Mark R. Cheathem Andrew Jackson, Books, Early Republic, Old South, Writing advice

The Evolution of a Book, Part 3: The Book Outline

(Part 1 and Part 2 of this series) My students will probably think I'm lying, but I actually didn't like or even follow outlines until I was in grad school. I thought they stifled my creativity and the organic development of my writing. In actuality, I set myself up for failure as a writer, something I learned the … Continue reading The Evolution of a Book, Part 3: The Book Outline

Mark R. Cheathem Andrew Jackson, Books, Old South

The Evolution of a Book, Part 2: The Book Proposal

(Part 1 of this series is here.) The book proposal that I sent to LSU Press in 2006 was modeled on one that I used for Old Hickory's Nephew [1]. I tweaked the focus of the Jackson proposal based on my experience with LSU Press and advice from the 1st edition of William Germano's book, Getting … Continue reading The Evolution of a Book, Part 2: The Book Proposal

Mark R. Cheathem Andrew Jackson, John F. Marszalek, Old South

The Evolution of a Book, Part 1: Choosing a Topic

I'm currently finishing up a book manuscript for LSU Press tentatively entitled "Andrew Jackson, Southerner." As I'm completing the writing phase and enter the editing process, I wanted to look back and examine how the book developed. This post will be the first in a series that I'll write looking ahead to the book's publication.* … Continue reading The Evolution of a Book, Part 1: Choosing a Topic

Mark R. Cheathem Andrew Jackson, Memory, Slavery, The Hermitage

Post-Civil War Slave Nostalgia

Update: This is a timely post, as my student, Kimberley Davis, reminded me with this letter purportedly written by an emancipated slave to his former owner.  I am currently looking at post-Civil War interviews and memoirs of African American men and women who were enslaved at The Hermitage. The interviews are rendered in the stereotypical … Continue reading Post-Civil War Slave Nostalgia

Mark R. Cheathem Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, John Wilkes Booth, Junius Brutus Booth Sr.

The Man Who Wanted to Kill Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson often elicited strong, violent emotions. During his presidency, one man tried to assault him, and another tried to shoot him. What you may not realize is that John Wilkes Booth's father, Junius Brutus Booth, threatened to kill President Andrew Jackson three decades before the younger Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln on that fateful Good … Continue reading The Man Who Wanted to Kill Andrew Jackson

Mark R. Cheathem American Historical Association, Andrew Jackson, Andrew Jackson Donelson, Andrew Jackson Hutchings, Andrew Jackson Jr., Antebellum South, Masculinity, Patriarchy

Patriarchy and Masculinity in Antebellum America: Andrew Jackson and His Male Wards

As I've done for papers at the 2011 SHEAR and 2011 SHA conferences, I am posting ahead of time the paper I will be giving in Chicago at the American Historical Association annual meeting. This paper, which examines patriarchy and masculinity in Jackson's advice to his male wards, is in many ways a continuation of … Continue reading Patriarchy and Masculinity in Antebellum America: Andrew Jackson and His Male Wards

Mark R. Cheathem Andrew Jackson, Historiography

New Book on Jacksonian Historiography

Be forewarned: I'm going to be self-serving in today's post. (I know, I know--as if that's different from any of my other posts.) A new book on Andrew Jackson is out, and you should use it. The Age of Andrew Jackson (Kent State Univ. Press) is a collection of essays on various historiographical issues pertaining … Continue reading New Book on Jacksonian Historiography

Mark R. Cheathem Andrew Jackson, Corrupt bargain, Election of 1824, The Hermitage

The Hermitage Podcast Series: The Corrupt Bargain

This month's podcast from The Hermitage features yours truly, as James Yasko and I discussed the 1824 election and the "corrupt bargain." I'm not a great phone interviewee, so be forewarned. My thanks to James for the opportunity to contribute to the series. If you're interested, Elektratig, whose image I used for this post, provides … Continue reading The Hermitage Podcast Series: The Corrupt Bargain

Mark R. Cheathem Aaron Scott Crawford, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, Civil War, Journal of East Tennessee History

Andrew Jackson: Patriot Slaveholder

Sometimes, there are articles that get lost in the shuffle. They don't appear in proprietary databases such as JSTOR or America: History and Life, so no one discovers them until years later. I don't want this to happen to Aaron Crawford's new article in the Journal of East Tennessee History (Vol. 82--2010) on the symbolic … Continue reading Andrew Jackson: Patriot Slaveholder