Synopses & Reviews
Long before he became the seventh president of the United States, Andrew Jackson waged a bloody campaign to gain lasting American control of the Old Southwestthe huge territory that stretched from the Appalachians to the Mississippi and from the Ohio River to the Gulf of Mexico. Under the Peace of Paris of 1783, most of this vast country had already been ceded to the United States by Great Britain. But from the Creeks and the Seminoles to the Choctaws, Chickasaws, and the Cherokees, the powerful, unconquered tribes who lived there refused to recognize a scrap of paper written in Paris. The pivotal struggle that ensued over much of the next three decades would end in an Indian war that would make Jackson one of the most controversial men in American history.
From John Buchanan, the highly acclaimed author of The Road to Guilford Courthouse, comes a compulsively readable account that begins in 1780 amidst the maelstrom of revolution and continues throughout the three tumultuous decades that would decide the future course of this nation. Set against the turbulent years in which outnumbered but gritty American pioneers took on the powerful tribes of the Old Southwest, whose tragic plight is clearly revealed, Jacksons Way artfully reconstructs the era and the region that made Andrew Jacksons reputation as "Old Hickory," a man who was so beloved that men voted for him fifteen years after his death.
As Buchanan separates fact from myth and resurrects the remarkable man behind the legend, he brings to life the thrilling details of frontier warfare and of Jacksons exploits as an Indian fighterand reassesses the vilification that has since been heaped on him because of his Indian policy. Culminating with Jacksons defeat of the British at New Orleansthe stunning victory that made him a national hero and paved his way to becoming the only president who gave his name to an agethis gripping narrative shows us how a peoples obsession with land and opportunity and their charismatic leaders quest for an empire produced what would become the United States of America that we know today.
Impeccably researched and elegantly written, Jacksons Way paints a penetrating portrait of the shrewd general and politician responsible for sealing the American drive for empire. Best of all, it gives us a dramatic look at a highly charged period in our history, one in which those with the "West in their eyes" would triumph.
Review
With tremendous admiration, even reverence, for his subject, Buchanan (The Road to Guilford Courthouse) recounts Andrew Jackson's early career and rise to American war hero. He focuses on the westward expansion from the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi River, which he describes as a "folk movement" or mass migration of rough, often lawless people determined to lay claim to a new land and to fight until they prevailed. With graphic first-person accounts of Indian massacres and the retaliatory strikes of settlers, the author provides a very detailed military history of Jackson's defeat of the Chicamunga Cherokees and the creek tribes who claimed sovereignty, until 1814, over the southeastern United States, and of his victory at the battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812. Buchanan uses quotations from primary sources so well that they blend almost seamlessly with his own writing, which can sound oddly archaic and overwrought to modern ears (soldiers are "released by death"; British ships bound "eaglelike over the waves"). In Buchanan's eyes, Jackson is nothing short of "superhuman," and there is little balance in his treatment of Jackson's controversial views on Indians (the future president eschewed the idea of Indian sovereignty, although Buchanan argues that it was the English, and not the Indians, whom Jackson hated) or his invasion of Florida, a possession of Neutral Spain, at the close of the Creek Indian war. Buchanan is unabashedly nostalgic for the days when battlefields were "fields of honor" and the ungoverned individualism and hunger for expansion of the frontier was at the forefront of the American experience. This account will appeal mainly to those who enjoy military history. (Publishers Weekly)
"John Buchanan gives a compelling account of Jackson's Indian-fighting days, but he provides as well a grand sweep of the conquest of the trans-Appalachian West...Mr. Buchanan writes with style and insight. He accepts the reality of the conquest, understands the era and the people and, refreshingly, does not attempt to pose modern-day sensibilities on the events. This is history at its best." (The Wall Street Journal, July 26, 2001)
Review
"I enjoyed it very much. It?s an excellent study . . . of an area and a time period too long neglected by historians . . . provides valuable new information, particularly on the Indians."
(Robert Remini, author of The Life of Andrew Jackson)
Synopsis
Praise for Jacksons Way
"A compelling account of Jacksons Indian-fighting days . . . as well a grand sweep of the conquest of the trans-Appalachian West, a more complex, bloody, and intrigue-filled episode than is generally appreciated. . . . Mr. Buchanan writes with style and insight. . . . This is history at its best."
The Wall Street Journal
"An excellent study . . . of an area and a time period too long neglected by historians . . . provides valuable new information, particularly on the Indians."
Robert Remini, author of Andrew Jackson and His Indian Wars
"John Buchanan has written a book that explodes with action and drama on virtually every page. Yet the complex story of the birth of the American West never loses its focusAndrew Jacksons improbable rise to fame and power. This is an American saga, brilliantly told by a master of historical narrative."
Thomas Fleming, author of Duel: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the Future of America
From John Buchanan, the highly acclaimed author of The Road to Guilford Courthouse, comes a compulsively readable account that begins in 1780 amidst the maelstrom of revolution and continues throughout the three tumultuous decades that would decide the future course of this nation. Jacksons Way artfully reconstructs the era and the region that made Andrew Jacksons reputation as "Old Hickory," a man who was so beloved that men voted for him fifteen years after his death. Buchanan resurrects the remarkable man behind the legend, bringing to life the thrilling details of frontier warfare and of Jacksons exploits as an Indian fighterand reassessing the vilification that has since been heaped on him because of his Indian policy. Culminating with Jacksons defeat of the British at New Orleansthe stunning victory that made him a national herothis gripping narrative shows us how a peoples obsession with land and opportunity and their charismatic leaders quest for an empire produced what would become the United States of America that we know today.
Synopsis
Advance Praise for Jackson's Way
"I enjoyed it very much. Its an excellent study . . . of an area and a time period too long neglected by historians . . . provides valuable new information, particularly on the Indians."Robert Remini, author of The Life of Andrew Jackson
"John Buchanan has written a book that explodes with action and drama on virtually every page. Yet the complex story of the birth of the American West never loses its focusAndrew Jacksons improbable rise to fame and power. This is an American saga, brilliantly told by a master of historical narrative."Thomas Fleming, author of Duel: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the Future of America
Praise for John Buchanans The Road to Guilford Courthouse
"Outstanding popular military history . . . an accomplishment of the same high order as . . . McPhersons Civil War historiography."Booklist
" A tense, exciting historical account of a little-known chapter of the Revolution, displaying history writing at its best."Kirkus Reviews
"His compelling narrative brings readers closer than ever before to the reality of Revolutionary warfare in the Carolinas."Raleigh News & Observer
"A lively, accurate account of a critical period in the War of Independence in the South . . . it deserves a large reading audience."Don Higginbotham, Professor of History, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Synopsis
Praise for Jackson's Way
"A compelling account of Jackson's Indian-fighting days . . . as well a grand sweep of the conquest of the trans-Appalachian West, a more complex, bloody, and intrigue-filled episode than is generally appreciated. . . . Mr. Buchanan writes with style and insight. . . . This is history at its best."
-The Wall Street Journal
"An excellent study . . . of an area and a time period too long neglected by historians . . . provides valuable new information, particularly on the Indians."
-Robert Remini, author of Andrew Jackson and His Indian Wars
"John Buchanan has written a book that explodes with action and drama on virtually every page. Yet the complex story of the birth of the American West never loses its focus-Andrew Jackson's improbable rise to fame and power. This is an American saga, brilliantly told by a master of historical narrative."
-Thomas Fleming, author of Duel: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the Future of America
From John Buchanan, the highly acclaimed author of The Road to Guilford Courthouse, comes a compulsively readable account that begins in 1780 amidst the maelstrom of revolution and continues throughout the three tumultuous decades that would decide the future course of this nation. Jackson's Way artfully reconstructs the era and the region that made Andrew Jackson's reputation as "Old Hickory," a man who was so beloved that men voted for him fifteen years after his death. Buchanan resurrects the remarkable man behind the legend, bringing to life the thrilling details of frontier warfare and of Jackson's exploits as an Indian fighter-and reassessing the vilification that has since been heaped on him because of his Indian policy. Culminating with Jackson's defeat of the British at New Orleans-the stunning victory that made him a national hero-this gripping narrative shows us how a people's obsession with land and opportunity and their charismatic leader's quest for an empire produced what would become the United States of America that we know today.
About the Author
JOHN BUCHANAN, formerly an archivist at Cornell University and chief registrar of The Metropolitan Museum of Art where he was in charge of worldwide art movements, is the author of The Road to Guilford Courthouse (Wiley). He lives with his wife in New York City.
Table of Contents
Illustrations and Maps.
Preface.
Prologue.
Beginnings.
Vanguard of Empire.
The Frontier.
The Cumberland Salient.
Under Siege.
"I Am a Native of This Nation and of Rank in It".
The Rise of Andrew Jackson.
Buchanan's Station and Nickajack.
"When You Have Read This Letter over Three Times, Then Burn It".
Major General Andrew Jackson.
Conspiracy and Blood.
Old Hickory.
Massacre.
"Time Is Not to Be Lost".
Mutiny.
They "Whipped Captain Jackson, and Run Him to the Coosa River".
Horseshoe Bend.
"We Have Conquered".
"I Act without the Orders of Government".
"To Arms!"
"I Will Smash Them, so Help Me God!"
Beauty and Booty.
Epilogue.
Notes.
Selected Bibliography.
Index.