American Lion

By Dan Danbom, Special to the Rocky

Published November 27, 2008 at 7 p.m.

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* Nonfiction. By Jon Meacham. Random House, $30. Grade: B+

Book in a nutshell: At the time he took the presidency in 1829, Andrew Jackson was unique among U.S. presidents. He was the least-educated, the furthest from the upper classes of American society and the first to believe that government was too far removed from the people it governed. But Jackson was no fool and certainly no coward. His actions were guided by the twin guideposts of a strong commitment to the Union and unmitigated personal courage.

As examples of the latter, during the Revolutionary War, he took a horrific beating as a child because he refused to polish a British officer's boots; later, he took a bullet to his chest during a duel before calmly leveling his own pistol and killing his adversary.

Family also played a huge role in his life. He married his wife before she was divorced from her first husband. Scandal nearly derailed his first term as president, when Jackson took the side of his Secretary of War's wife, who was accused of promiscuity - a decision that alienated Jackson from his own family.

Jackson saw the country as a kind of extended family and fiercely fought an effort called "nullification," whereby states (particularly Southern ones) chose to ignore federal authority, fearing that that authority would ultimately cost them slavery.

Jackson contradicted the prevailing notion that the people were not to be trusted with absolute power. His fledgling steps to form the Democratic Party reflected that view. He defined corruption as the use of power and influence by the few to profit at the expense of the many.

He distrusted the national bank and entrenched officeholders (and shocked the country by appointing his own). He "believed that the country was being controlled by a kind of congressional-financial-bureaucratic complex in which the needs and concerns of the unconnected were secondary to those who were on the inside. It was an oversimplified view, to be sure, but he was convinced of it, as he was convinced that he was to play the hero's role," writes Meacham in this impressive new biography.

Best tidbit: You think campaigns are ugly now? During the campaign of 1828, Jackson called his opponents "uncircumcised philistines." Reading American Lion reminds us of how much the art of the insult has faded.

Pros: A readable account of one of our most colorful presidents.

Cons: Meacham could have provided more historical context for the story, but that's a small quibble.

Final word: The parallels between Jackson's time and ours alone make this recommended reading.

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