More than perhaps any other president, Andrew Jacksons story mirrored that of the United States; from his childhood during the American Revolution, through his military actions against both Native Americans and Great Britain, and continuing into his career in politics. As president, Jackson attacked the Bank of the United States, railed against disunion in South Carolina, defended the honor of Peggy Eaton, and founded the Democratic Party. In doing so, Andrew Jackson was not only an eyewitness to some of the seminal events of the Early American Republic; he produced an indelible mark on the nations political, economic, and cultural history.

A Companion to the Era of Andrew Jackson features a collection of more than 30 original essays by leading scholars and historians that consider various aspects of the life, times, and legacy of the seventh president of the United States. Topics explored include life in the Early American Republic; issues of race, religion, and culture; the rise of the Democratic Party; Native American removal events; the Panic of 1837; the birth of womens suffrage, and more.

Notes on Contributors ix

Acknowledgments xiv

Introduction: The President and His Era 1
Sean Patrick Adams

Part I Young Andrew Jacksons America 13

1. Life on the Early American Borderlands 15
Kevin T. Barksdale

2. The Foundations of Jacksons Removal Policy: U.S.-Indian Relations, 17751815 37
Tim Alan Garrison

3. The Old Southwest Becomes the Cotton Frontier 56
Daniel S. Dupre

4. Andrew Jackson and the Legacy of the Battle of New Orleans 79
Matthew Warshauer

Part II The Era of the Common Man 93

5. The Market Revolution 95
Brian Phillips Murphy

6. Religious Revivalism and Public Life 111
Eric R. Schlereth

7. Internal Improvements 130
Stephen Campbell

8. Slavery and the Making of the Old South 154
Robert H. Gudmestad

9. Creating a Democracy of Common Men 170
Michael Zakim

10. The Ambiguities of Class in Antebellum America 194
Brian P. Luskey

11. Antislavery to Abolitionism 213
L. Diane Barnes

Part III Politics in the Age of Jackson 229

12. The Early Jackson Party: A Force for Democratization? 231
Thomas Coens

13. The Myth and Reality of Andrew Jacksons Rise in the Election of 1824 260
Sharon Ann Murphy

14. The Elections of 1824 and 1828 and the Birth of Modern Politics 280
John M. Sacher

15. Shes as Chaste as a Virgin!: Gender, Political Platforms, and the Second American Party System 298
Nancy Morgan

16. The Rise of the Whig Party 328
Frank Towers

17. The Fog of War: Jackson, Biddle and the Destruction of the Bank of the United States 348
Stephen Mihm

18. The Nullifi cation Crisis 376
Kevin M. Gannon

19. Native American Removal 391
Andrew K. Frank

20. Radicalism in the Age of Jackson 412
Joshua R. Greenberg

Part IV Jacksonian Legacies 433

21. Financial Panics in the Early American Republic 435
Jose R. Torre

22. Immigration in the Jacksonian Era 454
David T. Gleeson

23. Andrew Jacksons West 474
Eric J. Morser

24. The Rise of the Consumer in the Age of Jackson 489
Wendy A. Woloson

25. The Rise of the Common Woman in Jacksons America 509
Nancy A. Hewitt

26. Fanfare for the Common Man? Political Participation in Jacksonian America 532
Robert J. Cook

27. Manifest Destiny and the American Southwest 549
Sam W. Haynes

Further Reading 569

Index 586