majority of Americans didn't support the president's stance on the BUS, Jackson made the election of 1832 a referendum on the bank issue and claimed henceforth that he represented the will of the people and was there one representative; and 3) Jackson's sacking of Secretary of the Treasury Duane for his refusal to remove the government deposits from the BUS exerted the president's right to remove Cabinet members at will, further strengthening the executive's grip over the government.

In short, there is stunning agreement between Remini and Hammond on a number of issues. For instance, Remini concedes that Jackson's veto of the BUS re-charter in July 1832 was pure demagogic class baiting with indefensible charges against the BUS's operations. He also rejects the notion that Jackson's re-election was a popular show of support for his attack on the BUS and he credits Nicolas Biddle with running an efficient, although by no means perfect, central banking organization. Thus, on economic grounds, Remini really sides with Hammond. But, Remini maintains, the economics of the issue was a distant second to the politics of issue. The cause of the War was political - namely, Jackson's refusal to bend or even appear to bend to a political challenge - and the most significant results of the War were political. Remini's case is sound.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It IS a page-turner, November 26, 2006

By	Dennis Brandt (Red Lion, PA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It's a hoot to read and as much at home on the beach as in the classroom. Sounds like the one fellow who slammed it in another review here just didn't want to take the course in which it was required reading. (I am very conscious of writing skill and have used Amazon to diss a number of extremely well researched books because they are poorly written. Sacred cows I do not recognize.) Remini takes what should be a deadly dull topic - banking - and turns it into a drama (and comedy) describing the clash between two bone-headed men: Pres. Andrew Jackson and Bank of the United States president, Nicolas Biddle. That clash changed the United States forever. Highly recommended.

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book on an overlooked episode, September 4, 2009

By	Omar Masood (Vineland, NJ) - See all my reviews

This is an excellent book on Andrew Jackson's battle against the Second Bank of the United States. This is an often overlooked episode in American history and Remini does a very good job covering it. The book is just the right size. The Bank War does not warrant a 500 page tome, but this book is just long enough to provide sufficient depth.