Andrew Jackson: Symbol for an Age (Galaxy Books)

Every Age Creates Heroes To Suit Its Needs. For Young, Pioneering America Of The Early Nineteenth Century, Andrew Jackson Filled That Need. This Book Shows How Jackson Captured The Imagination Of His Contemporaries And How The Ideals Of The Period Were Fused In Him. It Is, Therefore, A Study Of Jackson's Time Rather Than Simply A Study Of The Man. Concerned With Defining The Term Jacksonian, The Author Selects Meaningful Episodes From Jackson's Career And Traces The Transmutation Of These Episodes Into Symbol And Myth. The Image Of Jackson As A Victorious General, As A Rough-hewn Frontiersman, As A Man Of Iron Will, As Providence's Child, Served To Make Him A Legendary Figure And A Hero For An Age. The Author Not Only Demonstrates The Importance That Jackson Had For His Contemporaries, But Also Sheds Light On The Psychology Of Myth And Hero-making In General. By Doing So, He Succeeds In Separating Some Fact From Fiction Hitherto Accepted As Fact. This Dynamic, Often Unique, Approach Makes For A Fascinating Account Of Early America And Of The Man Who Dramatized Its Destiny. -- From Back Cover. Symbol For An Age -- I: In The Beginning Was New Orleans -- Nature -- Ii. 'the Hunters Of Kentucky' -- Iii. Nature's Nobleman -- Iv. The Plowman And The Professor -- V. The Whigs Take To The Woods -- Providence -- Vi. God's Right-hand Man -- Vii. Extending The Area Of Freedom -- Will -- Viii. The Man Of Iron -- Ix. The Self-made Man -- X. The Man Of (malleable) Iron -- Symbol -- Xi. Coda. A Galaxy Book. First Published 1955. Based On Thesis, University Of Minnesota. Bibliographical References Included In Notes (p.215-265)