Andrew Jackson: The Course of American Empire, 1767-1821. Vol. 1 (Volume 1) (Paperback)

~ Robert V. Remini (Author) "AT ONE TIME IN THE HISTORY of the United States, General Andrew Jackson of Tennessee was honored above all other living men..." (more)
Key Phrases: negro fort, hickory ground, hostile creeks, New Orleans, Old Hickory, North Carolina (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

""Jackson's significance in American political and social history is enormous. His larger-than-life personality and equally heroic convictions and prejudices changed the Presidency and the character of American political parties... [Remini] has produced a wonderful portrait, rich in detail, of a fascinating and important man and an authoritative... account of his role in American history." -- John A. Garraty, New York Times Book Review.

""If courage is required in a biographer of Andrew Jackson, there is, at least, no shortage of literary battles where that bravery can by displayed. Professor Remini deserves his campaign medals." -- Peter Marshall, Times Literary Supplement

""Jackson never wrote his autobiography, and the art of campaign biography developed after his retirement. Yet one comes away with the feeling that here is how Jackson saw himself, might have set forth his own case, and wish to be remembered." -- Joel H. Silbey, American Historical Review

""Remini's real strengths are descriptive... Evocative incident and quotation convey the Jacksonians' conviction that they were engaged in a fundamental struggle." -- Charles Sellers, Journal of American History

Product Description

"Superb professional history that moves boldly beyond the scholar's monograph to make the American past alive and exciting for the general reader." -- Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., 1984 National Book Award jury report

Available in paperback for the first time, these three volumes represent the definitive biography of Andrew Jackson. Volume One covers the role Jackson played in America's territorial expansion, bringing to life a complex character who has often been seen simply as a rough-hewn country general. Volume Two traces Jackson's senatorial career, his presidential campaigns, and his first administration as President. The third volume covers Jackson's reelection to the presidency and the weighty issues with which he was faced: the nullification crisis, the tragic removal of the Indians beyond the Mississippi River, the mounting violence throughout the country over slavery, and the tortuous efforts to win the annexation of Texas.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press (March 5, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801859115
• ISBN-13: 978-0801859113
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #662,425 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Manifest Destiny Incarnate, December 28, 2000

By	Thomas J. Burns (Sanford, Florida) - See all my reviews

Whew!

It is hard to believe at the conclusion of this work that the hero's greatest days are still ahead of him, that there are two volumes yet to follow. [Remini notes that he had enough material for three more volumes, actually.] The first volume alone would have exhausted anyone who lived it and left the reader wondering how Old Hickory had anything left for an encore.

This first volume carries us to 1821, the 55th year of Jackson's life, when he resigned after an eleven-week stint as military governor of the newly acquired Florida Territory. By this point in the Jackson saga, one would not be surprised if the General slipped home quietly to Tennessee to die in the arms of Rachel. It had been a long, busy, troubled life.

Born in Carolina-which one is uncertain-Jackson's family was one of many in the South that suffered tragedy at the hands of British troops during the Revolution. Jackson himself was all of 13 when he joined the local militia and briefly spent time as a prisoner of war. When he returned home, sick and exhausted, his mother inexplicably left him alone and feeble at home while she traveled to Charleston, S.C., to tend other prisoners of war. While serving at Charleston his mother died of cholera. Jackson may have been a fearless young scrapper on the battlefields, but Remini summarizes his Revolutionary experiences as painful and permanently scarring.

Remini describes Jackson as a generally angry and depressed man throughout his ensuing adult life. He studied law and developed a practice in eastern Tennessee. He acquired a taste for land speculation and, in order to protect his investments as well as to enhance his reputation, he was an ardent supporter of the state's militia. It is fair to say that both Jackson's personal fortunes and those of Tennessee depended to an inordinate degree upon the strength of the state militia, which stood between the citizenry and the very real threats from hostile Indians, the British and the Spanish in the absence of wholesale federal protection.

It would be easy to imagine that Jackson's reputation rose steadily with the fortunes of his state. But Jackson never lived by convention. He was headstrong, brash, and frankly amoral. He involved himself in enough scandal to terminate four careers, let alone one. For starters, he "rescued" Mrs. Rachel Robards from an unhappy marriage without the benefit of the court. A number of his land deals turned sour or suspect. During his Congressional tenure in the 1790's he was alternately cantankerous and absent. In 1806, after serving a term as a justice of the state's superior court, Jackson engaged in a duel with Charles Dickinson over what was essentially a bad gambling debt. Dickinson, the better marksman, fired first and broke several of Jackson's ribs. But Jackson remained standing, and with Dickinson standing helpless in front of him, Jackson coolly killed him. Even by frontier standards, it was a ghastly event that left Jackson a social pariah for several years.

How low had the Jackson fortunes fallen? Consider that Jackson was forced to ride the coattails of Aaron Burr, of all people, back to respectability in Tennessee. Burr enjoyed considerable popularity for a time in Tennessee as he put together his "western expedition." Jackson came within a whisker of getting himself entangled in Burr's treasonous adventure. But as has been the case of many American politicians, what really saved Jackson's career was war, the long undeclared struggle with the Creek Indians and of course the War of 1812, which raised the name of Jackson to timeless hero. Remini depicts Jackson as a good, not great, military commander who used his advantages wisely: speed, familiarity with the Tennesseans who formed the bulk of his army, and a willingness to accept help from anyone, even local pirates. It did not hurt that the British made his job easier by peculiar military tactics, but such British arrogance had not detracted from Washington's victories, either.

Jackson himself was not convinced that the treaty with the British would establish permanent security for Tennessee and the lands south to the Gulf of Mexico. He thus devoted the next six years to what can only be described as a "cleansing" of what is now the southeastern United States. Despite Remini's objectivity and attention to detail, it is not always clear whether Jackson was acting upon his own initiative or upon orders from Washington. The federal government was certainly squeamish about Jackson's hamfisted diplomacy, if one can call it that, in his dealings with the Spanish in western Florida. Jackson was motivated by a deep conviction that Florida belonged to the United States regardless of what Adams and Onis might put to paper.

The Indian issue is more problematic. Jackson believed that Indians could not coexist with Anglo Saxons unless they settled and became farmers. Those Indians who wished to continue their ages old nomadic lifestyle would have to be relocated west of the Mississippi under Jackson's peculiar brand of eminent domain: move or be killed. The white men might refer to Jackson as "Old Hickory;" the Indians, more insightfully, spoke of him as "Sharp Knife." Remini describes several meetings between Jackson and regional Indian chiefs with a note of sadness, as well he should; Jackson relocated friends as well as enemies. From today's vantagepoint, this episode of Jackson's life is a reminder that American expansion carries its historical baggage of shame. Remini is not bashful about calling James Monroe to task for his posturing throughout this dirty business.

Remini subtitled this volume, appropriately enough, "The Course of American Empire." Andrew Jackson's fighting men knew him as "Old Hickory." History will better remember him as "Manifest Destiny Incarnate."

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Biography at its best, December 17, 2000

By	Candace Scott (Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This is the first book in a trilogy of Andrew Jackson and it is a magnificent book. So many biographers bury their subject and forget that most readers what to know who their subject *was*, not merely what they *did.* Remini doesn't fall into this trap. He gives the reader a well-grounded and detailed look at Andrew Jackson as a man: his foibles, passions and prejudices, as well as his extreme ambition and vacillating brilliance.

Remini strikes a beautiful balance when examining Jackson's private life and military/political life. His examination of the Battle of New Orleans is absolutely riveting, and he weaves Jackson in and out of the narrative with rare poise and skill. The reader can actually picture Jackson in the midst of this battle, feel his emotions and understand the decisions he made. When a biographer can paint such a vivid picture, the reader will always be rewarded.

This is an excellent book for the entire spectrum of people interested in Jackson. Whether you are a neophyte or an established Jacksonian historian, there is much to enjoy, as well as new material. The footnotes and bibliography are excellent resources and lead to additional sources for the reader. The minute I finished this, I bought the second volume, "Andrew Jackson: The Course of American Freedom, 1822-1832," also available on Amazon. This first volume is truly an outstanding book

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars not only most detailed, August 30, 1999

By A Customer

This first instalment in Remini's biography is not only the most detailed accout I have read, it is also the most human. Most biographers of Jackson paint him as simply the first super-patriot in american history. After reading this and it's companion volumes one sees just how much Jackson changed this contry that we all love so. Remini shows how J set us on the course of first continental, then international conqest. Without his seizure of the floridas there would have been no precedent for the future "annexation" of the remainder of the land we now call the United States. Anyone interested in american history would do well to study Jackson's life as well as his carrer in public life. Remini's biography is definetly the place to start.