The Rise of Andrew Jackson: Myth, Manipulation, and the Making of Modern Politics

The story of Andrew Jackson's improbable ascent to the White House, centered on the handlers and propagandists who made it possible

Andrew Jackson was volatile and prone to violence, and well into his forties his sole claim on the public's affections derived from his victory in a thirty-minute battle at New Orleans in early 1815. Yet those in his immediate circle believed he was a great man who should be president of the United States.

Jackson's election in 1828 is usually viewed as a resu...