American Lion is Jon Meacham's excellent biography of Andrew Jackson, that most bellicose of early American presidents. An unknown figure outside military circles prior to the War of 1812, Gen. Jackson's star swiftly rose after beating back a British attempt, in 1815, to seize the port of New Orleans as a prelude to capturing and claiming the vast territory of the Louisiana purchase which Thomas Jefferson had bought from the French some ten years earlier. A mere 14 years after this noteworthy victory, Mr. Jackson became president of his nation, serving out two terms in the highest office before retiring to Tennessee where he died some eight years later. A farmer, a soldier, a judge, and a general, Mr. Jackson stands in the forefront of the second wave of American luminaries behind the nation's founders, for, he did has much to shape the future of his nation as any of his generation.
Mr. Meacham ably covers the totality of Mr. Jackson's life, from his successes to his failures, from his allies to his enemies. He documents the family of Old Hickory, lavishing special attention upon two figures closest to America's seventh president, Rachel Donelson, his much-loved wife who died just prior to Jackson's inauguration, and Andrew Donelson, his nephew and adopted son who became the President's private secretary during his years at the White House.
Setting aside the quality of their research, successful biographies hinge on one thing, animating the subject in question, making the reader feel as though they know the subject and can predict their actions. Mr. Meacham achieves this goal by focusing more on the man and his life than on his eight years in the White House and all the predictable struggles inherent to that office. Quality work based on a difficult subject. (3/5 Stars)
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