Most presidents have been alpha males - it kind of comes with the territory - but Andrew Jackson was an alpha's alpha. Jon Meacham, in American Lion, has delivered the definitive human portrait of a pivotal president who forever changed the American presidency and America itself. He was, in short, a lot like his country: alternately kind and vicious, brilliant and blind and a man who fought a lifelong war to keep the republic safe, no matter what it took.

The architect of the removal of Indians from their native lands, he was warmly sentimental and risked everything to give more power to ordinary citizens. Jackson was the most contradictory of men. The greatest of the presidents who have followed Jackson in the White House have found inspiration in his example, and virtue in his vision. With his powerful persona, his evident bravery, and his mystical connection to the people, Jackson moved the White House from the periphery of government to the center of national action, articulating a vision of change that challenged entrenched interests to heed the popular will or face his formidable wrath. His story is one of violence, sex, courage, and tragedy. One of our most significant yet dimly recalled presidents, Jackson was a battle-hardened warrior, the founder of the Democratic Party, and the architect of the presidency as we know it. Democracy made its stand in the Jackson years, and he gave voice to the hopes and the fears of a restless, changing nation facing challenging times at home and threats abroad.

Jackson's election in 1828 ushered in a new and lasting era in which the people, not distant elites, were the guiding force in American politics. Andrew Jackson, his intimate circle of friends, and his tumultuous times are at the heart of this remarkable book about the man who rose from nothing to create the modern presidency.īeloved and hated, venerated and reviled, Andrew Jackson was an orphan who fought his way to the pinnacle of power, bending the nation to his will in the cause of democracy.

American lion book