by Jon Meacham
52 Two Christian missionaries Smith, John Marshall, 517.
53 “repugnant to the Constitution, laws, and treaties” Ibid., 518.
54 Justice Joseph Story suspected the matter Ibid.
55 “Our public affairs” PHC, VIII, 472.
56 “We were at the Capitol yesterday” Susan Donelson to William Gaston, March 12, 1832, William Gaston Papers, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
57 Horace Greeley later claimed Miles, “After John Marshall’s Decision: Worcester v. Georgia and the Nullification Crisis,” 519. The remark first appeared in his 1865 The American Conflict: A History of the Great Rebellion in the United States of America, 1860–’64; Greeley’s source was Massachusetts congressman George N. Briggs.
58 historically questionable Ibid., 528–29. Miles wrote: “If [Jackson] made the statement attributed to him about John Marshall’s decision, no one recorded it until years later, but he did refer to the ruling as ‘still born’ when Georgia refused to honor the Court’s mandate. And on one occasion, ‘he sportively said in private conversation that if … called on to support the decree of the Court he will call on those who have brought about the decision to enforce it[;] that he will call on the Militia of Massachusetts.’ ”
59 “The decision of the Supreme Court” Correspondence, IV, 430.
60 reconstructed the chronology of the case Miles, “After John Marshall’s Decision: Worcester v. Georgia and the Nullification Crisis,” 527.
61 In the strictest sense of the law Prucha, Great Father, 212. As Prucha wrote: “United States marshals could not be sent to free the prisoners until the state judge had refused formally to comply with the order. But Georgia ignored the court’s proceedings, and no written refusal was forthcoming. Anyway, the Supreme Court adjourned before it could report Georgia’s failure to conform. Nor was there any other procedure that Jackson could adopt, even if he had wanted to.”
62 at least two factors at work Ibid., 212–13.
63 the administration convinced Wilentz, Andrew Jackson, 141–42.
64 Emily gave birth to her third child EDT, II, 17.
65 “I am thankful” Emily Donelson to Mary Donelson, June 17, 1832, Mrs. John Lawrence Merritt Collection.
66 “I have been very well” Ibid. Emily added: “I am quite well now and have been all about upstairs, but have not been down yet, though I will in a day or two. I had an old nurse who stayed with me the month. She has now left me and I miss her a good deal. I have no one now but Eliza and a little girl Andrew bought about 8 years old who does very well to rock the crib. He bought her brother who is 10. They are very bright and will make good servants in the course of time but are not much use at present. I have been very lonesome since Mary left me though I have had a great many visitors every day it is not like having some one always in the house.”
67 “I do not know yet” Ibid.
68 “I had hoped before this” Andrew Donelson to Stockley Donelson, late June 1832, Mrs. John Lawrence Merritt Collection.
69 trouble had begun in Quebec Parton, Life, III, 418–20. This was the cholera that had so decimated General Scott’s mission in the Black Hawk War.
70 On June 27, 1832, Henry Clay proposed PHC, VIII, 545–46.
71 could see Clay’s initiative A woman styling herself as “A Daughter of Massachusetts” wrote him “to offer you my sincere acknowledgement for your recent noble and spirited avowal of your belief of the Christian religion, and your reverence for its precepts; and I can assure you, Sir, that a large majority of the daughters of the descendants of the Pilgrims unite with me in the same sentiment” (PHC, VIII, 549).
72 he, too, believed in “the efficacy” Correspondence, IV, 447.
73 “I could not do otherwise” Ibid.
74 “It is the province” Ibid. Jackson’s reluctance to carry the presidency into the religious realm was shared by believers who thought that the church, broadly defined, risked corruption by contact with the government—that believers should, in the words of Roger Williams, the dissenter who left the Massachusetts Bay Colony to found Rhode Island, cherish a “hedge or wall of separation between the Garden of the Church and the wilderness of the world”—in order to protect religion from politics, not politics from religion (see my American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation [New York, 2006], 54).
75 “I am no sectarian” Ibid., 256.
76 was prepared to veto Remini, Jackson, II, 361.
77 a veto message written by Louis McLane Draft of Veto Message, Van Buren Papers, LOC.
78 “In the spirit” Ibid.
Chapter 15: The Fury of a Chained Panther
1 Biddle thought he had Jackson where he wanted him Swisher, ed., “Roger Taney’s ‘Bank War Manuscript,’ ” September 1958, 220.
2 “He was offended” Ibid.
3 The Senate passed the bill Remini, Andrew Jackson and the Bank War, 80.
4 One story sheds light Swisher, ed., “Roger Taney’s ‘Bank War Manuscript,’ ” September 1958, 221–23.
5 “Now I do not mean” Ibid., 222.
6 “is becoming desperate” Andrew Donelson to Stockley Donelson, February 18, 1832, Donelson Family Private Collection, Cleveland Hall, Nashville.
7 Jackson sent Taney Swisher, ed., “Roger B. Taney’s ‘Bank War Manuscript,’ ” September 1958, 226–28. I am indebted to Taney’s description of the writing of the veto.
8 Taney joined Donelson … “even hearing” Ibid., 227.
9 in the northern light Earl’s room faced north. Author tour of the White House.
10 “It is to be regretted” Messages, II, 1153. Feller, Jacksonian Promise, 169–75, is interesting on the veto and its implications, as is Howe, What Hath God Wrought, 373–86, and Wilentz, Rise of American Democracy, 367–74.
11 “The Congress, the Executive” Ibid., 1145.
12 “Sir, no President” Remini, Life of Andrew Jackson, 231.
13 “I have now done my duty” Messages, II, 1154.
14 Whose vision would prevail Jackson’s veto—indeed, his whole presidency—raises questions about the nature of power in American life. Gerard N. Magliocca, Andrew Jackson and the Constitution: The Rise and Fall of Generational Regimes (Lawrence, Kans., 2007), 48–60, is especially good on these issues (as are his source notes). Magliocca wrote: “The rise of the executive branch as the driving force for constitutional reform, which was contrary to the expectation of the Framers, is one of the most important institutional developments during the last two centuries. Jefferson was the first to experiment with using his office as a focal point of the popular will, which explains why leaders in the 1830s often invoked his acts as a precedent for Jackson’s decisions. But Jefferson always publicly proclaimed his deference to Congress. What makes Jackson unique is that he was the first president to declare that he was the tribune of the people and could assert an independent constitutional vision on their behalf” (ibid., 56). Magliocca noted that Lincoln defied Dred Scott and that Franklin Roosevelt threatened to defy the Supreme Court over abandoning the gold standard during the New Deal (ibid.).
15 Jackson believed that “the intelligence and wisdom” Messages, II, 1154.
16 banking and finance and the American economy Peter Temin, The Jacksonian Economy (New York, 1969), is a strong account and an interesting argument. Temin is responding in part to Schlesinger’s classic work on the Jacksonian period, The Age of Jackson, which was written in the New Deal era.
17 The veto message “has all the fury” PHC, VIII, 556.
18 “profound calculation” Wilentz, Rise of American Democracy, 248.
19 a lucrative pepper trade Belohlavek, “Let the Eagle Soar!” 151–53.
20 There was also a good deal of specie Naval Affairs, 22nd Congress, 1st Session, No. 485, 155.
21 as well as opium Ibid.
22 was ashore attending to the weighing of the pepper Ibid., 154.
23 “rendered
desperate by their habits” Ibid.
24 stabbed Charles Knight, the first officer Ibid., 155.
25 in his side and in his back Ibid.
26 two seamen, John Davis and George Chester Ibid., 153.
27 other crew members dove overboard Ibid., 155.
28 plundered the ship Ibid., 154.
29 tried to return Ibid., 154–55, details Endicott’s escape from the port.
30 A local rajah, Chute Dulah, accepted Ibid., 155.
31 Endicott, with help, retook his ship Ibid.
32 “Who great man now” Ibid.
33 “May the mistake” Ibid.
34 the president of the United States believed that “the flag of the Union” Ibid., 153. The orders were signed by Navy Secretary Levi Woodbury.
35 “demand of the rajah” Ibid.
36 If talks failed Ibid.
37 “other ships-of-war” Ibid.
38 Arriving at Quallah Battoo Ibid., 157.
39 “No demand of satisfaction” Ibid., 156.
40 An invading force of 250 sailors and marines Belohlavek, “Let the Eagle Soar!” 155.
41 used javelins and darts Naval Affairs, 22nd Congress, 1st Session, No. 485, 157.
42 and killing more than 100 natives Belohlavek, “Let the Eagle Soar!” 156.
43 the ship’s medicine chest Naval Affairs, 22nd Congress, 1st Session, No. 485, 156.
44 assault on “a settlement filled” National Intelligencer, July 13, 1832. The original attack on Jackson was published on July 10, 1832, the same day the Bank veto went to Congress (Belohlavek, “Let the Eagle Soar!” 157).
45 “from an impulse of national pride” National Intelligencer, July 13, 1832.
46 asked for copies of the relevant papers on Thursday, July 12, 1832 Belohlavek, “Let the Eagle Soar!” 159.
47 Edward Everett of Massachusetts, a committed National Republican Ibid., 161.
48 “From the papers communicated” Ibid.
49 To avoid embarrassing Downes Ibid., 159–61.
50 the episode … faded away Ibid., 162.
51 jotting a note to Kendall Correspondence, IV, 465. The emphasis is Jackson’s.
52 “I have been most kindly received” Irving, Letters, II, 705. The letter was written to Peter Irving on June 16, 1832.
53 “The campaign is over” PHC, VIII, 555.
54 Emily took a trip to Baltimore Emily Donelson to Mary Donelson, [September 1832,] Mrs. John Lawrence Merritt Collection.
55 “I regret the continuance” Correspondence, IV, 475.
56 a letter to her mother Emily Donelson to Mary Donelson, [September 1832,] Mrs. John Lawrence Merritt Collection. After mentioning her own health, Emily added: “As soon as I got well Andrew was taken with the same and when we arrived at the springs looked like a ghost, but we had not been there more than a day before he began to improve and continued to do so until we reached home. We were at the Springs 10 days, were very much pleased and I have been very sorry that I did not remain longer but as my husband was obliged to be in Washington I thought we had all better be together and we were not then so much alarmed about the cholera.”
57 In the early hours of Monday, August 22, 1831 Freehling, Road to Disunion, 180.
58 entered the house of his master Ibid.
59 a broader spree Ibid., 180–81. See also Howe, What Hath God Wrought, 323–27.
60 killed about fifty-seven whites, a large majority of them women and children Howe, What Hath God Wrought, 325.
61 believed that “the Spirit” Ibid., 324.
62 A solar eclipse that year Ibid.
63 answered in kind by whites Ibid., 325.
64 a debate over partial and gradual emancipation Ibid., 325–27. See also Freehling, Road to Disunion, 181–96.
65 to “await a more definite” Ibid., 326.
66 “I heard” Correspondence, IV, 470. Calhoun, needless to say, would have disagreed. Ensconced at Fort Hill, Calhoun was thinking grandly, and unrealistically. Writing on the day of the state elections in South Carolina, Calhoun said: “The State rights party will triumph by a large majority. A convention of the State will certainly be called and the act nullified; but any movement will be made with the view of preserving the Union. The end arrived at will be a general Convention of all the States, in order to adjust all constitutional differences and thusly restore general harmony. We have run nearly fifty years on the first tack. It is a wonderful run; but it is time to bring up the reckoning in order to take a fresh departure” (PJCC, XI, 665). There was at least one obvious problem with Calhoun’s musings: they took no account of Andrew Jackson. Calhoun’s political judgment when it came to assessing Jackson was matched in its mediocrity only by Henry Clay’s.
67 legislature was to meet on Monday, October 22, 1832 Freehling, Prelude to Civil War, 260.
68 plans for a possible mutiny Correspondence, IV, 475–76.
69 “The Presidential question” PJCC, XI, 665.
Chapter 16: Hurra for the Hickory Tree!
1 the first major personal presidential campaign tour For accounts of the 1832 campaign, see, for instance, Robert V. Remini, “Election of 1832,” in History of American Presidential Elections, 1789–2001, ed. Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., and Fred L. Israel, vol. 2 (Philadelphia, 2002), 495–574; Cole, Presidency of Andrew Jackson, 137–52; Parton, Life, III, 417–32; Remini, Jackson, II, 374–92; and Wilentz, Rise of American Democracy, 372–74.
2 In Baltimore in late May 1832 Parton, Life, III, 421.
3 the 1826 disappearance and suspected murder of William Morgan Steven C. Bullock, Revolutionary Brotherhood: Freemasonry and the Transformation of the American Social Order, 1730–1840 (Williamsburg, Va., 1996), 277–79.
4 A strong political force Ibid., 280–83.
5 the Anti-Masons nominated William Wirt Ibid., 282. See also Remini, “Election of 1832,” 500–5. Charles Bankhead’s assessment of the Anti-Mason movement is interesting. Writing Palmerston in October 1831, Bankhead said: “Delegates from thirteen states of the Union assembled last week at Baltimore for the purpose of nominating ‘an Anti-Masonic President and Vice-President.’ … It is necessary to premise that about four years ago a man named Morgan, in the State of New York, suddenly disappeared and no trace of him has since been discovered. It was suspected that he made some revelations relative to Free-Masonry, which, as a Mason, he was bound by oath to keep secret. Some short time afterward he was carried off and supposed to have been murdered by other Free Masons who thought themselves absolved by their Masonic oaths in pursuing to any extent any member of the Fraternity who should transgress the regulations. Out of this circumstance grew a party espousing Anti Masonic opinions, and they have not hesitated to propagate the idea that Free-Masonry in this country has assumed such an alarming importance that the very Courts of Justice are, in a degree, subservient to its regulations. On this belief gaining ground, many of its supporters conceived that the Executive Officers of the Government should not belong to the society of Free Masons.… General Jackson is a Free Mason and under the pretence of objecting to his reelection upon principle, the Anti Masonic meeting (composed, in great measure, of Northern and Eastern men) make use of that objection politically to defeat his prospects at the ensuing election” (Charles Bankhead to Viscount Palmerston, October 4, 1831, National Archives of the United Kingdom, Kew).
6 Clay, the National Republican nominee Remini, Henry Clay, 403–11, is a good account of the campaign from Clay’s perspective.
7 There were barbecues Remini, “Election of 1832,” 513. Here is Remini on the barbecue factor: “In addition to parades, the Democrats believed in barbecues as an important technique in winning the voter’s favor. Even when they lost local elections, as they did in Kentucky, the Democrats seemed to think a barbecue was in order—or so the Louisville Journal reported. ‘There seems to be no way of convincing these fellows that they are fairly beaten. They have one sort of answering for every thing. If we show them that we have elected o
ur Lieutenant Governor by a majority of nearly 30,000, they reply by swallowing a pig. If we show them that we have gained great strength in the Senate, and added to our superiority, they reply by devouring a turkey. If we show them that we have obtained a majority of two-thirds in the House of Representatives, they reply by pouring off a pint of whiskey or apple-toddy. There is no withstanding such arguments. We give it up’ ” (ibid.).
8 “The Jackson cause” Ibid., 509.
9 “THE KING UPON THE THRONE” Ibid., 511.
10 took in a mile-long Jackson parade Parton, Life, III, 425.
11 Duff Green watched the rise PJCC, XI, 667–68. Green added, alluding to the Anti-Masons: “If I were permitted to make a suggestion I would say that we must organize against their organization and the question to be considered is how is that organization to take place.”
12 his autumn journey from Tennessee to Washington According to Remini’s account, Jackson denied that he was campaigning, at least in Tennessee (Remini, Jackson, II, 380).
13 at a Democratic barbecue in Lexington Ibid., 384.
14 “This is certainly” Ibid.
15 Blair helpfully published Ibid.
16 saying he had promised that “whilst I continued” PHC, VIII, 555.
17 “His opponents (and they are not few or unimportant)” Charles Bankhead to Viscount Palmerston, October 28, 1832, National Archives of the United Kingdom, Kew.
18 “belong to history” Parton, Life, III, 425–26.
19 won overwhelmingly Wilentz, Rise of American Democracy, 373–74.
20 The popular vote was closer Remini, “Election of 1832,” 515.
21 Jackson’s popularity was “so unbounded” Charles Bankhead to Viscount Palmerston, November 13, 1832, National Archives of the United Kingdom, Kew.
22 “The excitement during the last fortnight” Ibid.
