Book Review: Avenging the People-Andrew Jackson, the Rule of Law and the American Nation
We live at a time when it is in fashion to slash and burn the reputations of antebellum historical figures and perhaps no one is more deserving of such treatment than Andrew Jackson, the war-hawk 7th President, a man for whom violence was the answer to most problems and the man who left behind the legacy of the trail of tears. In his June 2017 work Avenging the People: Andrew Jackson, the Rule of Law, and the American Nation, Professor J. M. Opal selects an interesting subject, appropriate for these times. Unfortunately, the book's apparent lack of a clear focus and its pedantic and stream of consciousness style of prose makes for a very difficult read and tough slog, even at just 225 pages. If you're a reader who reads history for pleasure and enjoyment, you might want to give this book a miss.
Early on in the book, Professor Opal states that this is not so much a biography of the man prominently featured on its cover and in its title, as it is a narrative of the early history of the United States, with Jackson as a "main character". That becomes apparent as the first third of the book contains a very academic discussion of the introduction of property law into the new nation, centering on the writings of the Swiss legal theorist Emer de Vattel, with Jackson being almost a footnote in the discussion. Generally speaking, it is difficult to discern the focus of the book. As history catches up with the boyhood of young Andrew Jackson, events in his life are peripherally woven into the discussion, before Jackson becomes more integral to the narrative.
The book's lack of a clear focus is problematic. At times, the book seems to be about land settlement in the Carolinas and in the territory that would become Jackson's state of Tennessee. Professor Opal is very well versed on this subject and provides a wealth of information. At other times, the book is about the evolution of the application of the law of property ownership in the fledgling nation and about the tense and tenuous legal relationship between creditor and debtor, with reference to Jackson's belief in the rule of law, especially when personally advantageous to him. This is a recurring theme in the book, but not as central a component as promised in the title. Much of the book details Jackson's contempt and hatred for the indigenous people who were native to the territories before white settlers arrived, and in this regard the author succeeds in giving the reader a real feel for Jackson's visceral viciousness towards the land's original inhabitants and for the barbaric nature of frontier violence that took place between Native Americans and white settlers.
The last portion of the book is primarily biographical, but here the author once again disappoints. He excels at describing Jackson's mindset and thought process leading up to major milestones, but skims over the details of pivotal events in Jackson's life. While there is great build up to such occurrences as the Battle of New Orleans, or the elections of 1824 and 1828, the actual events themselves come and go in cursory fashion, sometimes in a paragraph or two. Here the author misses an opportunity to draw in the reader and to tell a story as opposed to present a hypothesis.
This book is very well researched, and the author has obviously put a lot of thought into the subject matter. My criticisms are meant to be honest constructive feedback, and not to suggest that Professor Opal is anything other than a considerate, conscientious and intellectually honest historian who has done some intellectual heavy lifting to produce this book. As an author he needs to work on his ability to connect with the reader who is not interested in being lectured to or in being impressed by how much Professor Opal has considered his subject matter, but rather in being told the story about the history under consideration in an engaging manner.
For the reader who is looking for a deeply cerebral, academic analysis of the evolution of property ownership and creditor-debtor relations in this region, and in what Andrew Jackson may have thought about all of this, this is the book to read. But for the reader who looks to history as an exercise in learning through story-telling, my experience was that this book failed to check off those boxes.
Early on in the book, Professor Opal states that this is not so much a biography of the man prominently featured on its cover and in its title, as it is a narrative of the early history of the United States, with Jackson as a "main character". That becomes apparent as the first third of the book contains a very academic discussion of the introduction of property law into the new nation, centering on the writings of the Swiss legal theorist Emer de Vattel, with Jackson being almost a footnote in the discussion. Generally speaking, it is difficult to discern the focus of the book. As history catches up with the boyhood of young Andrew Jackson, events in his life are peripherally woven into the discussion, before Jackson becomes more integral to the narrative.
The book's lack of a clear focus is problematic. At times, the book seems to be about land settlement in the Carolinas and in the territory that would become Jackson's state of Tennessee. Professor Opal is very well versed on this subject and provides a wealth of information. At other times, the book is about the evolution of the application of the law of property ownership in the fledgling nation and about the tense and tenuous legal relationship between creditor and debtor, with reference to Jackson's belief in the rule of law, especially when personally advantageous to him. This is a recurring theme in the book, but not as central a component as promised in the title. Much of the book details Jackson's contempt and hatred for the indigenous people who were native to the territories before white settlers arrived, and in this regard the author succeeds in giving the reader a real feel for Jackson's visceral viciousness towards the land's original inhabitants and for the barbaric nature of frontier violence that took place between Native Americans and white settlers.
The last portion of the book is primarily biographical, but here the author once again disappoints. He excels at describing Jackson's mindset and thought process leading up to major milestones, but skims over the details of pivotal events in Jackson's life. While there is great build up to such occurrences as the Battle of New Orleans, or the elections of 1824 and 1828, the actual events themselves come and go in cursory fashion, sometimes in a paragraph or two. Here the author misses an opportunity to draw in the reader and to tell a story as opposed to present a hypothesis.
This book is very well researched, and the author has obviously put a lot of thought into the subject matter. My criticisms are meant to be honest constructive feedback, and not to suggest that Professor Opal is anything other than a considerate, conscientious and intellectually honest historian who has done some intellectual heavy lifting to produce this book. As an author he needs to work on his ability to connect with the reader who is not interested in being lectured to or in being impressed by how much Professor Opal has considered his subject matter, but rather in being told the story about the history under consideration in an engaging manner.
For the reader who is looking for a deeply cerebral, academic analysis of the evolution of property ownership and creditor-debtor relations in this region, and in what Andrew Jackson may have thought about all of this, this is the book to read. But for the reader who looks to history as an exercise in learning through story-telling, my experience was that this book failed to check off those boxes.