Mark R. Cheathem Andrew Jackson, John Spencer Bassett, Papers of Andrew Jackson, Slavery

Upcoming Article in History Compass

The abstract for my forthcoming History Compass article, "Andrew Jackson, Slavery, and Historians," is now available online. The article should be out by the end of February. Historians have neglected to give full consideration to the place of slavery in Andrew Jackson’s private and public life. They rarely move beyond a few well-known examples of Jackson’s treatment … Continue reading Upcoming Article in History Compass

Mark R. Cheathem Andrew Jackson, John Spencer Bassett, Slavery

John Spencer Bassett and Jacksonian Historiography, Part 2

(Part 1 of this series is here.) While Bassett certainly attempted to provide a representative cross-section of Jackson's correspondence, several limitations deserve recognition. First, the Bassett volumes were edited and published during a time when certain topics were given more weight than others. For example, political and military matters dominate the CAJ volumes. Kinship, gender, and race are … Continue reading John Spencer Bassett and Jacksonian Historiography, Part 2

Mark R. Cheathem Andrew Jackson, John Spencer Bassett, Organization of American Historians, Slavery

John Spencer Bassett and Jacksonian Historiography, Part 1

In the process of presenting a paper at the April 2010 OAH about Jackson and slavery and writing a longer historiographical essay on the same topic, I have spent a lot of time this year considering the influence of John Spencer Bassett on Jacksonian historiography. Bassett received his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1894, having … Continue reading John Spencer Bassett and Jacksonian Historiography, Part 1