His first biographer praised him as “the most American of Americans, an embodied Declaration of Independence,” before also calling him “a patriot and a traitor…a democratic aristocrat, an urbane savage” and “an atrocious saint.” Historians have differed on Andrew Jackson ever since. Was he the living symbol of the new nation, of whom, as one scholar argued, “the people made a mirror for themselves”? Or was he an authoritarian zealot who dominated Congress, supposedly defied the Supreme Court, and wrecked the American economy? The first president to have a nickname, the first to survive an assassination attempt, the first to make extensive use of executive power, and, after Lincoln, the most powerful American president of the 19th century, he can still start an argument.

Using the assessments of a variety of American historians and examining primary sources from the period, we’ll try to make sense of the phenomenon that was Andrew Jackson. Short lectures to establish context, but we’ll focus on discussion. Participants should complete the required book before the course begins, as the Study Leader will provide further readings for each class.

This course will combine lecture with class discussions.