I just finished watching the Andrew Jackson documentary on the History Channel (which BTW was fantastic.) It got me wondering just what is considered to be the definitive biography of his life. I am thinking that any definitive biography has to be of relatively recent vintage, because ones written 50+ years ago are going to do short shrift to his Indian policies. Any suggestions?
Robert Remini has been the recent historian who has cornered the market on Andrew Jackson bios. He has a few.
I’ve not read them, but I read his bio of Henry Clay, which I quite enjoyed.
I wonder if that’s the same documentary that the history teacher showed in the class I monitored last week. Before watching that film, all I knew about Andrew Jackson was from the Charlton Heston movie, which focused on his relationship with his wife.
So I’m glad for this thread, because after seeing the film, I wanted to know more about him too.
Particularly the duel with Charles Dickinson – according to the film, the two men didn’t fire at once. Dickinson fired and hit Jackson near his heart and broke a couple of ribs. Jackson then took a carefully aimed shot but his pistol misfired. He took a second shot and killed Dickinson. Is that kosher?
Yes.
Haven’t read this book, but it got good reviews, and was part of a series of presidential bios edited by the recently-departed Arthur Schlesinger Jr., who won the Pulitzer in the late 1950s for his book The Age of Jackson (which wasn’t a bio, exactly): http://www.amazon.com/Andrew-Jackson-Sean-Wilentz/dp/B000S9HX1C/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196001134&sr=1-2
Here’s one copyrighted in 1996 with new material added in 2003.
Old Hickory’s War: Andrew Jackson and the Quest for Empire
(Highly rated by readers at Amazon.)
Robert V. Remini is the preeminent Jackson scholar. He has written several books on Jackson’s life and military career.
If you’re looking for a book specifically dealing with Jackson’s Indian policies, try Andrew Jackson and His Indian Wars.
Remini was one of the historians featured in the History Channel documentary. Thanks.
You might also be interested in checking out the historical Jackson from Indian perspectives as well, particularly Cherokee. (You can Google for plenty of resources.) Remini is especially suspect in some cultures.
PBS is tonight airing a bio of Jackson. In Cleveland it’s on at 9pm; check your local listings.
It ran two hours, and wasn’t too bad, although I didn’t catch all of it. Narrated by Martin Sheen and featuring Remini and some other folks, including a Cherokee oral-history guy, who said his people named the President “Jackson-devil.” Was this the same film shown on the History Channel?
I just watched it on our local PBS-ED channel. I was surprised to find a fair and impartial depiction of this hideous monster. It portrayed him accurately as a reckless, licentious, and traitorous bastard orphan who spent his youth dashing the dreams of an adulterous and bigamous whore, whom he married illegally, by spending the vast majority of his time away from her gambling the family’s wages and murdering British people. But it also presented his softer side — the cruel slave-master and maverick general who ignored the orders of his commanders while attacking Spanish territory, massacring whole nations of Indians to the chagrin of his own admirers, and paving the way for his Final Solution of the Cherokee problem. I must say that I have a whole new understanding of the Indian Hater as I stuff his face in my pocket and sit on it.
FYI, I ended up reading the HW Brands biography of Jackson. I really enjoyed it.
Have you even read Remini’s book, Liberal? Because from your postings, it doesn’t sound that way.
I haven’t read Karl Rove’s book on Dick Cheney either. What’s your point? Remini was on the show, explaining how the Indian Hater actually helped us all by championing the rights of white farmers while beating his slaves and murdering Indians and Englishmen. It seems that the fucker inspired those he reviled into fighting for their dignity. What a swell guy.
Thanks for your eloquent post. (And I’m not being sarcastic for once.)
My local PBS outlet has many reruns. I’ll definitely try to catch the show.
Lib, may I request your presence here? Thank you.
It’s probably the best documentary on him I’ve ever seen. I hope you will get to catch it. (And thanks for being supportive.) 
So was it the same bio as had been on The History Channel, anyone?