Source Analysis of American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House

American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham is a biography about the seventh president of the United States. In this paper, the primary and secondary sources used to create this detailed life story will be broken down and analyzed to better understand the origins and possible biases. The following sources are in no particular order.

The first source is a book written by Alfred A. Cave called Abuse of Power: Andrew Jackson and the Indian Removal Act of 1830 which was published in 2003. The book is a secondary source because it is written by a man analyzing the act after it had happened. This book is focused on conveying how Andrew Jackson abused his power to relocate Indian tribes to the west. This resulted in what many call the trail of tears, it is referred to as such because during the Indian's involuntary exhibition about 4,000 Cherokee people died of cold, hunger, and disease. Alfred A. Cave's motive for writing this seemed to be fueled by emotion, therefore some of his points are undoubtedly biased. The author is an expert in Colonial America and Native Americans, because of this one can read this review of the Indian Removal Act and trust that the information is true. This book could be used by a historical author needing access to the information involving this act, it is helpful because everything about this event is in one place. The tone of the author seems to suggest that he thought the act was unethical and not just. While writing American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House this book is extremely beneficial to have on standby for reference.

Next, the Andrew Jackson Donelson Papers are used by Jon Meacham to better understand the impact and services provided by Donelson during Jackson's presidency. The papers are a compilation of primary sources including journals, draft messages of Andrew Jackson, a scrapbook, photographs, and other papers pertaining to Donelson's importance. These papers focus more on Jackson's personal life as opposed to most of the other sources used which are about politics. This source was created to have to a group of documents that could be referenced when one needs information specifically about the relationship between Andrew and Emily Donelson and their family/political affairs. Emily Donelson was Andrew Jackson's wife and first lady, making the papers extremely relevant when writing a biography on the life of the General. These sources can be used without questioning the reliability due to most of them being first person accounts. However, when it comes to some of the political documents, one may need to consider the national bias of the president and his first lady at the time.

Another source used in this biography is the book The Moral Foundations of the American Republic edited by Robert H. Horwitz. This book has multiple authors and scholarly essays breaking down why the Republic was the way it was during the late 17th and 18th centuries. The information in this book is aimed for scholars, historians, and politicians. Anyone writing a paper on the times following the revolution or simply wondering why the government is more of a republic could utilize this book. Due to the sheer mass of content in this book it is hard to say whether there is a general bias or not. The book is a secondary source, none of the essays within it were written by the editor himself and are mostly opinions after the fact. Contrary to popular belief, America is a republic, and I imagine this book was compiled to offer in detail explanations of why that is. When Jackson was in office, America was still developing and being groomed into what it is today, therefore this book is a good source to reference in order to understand how Jackson influenced the modern day society.

Andrew Jackson was somewhat of a controversial figure, so it is thought provoking to know what his legacy was, and how people thought of him after he died. This leads to the next source, a composition called Monument to the Memory of General Andrew Jackson. The book is a secondary source filled with primary sources, for instance, his farewell address and final will are both in this compilation of the memory of Andrew Jackson and would be primary sources alone. Inside the book compiled by Benjamin M. Dusenbery is twenty-five eulogies delivered on the occasion of his death. I imagine Dusenbery put together this book in order to shed light on how America perceived General Andrew Jackson after his death. This book is mostly geared towards anyone seeking an outside perspective on the accomplishments or short comings of the seventh president. Although he sketches a short description of Andrew Jackson's life, the content is presented verbatim, he did not edit or revise any of the eulogies acquired in this book. Since the contents of this book are primary sources it makes its easy to make out that it is a credible source. This source is useful in the case of writing American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House because it provides a sort of conclusion to General Jackson's life.

The Andrew Jackson Papers of the New York Public Library is also a secondary source full of primary sources used in the biography, The papers were written mostly by Jackson and his correspondence. This makes the source reliable based off Jackson and his peer's first person perspectives. The New York Public Library acquired the papers from J. Pierpont Morgan as part of the Ford collection in 1899. Within the papers there are documents signed by Andrew Jackson, and letters to and from Jackson concerning military meetings and personal information. This group of documents seems to be utilized mostly by historians and possibly authors looking for greater insight into Jackson's life. This specific source proves to be very useful when writing a biography such as American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House.

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