American Lion

by Jon Meacham

  22 Andrew Donelson sent his wife’s letter EDT, I, 187.

  23 Eaton weighed whether his war to survive Emily Donelson to Mary Donelson, May 10, 1829, Mrs. John Lawrence Merritt Collection.

  24 “Indeed the prejudice is so strong against them” Ibid.

  25 “the road to favor and patronage” PJCC, XI, 477. The occasion was Calhoun’s reply to Eaton’s 1831 publication of the Eatons’ version of the affair (ibid., 474–82).

  26 what Calhoun in 1831 called the “artful machinations” Ibid., 481.

  27 “It is Sunday” John Eaton to John Coffee, June 21, 1829, Dyas Collection–John Coffee Papers, 1770–1917, Tennessee Historical Society War Memorial Building, Nashville, Tennessee. Papers housed at the Tennessee State Library and Archives.

  28 “Our old friend is himself again” Ibid.

  29 “those who have been removed” Ibid.

  30 Woodbury … wrote Treasury Secretary Samuel Ingham Remini, Andrew Jackson and the Bank War, 51–52. Woodbury also wrote Biddle about the matter. See Levi Woodbury to Nicholas Biddle, Nicholas Biddle Papers, LOC. Written from Portsmouth on June 27, 1829, the Woodbury letter to Biddle is marked “Confidential.”

  31 unhappy with Jeremiah Mason Remini, Andrew Jackson and the Bank War, 52. See also Parton, Life, III, 260.

  32 Petitions were en route Parton, Life, III, 260–61. The politics of the New Hampshire episode was particularly fraught for Biddle, because Isaac Hill, a pro-Jackson newspaper editor who was now at Treasury, had instigated the move against Mason.

  33 close to Daniel Webster and to John Quincy Adams Ibid., 260.

  34 “partial, harsh” Ibid.

  35 Biddle conceded nothing Ibid., 265.

  36 a letter to Secretary Ingham Ibid., 266.

  37 there was no mechanism Papers, VII, 458.

  38 a memorandum in Jackson’s hand Ibid., 458–60.

  39 could “redress all grievances” Ibid., 459.

  40 “We visited the President” Hunt, ed., First Forty Years of Washington Society, 289.

  41 Martha Jefferson Randolph EDT, I, 218–19.

  42 She had given birth “Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson,” http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies/mj3.html

  43 Jackson and Van Buren saw her Hunt, ed., First Forty Years of Washington Society, 308. See also EDT, I, 217–19.

  44 “there is properly no history, only biography” Brooks Atkinson, ed., The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson (New York, 2000), 116. The line is found in Emerson’s essay “History,” published in his 1841 book Essays: First Series. Emerson believed that every reader looked to find himself in the mirror of history. “There is a relation between the hours of our life and the centuries of time,” he wrote. “As the air I breathe is drawn from the great repositories of nature, as the light on my book is yielded by a star a hundred millions of miles distant, as the poise of my body depends on the equilibrium of centrifugal and centripetal forces, so the hours should be instructed by the ages and the ages explained by hours. Of the universal mind each individual man is one more incarnation.… We, as we read, must become Greeks, Romans, Turks, priest and king, martyr and executioner; must fasten these images to some reality in our secret experience, or we shall learn nothing rightly. What befell Asdrubal or Caesar Borgia is as much an illustration of the mind’s powers and depravations as what has befallen us. Each new law and political movement has a meaning for you … I can see my own vices without heat in the distant persons of Solomon, Alcibiades, and Catiline” (ibid., 113–14).

  45 riding on horseback most days Niven, Martin Van Buren, 250.

  46 “We are getting along” Ibid.

  47 to pay a call on John Quincy Adams AMVB, 269.

  48 Jackson heard Van Buren out Ibid.

  49 at once pleased and sour Memoirs of JQA, VIII, 128–29. James A. Hamilton accompanied Van Buren on the call.

  50 the eleventh Philippic of Cicero Ibid., 127.

  51 “all the members” Ibid., 128.

  52 “Of the new Administration” Ibid.

  53 spoke of the weather Ibid., 129.

  54 ongoing negotiations about American trade Ibid.

  55 “very cordially received” AMVB, 269.

  56 “reestablish friendly relations” Ibid., 270.

  57 “by far the ablest man” Memoirs of JQA, VIII, 129.

  58 a visit with Emily and Mary Eastin AMVB, 344–45, is a full account of the episode. See also EDT, I, 209–12.

  59 “the Eaton malaria” EDT, I, 179.

  60 “conveyed, tho’ gently” AMVB, 344.

  61 “being controlled” Ibid.

  62 “the situation of her Uncle” Ibid.

  63 “I rose from my seat” Ibid., 345.

  64 an excursion aboard the steamboat Potomac EDT, I, 202–3.

  65 At Alexandria National Intelligencer, July 10, 1829.

  66 crowds of admirers Richmond Enquirer, July 14, 1829.

  67 her fan and cologne bottle EDT, I, 202.

  68 he saw Margaret “betray” Ibid., 202–3.

  69 “She informed me” Ibid., 203.

  70 she announced that she felt “pity” Correspondence, IV, 190.

  71 “secret influence” PJCC, XI, 386.

  72 “The interference of the lady” Ibid., 387.

  73 Margaret “flatters up the old General” TPA, 114.

  74 “as the means of gratifying” Ibid., 386.

  75 the weather was lovely Papers, VII, 384.

  76 Jackson again boarded the Potomac Ibid.

  77 the Rip Raps, Virginia Ibid., 385.

  78 wondered “whether the weeping willows” Ibid., 386.

  79 “My dear son” Ibid.

  80 a debate about whether to marry Ibid.

  81 a fortress named after Calhoun Chester D. Bradley, Fort Wool (Fort Monroe, Va., 196[?]).

  82 Steaks, English cheese, turtle soup Correspondence, IV, 64–65, reprints Jackson’s grocery bill from the stay.

  83 “inhaling the salubrious ocean breeze” Richmond Enquirer, September 1, 1829.

  84 “My dear and sincere friend” Papers, VII, 387.

  85 an evening call from the Reverend John Campbell Ibid., 411. Andrew Donelson’s complete memorandum of the Campbell episode and ensuing events by Andrew can be found on 411–15. See also TPA, 94–95.

  86 felt bound by “feelings of the most sincere friendship” Ibid.

  87 Would Donelson absorb the first blows Ibid.

  88 “I declined a conversation” Ibid.

  89 “She seems strong” EDT, I, 205.

  90 added “combustible qualities” Correspondence, IV, 67.

  91 Calhoun would “attempt much next winter” Satterfield, Andrew Jackson Donelson, 24.

  92 emotions “have been steamed” EDT, I, 205.

  93 “a fine healthy child” Ibid., 206.

  94 “quite strong” Ibid., 205.

  95 the “gratifying intelligence” John Coffee to Andrew Jackson Donelson, September 19, 1829, Dyas Collection–John Coffee Papers, 1770–1917, Tennessee Historical Society War Memorial Building, Nashville, Tennessee. Papers housed at the Tennessee State Library and Archives.

  96 “I assure you” Ibid.

  97 “the Sunshine of the White House” Alice Graham McCollin, Ladies’ Home Journal 11 (January 1894), 7.

  98 Campbell returned to the White House Papers, VII, 405.

  99 the doorkeeper TPA, 95.

  100 with William Lewis Papers, VII, 408.

  101 Donelson left the two men alone Ibid., 405.

  102 Jackson was stunned Ibid., 405–6.

  103 “Never having suspected” Ibid., 403.

  104 “this vile tale” Ibid., 406.

  105 “We parted” Correspondence, IV, 67.

  106 found sufficient evidence Ibid., 408–9, details Jackson and Lewis’s detective work.

  107 asked him to arrange Ibid., 409.

  108 Thursday … was a clear, pleasantly warm day “Meteorological Register for September, 1829,” Natio
nal Intelligencer, October 3, 1829.

  109 the two windows facing south Author’s tour of the White House.

  110 Jackson “stated the result of my inquiry” Correspondence, IV, 409.

  111 Jackson “must have misunderstood” Ibid.

  112 “I think it necessary” Ibid., 405.

  113 “Man born of woman” Ibid., 413.

  114 a special meeting Ibid., 423.

  Chapter 9: An Opinion of the President Alone

  1 “I have a confused story” John Quincy Adams to Louisa Catherine Adams, September 20, 1829, Adams Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.

  2 cloudy and rather cool “Meteorological Register for September, 1829,” National Intelligencer, October 3, 1829.

  3 Ely, Campbell, and the secretaries Parton, Life, III, 203.

  4 rectangular table Seale, The White House, 90.

  5 down the long hall Author’s tour of the White House.

  6 argued over the alleged miscarriage Parton, Life, III, 204. Parton’s account is based on interviews with “sources,” presumably including Lewis, who was present.

  7 Jackson moved on Ibid.

  8 the charge of Eaton and Margaret spending the night together Ibid.

  9 “Nor Mrs. Eaton, either” Ibid.

  10 “On that point” Ibid.

  11 “She is as chaste” Ibid.

  12 “are so public that my servants” Louisa Catherine Adams to John Quincy Adams, September 27, 1829, Adams Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.

  13 “All this got abroad” Ibid.

  14 a “little engagement” Papers, VII, 447.

  15 “When you marry” Ibid.

  16 first annual message Ibid., 776.

  17 a secret diplomatic initiative Ibid., 427.

  18 a mission to Sultan Mahmud II of Turkey John M. Belohlavek, “Let the Eagle Soar!”: The Foreign Policy of Andrew Jackson (Lincoln, Neb., 1985), 128–50, covers Jackson’s policy toward the Mediterranean world.

  19 had lost Greece Ibid., 128–29.

  20 Lord Byron died Ibid., 128.

  21 Turkey needed ships Ibid., 130.

  22 had traditionally approved the appointment Ibid., 131.

  23 Biddle paid a call Correspondence of Nicholas Biddle, 93–94.

  24 “I do not dislike” Ibid., 93.

  25 a failed land Remini, Andrew Jackson and the Bank War, 20.

  26 learned to fear debt Ibid., 18–20.

  27 “great difficulty” Ibid., 18.

  28 skeptical of promissory notes Ibid., 19.

  29 He was grateful Correspondence of Nicholas Biddle, 93.

  30 by the anniversary Remini, Andrew Jackson and the Bank War, 58.

  31 “That is my own feeling” Correspondence of Nicholas Biddle, 94.

  32 “[Jackson] said” Ibid.

  33 “I said, well I am very much” Ibid.

  34 “Sir,” said Jackson, “it would be” Ibid. For a survey of Jackson’s work on the Bank issue in the late autumn of 1829, see Remini, Andrew Jackson and the Bank War, 60–64. “Although he toyed with several different plans at this time [late 1829], the President could not make up his mind about any one of them, acting as though he knew he had to support some form of national banking and yet could not bring himself to do it,” wrote Remini. “So he vacillated. He considered one scheme, then another, and then a third, always ending where he started, not certain whether he wanted a central bank or just a government depository. Throughout the Bank War this uncertainty was repeatedly evidenced both in his letters and conversations, and it is extremely difficult at times to determine what he meant when he used the phrase ‘national bank’—whether a central bank, or a multi-branched federally chartered banking operation, or simply a bank located in the District of Columbia to act as a fiscal agent of the government. Most probably he was willing to experiment with any scheme that political necessity dictated. The only alternative he totally eliminated … was a continuation of Biddle’s Bank.

  “His indecision can be seen in the variety of schemes he considered in 1829. At one point he suggested the idea of tying the BUS to the Treasury and restricting its note-issuing powers; at another, of creating a bank for deposit to serve as a government agent in the transfer of public funds; and at another, of providing a system somewhat resembling Grundy’s proposal” (ibid., 60). This last is a reference to a plan of Tennessee politician Felix Grundy’s that, Remini wrote, “called for the establishment of a principal bank in Philadelphia with branches in all the states. In addition, the directors of the parent bank would be elected by Congress and the directors of each branch by their Congressional delegations. The bank’s capital would be established at $40 million, and the profits of each branch would be used for internal improvements within their respective states” (ibid., 59). For Grundy’s letter to Jackson on the subject, see Papers, VII, 505–6.

  35 the traditional dinner I am indebted to TPA, 108–9, for the details of the evening.

  36 “the most splendid” Ibid., 109.

  37 the president’s “mortification” Ibid.

  38 gave another dinner Ibid., 109–10. Van Buren asked Martha Jefferson Randolph to be the guest of honor, hoping the dowager’s presence might soothe matters. It did not (ibid.).

  39 an even more ambitious evening party Ibid., 110–11. Also see Nivens, Martin Van Buren, 252–53.

  40 A later ball given by the Russian minister Ibid., 112–14.

  41 was said to be furious As above, for the details of this incident, see TPA, 112–14.

  42 Jackson heard the Huygens rumors Ibid., 113–14.

  43 “Spare no expense” EDT, I, 212.

  44 The service would be in the East Room Ibid., 212–15. I drew on Burke’s account for my portrait of the occasion.

  45 “Dost thou, in the name of this child” The Book of Common Prayer according to the Use of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States (Philadelphia, 1822), 129–30.

  46 “I do, sir, I renounce them all!” EDT, I, 214.

  47 “In communicating with you” Messages, II, 1005.

  48 thoughts and points he would jot Parton, Life, III, 269.

  49 136–72 in the House “Party Divisions of the House of Representatives,” http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/partyDiv.html 119 25–23 in the Senate “Party Division in the Senate, 1789–Present,” http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/one_item_and_teasers/partydiv.htm 119 The document reflected Papers, VII, 601–30, traces the development of the document, and includes drafts on sundry issues by Jackson and from Kendall, Van Buren, Eaton, and James A. Hamilton. The full final text can be found in Messages, II, 1005–25.

  50 “Blessed as our country” Messages, II, 1006.

  51 “Our system of government” Ibid., 1010.

  52 limit the executive Ibid., 1011.

  53 “the majority is to govern” Ibid., 1010.

  54 the context of this assertion Ibid., 1010–11.

  55 “In a country where offices” Ibid., 1012.

  56 David Barton of Missouri C. Perry Patterson, Presidential Government in the United States: The Unwritten Constitution (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1947), 73. The address was delivered on March 17, 1830.

  57 feared “Executive encroachment” Ibid.

  58 a signal that Jackson wanted to reconsider Messages, II, 1025. As noted above, however, Jackson was uncertain at this point about precisely what he wanted to do about the Bank.

  59 Biddle tried to make the best of things Correspondence of Nicholas Biddle, 94. Biddle’s letter was dated January 2, 1830.

  60 “I was aware that the Bank question” Papers, VII, 642–43.

  61 the tariff, which so vexed South Carolina Messages, II, 1014–16.

  62 as a senator, had voted in favor Feller, Jacksonian Promise, 67.

  63 a series of twenty-four essays Prucha, ed., Cherokee Removal, 8.

  64 “Most certainly an indelible stigma” Ibid., 49.

  65 God, Evarts said Ibid., 51.

  66 no answer o
ther than removal or submission Messages, II, 1019–22.

  67 “should be voluntary” Ibid., 1021.

  68 “Our conduct toward these people” Ibid.

  69 Christmas 1829 was a dim, unremarkable affair Papers, VII, 657–58, is a description by Lewis of the grim atmosphere of this period at the White House.

  70 “in very feeble health” Ibid., 657.

  71 “confirmed dropsy” Kenneth F. Kiple, ed., The Cambridge Historical Dictionary of Disease (New York, 2003), 100–5; John Walton, ed., The Oxford Companion to Medicine (New York, 1986), 326.

  72 “Things are not as they ought to be” Amos Kendall to Francis Preston Blair, January 28, 1830, Blair and Lee Family Papers, Manuscripts Division, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

  73 “my labors increase” Papers, VII, 585.

  74 “I can with truth say” Ibid.

  75 Speaking of the “old differences” Amos Kendall to Francis Preston Blair, January 28, 1830, Blair and Lee Family Papers, Manuscripts Division, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

  Chapter 10: Liberty and Union, Now and Forever

  1 a White House levee EDT, I, 222–24.

  2 “Shaking hands” Ibid., 222–23.

  3 calico “serves to show” Ibid., 223.

  4 “No doubt Emily’s concession” Ibid.

  5 “They affected no superiority” Ibid.

  6 “There is no scarcity” John Quincy Adams to Abigail Brooks Adams, January 31, 1830, Adams Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.

  7 treated Margaret even more coolly Hunt, ed., First Forty Years of Washington Society, 311.

  8 “She is not received” Ibid.

  9 “Our government is becoming” Ibid.

  10 “One woman has made sad work” Ibid., 310–11.

  11 a session between the president I am indebted to Marszalek’s reconstruction of the meeting in TPA, 118. For Samuel Ingham’s account, see Parton, Life, III, 303–7.

  12 A kind of compromise TPA, 118–19.

  13 “Any attempt” Ibid., 118.

  14 “Society is [still]” Ibid., 119.

  15 “Our Presses at home” Robert Y. Hayne, “Letters on the Nullification Movement in South Carolina, 1830–1834,” American Historical Review 6 (July 1901), 738. The letter from Hayne was addressed to James Henry Hammond and was dated March 29, 1830.