Yesterday, I addressed Donald Trump's statements about Andrew Jackson and the Civil War. A lot of other historians since then have jumped in to lament Trump's historical ignorance, a view I sympathize with. Trump wasn't satisfied to let the criticism go and took to the Twitter machine to reinforce his historical analysis: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/859209801175269376 Whether Jackson would … Continue reading Would Andrew Jackson Have Prevented the Civil War?
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Is Donald Trump Right About Andrew Jackson and the Civil War?
In an interview with Salena Zito airing today, President Donald Trump makes a couple of curious observations about Andrew Jackson and the Civil War. As others have observed, Trump has trouble with verb tenses, and his grasp of history is rudimentary and often grossly inaccurate (here, here, and here). Both of these weaknesses are apparent in this interview. … Continue reading Is Donald Trump Right About Andrew Jackson and the Civil War?
The Little Magician Needs You!
As regular readers know, Cumberland University launched the Papers of Martin Van Buren project last February. We have spent the last 13 months working hard to organize the project and begin transcribing Series 1 documents. In an effort to move the project forward, our state representative has introduced Amendment #59 to the Tennessee Higher Education funding … Continue reading The Little Magician Needs You!
Trump’s Visit to The Hermitage
I had the good fortune of spending a couple of days at The Hermitage this week. On Tuesday evening, the Andrew Jackson Foundation premiered its new visitor film. It is a much more visually exciting film than the previous version, and it generally treats Old Hickory positively. On Wednesday, I returned to the site to … Continue reading Trump’s Visit to The Hermitage
Books for Fall 2017
Introduction to Historical Methods Conal Furay and Michael J. Salevouris, The Methods and Skills of History: A Practical Guide, 4th ed. (Wiley Blackwell, 2015) ISBN 9781118745441 Mark Gilderhus, History and Historians, 7th ed. (Pearson, 2010) ISBN 9780205687534 Peter Charles Hoffer, Past Imperfect: Facts, Fictions, Fraud American History from Bancroft and Parkman to Ambrose, Bellesiles, Ellis, and Goodwin (PublicAffairs, 2007) … Continue reading Books for Fall 2017
Donald Trump Is Not a Twenty-First Century Andrew Jackson
I've written about the Trump-Jackson comparison several times (here, here, and here), so when I was asked to contribute a piece on it to the OAH's The American Historian, I took the opportunity to bring together my thoughts into something more coherent than a blog post. You can read the entire American Historian piece, but … Continue reading Donald Trump Is Not a Twenty-First Century Andrew Jackson
Jacksonian America: 2016 in Review
WordPress isn't generating year-in-review reports this year, so I'm putting together my own. Total blog views: 55,459 Most active month in views: November (9,807) Ten most-viewed posts of 2016 (2016 posts in bold): 1. Debunking the Lincoln-Kennedy Federal Reserve Meme 23,022 2. Andrew Jackson’s Profane Parrot 7,001 3. The Man Who Wanted to Kill Andrew Jackson 3,937 4. Was Calvin … Continue reading Jacksonian America: 2016 in Review
2d. Edition of Historical Dictionary of Jacksonian Era & Manifest Destiny Now Available
Yesterday, I received my personal copies of the 2d. edition of the Historical Dictionary of the Jacksonian Era and Manifest Destiny. Terry Corps, the original editor, did an incredible job of providing a nearly comprehensive list of entries for important people, places, and events. For the second edition, I filled in some of the few … Continue reading 2d. Edition of Historical Dictionary of Jacksonian Era & Manifest Destiny Now Available
Andrew Jackson, Southerner Now Available as an Audiobook
Planning a holiday road trip? Flying across the country to surprise your parents on Christmas morning? Tired of listening to "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer?" I bring you good tidings of great joy: The audiobook of Andrew Jackson, Southerner is out just in time for the holidays. You can even listen to a … Continue reading Andrew Jackson, Southerner Now Available as an Audiobook
Did Andrew Jackson Really Hate the British?
Two years ago, I had the opportunity to present a paper at a symposium commemorating the bicentennial of the Battle of New Orleans. The papers from that symposium have now been published in a new book, The Battle of New Orleans in History and Memory (LSU Press). The table of contents gives you some idea of … Continue reading Did Andrew Jackson Really Hate the British?
Jacksonian America: Society, Personality, and Politics 