Andrew Jackson and the Bank of the United States

Sometime in the first half of 1962, a group of Wayne High School sophomores including myself were called into a class room to hear about an alternative American History class that was open to us for our Junior year. Unlike most classes in those days there would be no text book, rather the course called "American History Through Literature" would use various works of fiction and non-fiction for different periods of American History. For example, for the colonial period we read Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" and then Catherine Drinker Bowen's "John Adams and the American Revolution" as part of studying the revolutionary period.

"The Crucible" didn't make much of an impression on me, but the John Adams book started a life long interest and fondness for our second president long before David McCullough's best selling biography. I greatly admire and respect David McCullough, but I think it is almost impossible to capture Adams 90 plus years in one volume - Page Smith's two volume version, in my opinion gives a more appropriate level of coverage to the subject.

Two other books from that course had an impact on me, but in less clear and certain ways. These were Marquis James' two volume biography of Andrew Jackson - "The Border Captain" and "Portrait of a President." Today James' works are considered to be less than objective in the portrayal of our 7th President. What I remember is that I was in way over my head with those books - as a high school junior I wasn't ready for that level of academic writing.

Since that time I have always had a mixed reaction to Andrew Jackson. At the time I couldn't articulate it and to some degree still can't. On the positive side Jackson's presidency and political career was about broadening participation in the democratic process -certainly he presented himself as the candidate and even President of the people as opposed to those of the upper class or who would make themselves into the upper class. At the same time there has always been something about Jackson that bothered me. Perhaps it was his somewhat demagogic, dogmatic attitude - Jackson was right, his opponents were not only wrong, but almost unAmerican.

Although it made no impression at the time, looking at Jackson today it is much easier to see his faults. When Jackson talked about the people, he had a very clear definition in mind - white people with native Americans and blacks definitely not part of that definition and probably considered to be even less than human. Certainly it is interesting how many histories simply ignored or overlooked these issues. James Lowen in his book, "Lies My Teacher Told Me," points out that Arthur Schelsinger's "The Age of Jackson" doesn't even mention the Indian removal issue. This in a book that won the Pulitzer Prize and is praised over and over again by

Jackson biographer, Robert Remini.

To go back to Wayne High School, 1962-63 for a minute, the specific issue about Andrew Jackson that has always interested, if not fascinated me, is the Bank of the United States. This is, of course, the famous bank war where Jackson vetoed the renewal of the bank's charter before the 1832 Presidential election and then gradually destroyed the bank even before its charter expired in 1836. Part of my interest is that I have never understood (even after 11 years in banking) how the Bank of the United States operated and what it was doing wrong.

In addition to reading James' books, when I admittedly couldn't understand them, I have read Robert Remini's three volume biography of Jackson, not to mention his biographies of Henry Clay and Daniel Webster and still didn't understand the BUS. Remini had written a short book in the late 1960's called "Andrew Jackson and the Bank War," and after being unable to find it in a library, I decided to buy a used copy from Alibris. When I ordered it I thought I would read it at some time, but when it arrived on Saturday I immediately starting reading it and finished it this morning after about three days of intensive reading (only 175 pages, but academic writing not fiction).

Once again I have to say that I still don't understand the how the bank worked and I have a feeling that Remini doesn't understand it either - he is an historian, not an economist. Remini insists that it was a political issue more than an economic and financial one and I am sure there is truth in that. From my point of view, I still have this curiosity about the issue not to mention fascination with the cast of characters (including Jackson). As always Remini provides a lot of suggestions for future reading, but I am starting to wonder if this is a possible topic for my own research and perhaps a book of mine own. It would have to be at least a year away, but given this continued interest I wonder if this is some kind of authorial "calling?"