The Unfinished Nation -- Brinkley

	The Unfinished Nation Brinkley
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SUMMARY

At first glance Andrew Jackson seems a study in contradictions: an advocate of states' rights who forced South Carolina to back down in the nullification controversy; a champion of the West who vetoed legislation that would have opened easy access to part of the area and who issued the specie circular which brought the region's "flush times" to a disastrous halt; a nationalist who allowed Georgia to ignore the Supreme Court; and a defender of majority rule who vetoed the Bank after the majority's representatives the Congress had passed it. Perhaps he was as his enemies argued simply out for himself. But in the end few would argue that Andrew Jackson was not a popular president if not so much for what he did as for what he was. Jackson symbolized what Americans perceived (or wished) themselves to be - defiant bold independent. He was someone with whom they could identify. So what if the image was a bit contrived it was still a meaningful image. Thus Jackson was reelected by an overwhelming majority and was able to transfer that loyalty to his successor a man who hardly lived up to the image. But all this left a curious question unanswered. Was this new democracy voting for leaders whose programs they favored or rather for images that could be altered and manipulated almost at will? The answer was essential for the future of American politics and the election of 1840 gave the nation a clue.

Chapter 9: Jacksonian America