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Summary Of The American Lion By Andrew Jackson

Decent Essays

Andrew Cabrera
Professor Rutledge
POL 406 - Analytical Book Report 1
25 September 2017 In the American Lion, Jon Meacham addresses an exciting story of a president who brought change within the United States and did an overhaul of the American presidency. At the heart of the book are Andrew Jackson and his small circle of friends or acquaintances . Essentially, the book is about a man who rose from nothing to establish the modern presidency. Andrew Jackson struggled at a young age, and earned his way to becoming an individual with authority. He played a critical role by bending the nation to his will, all in an effort to establish democracy. His election in 1828 sparked a new cycle in politics, where the people mattered more than the …show more content…

Meacham builds his thesis by relying on published research and discovered documents. He discusses some of the major battles that Jackson was involved in, all correlating towards the development of the role of being president of the country. Additionally, similar to the philosopher John Locke, Jackson held favoring opinions on the separation of church and state and always fought to steer the country towards adopting legislations that would benefit the society. It is important to note that most of the writing precedes Jackson’s presidency and this plays a critical role in shaping Jackson’s motives in building his country. Jackson is sworn in as an enemy of patronage, therefore differing from prior presidents. He decides to make anomalous decisions to restore the office by discarding workers from the previous regime. Further, Meacham also conveys the fact that Jackson relied heavily on promoting treaties that would open new land opportunities for whites, while pushing out the Native American populace. Generally, Meacham relies on various events happening in the life of Jackson that had an impact on his presidential decisions and public opinion, in addition to existing documents in order to build his thesis. Meacham’s presentation is based on the personal and political life of Jackson. He presents the two in such a style and illumination narrative to present an entirely human imposition of a man who was not only underestimated in his

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