American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House

Jon Meacham presents Jackson as a quintessential embodiment of American democracy, in all its contradictions. These contradictions were baked into the nation’s founding, from the colonialism that promised greater freedom to European settlers but came at the expense of Indigenous Americans to the Constitution that espoused egalitarianism but permitted slavery. Such tensions only escalated as the years went by. The Constitution, for example, was vague on the subject of suffrage, so different states adopted wildly different positions; New Jersey’s original constitution extended voting rights to all residents, including women and people of color, but many other states barred not only these groups but also white men who did not own a certain amount of land.

These property requirements were some of the first bars to suffrage to fall away, which would help propel Jackson’s ascension to the presidency. His appeal to the “common man” and his efforts to democratize political power shifted from the elitist structures of the past. Moreover, Jackson’s rise from humble beginnings to the presidency symbolized the possibility of self-made success, a core tenet of American identity. Meacham depicts Jackson as a champion for greater economic equality and political participation for ordinary citizens by showcasing his battles against powerful interests like the Second Bank of the United States; Meacham also recounts Jackson’s staunch defense of the Union.