You can help me choose my next book cover! In the comments, note which of the below eight images you think would make the best cover for The Coming of Democracy: Presidential Campaigning in the Age of Jackson. Use whatever criteria suits you, and add your reasoning in your comment if you want.* … Continue reading Help Choose My Next Book Cover!
The 7th Annniversary of Jacksonian America
Once again, this blog's anniversary caught me by surprise. It's been a busy year, with Donald Trump and the Van Buren Papers taking up a lot of space. Thank you for reading, and I hope you like the site redesign.
Interview with C-SPAN’s Brian Lamb
Last month, I had the privilege of sitting down with C-SPAN founder Brian Lamb and being interviewed for his show, Q&A. It was a heady and nerve-wracking experience, not the least because I had been sick for a couple of days before I flew to D.C. (Remember that when you watch the interview.) We talked … Continue reading Interview with C-SPAN’s Brian Lamb
Would Andrew Jackson Have Prevented the Civil War?
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?
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?
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
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
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?
A Possible African-American Descendant of Andrew Jackson?
A recent correspondent sent me a link to a post on a possible African-American descendant of President Andrew Jackson. I have never heard of the enslaved family from which the correspondent is descended, but in their response to his query, Prof. Henry Lous Gates, Jr., and Katrina Fahy do a good job of examining the … Continue reading A Possible African-American Descendant of Andrew Jackson?
Jacksonian America: Society, Personality, and Politics 