Old Hickory

I'm not much of a history buff, but my husband sure is. His AOL Instant Messenger (gosh, remember AIM?!) screen name when we were in middle school was histryfreak40. No joke. I remind him of this often.

But I really can't make too much fun of him, because I actually quite enjoy his nerdiness. I love the way he tells me about different parts of history like it's a great big epic story. I often ask him to tell me about various wars, leaders, and happenstances. It's so interesting the way he portrays it, like a fun story with different plots unfolding.

picturehistory.com

But recently I became the history nerd in our house when I read H.W. Brand's biography of Andrew Jackson. I picked it up because he's somewhere in our family line and I knew very little about him, besides being a - excuse me - hardass and earning a spot on the twenty dollar bill. Reading the initial description of his demeanor reminded me a lot of my dad, and I thought that was so intriguing until I also read that Jackson had no biological children. Alas, we are related only legally, but not by blood (he and his wife Rachel adopted one of her brother's twin boys since times in America were not yet lush enough to support having multiple children at once).

Though we don't actually share blood, I still found that the Kern side - my father's family - did inherit some of his traits. We too are hardasses, and are wonderfully rough around the edges. I'd like to share some tidbits that are by no means exhaustive. There are plenty more intriguing things about the life of Andrew Jackson. These are just things that stood out to me, things I enjoyed.

I guess you'll have the read the book yourself. Wah wah. ;)

He was a lover of duels, even after they became taboo. For the first part of the book, I was convinced I would only read about duel after duel as he encountered endless quarrels and didn't seem to know how else to handle them. In one, he fatally wounded his opponent, Charles Dickinson, after being shot in the chest himself, only an inch from his heart. Instead of getting checked out, he mounted his horse and rode back to the local tavern. This made me think of my gram, who - when she was 88 years old, mind you - fell on ice going into her favorite restaurant. She insisted everyone eat before taking her to the hospital. After dinner, they went to the emergency room and discovered her broken femur. Dinner waits for no one in the Kern house, and apparently neither does the chance to have a few.

Contrary to that rough side of him, it was really touching to read about his relationship with his wife, Rachel Donelson. Initially, Andrew didn't want the US presidency, but wanted to retire after his victories as a general. But he was loved - and elected - and felt it was no longer his choice but his duty. Unfortunately, his (somewhat forced) campaign and the prospect of life in the white house took its toll on his sweet, quaint wife, and she died of a heart attack just before he was inaugurated. Washington had to wait while he watched his wife pass away and bury her. It crushed him. "A friend recalled that he held her so tightly after death that the body had to be pried from his arms to prepare it for burial. Another remembered that he looked 'twenty years older in a night.'" (Brands 405)

Just sweet. And heartbreaking.

He was president in an age before high security and had many enemies. In 1835, he was target to an assassination attempt; the outcome many would count as miraculous. The gunman, Richard Lawrence, stepped out of the crowd and approached Jackson on the steps of the capital. From less than 10 feet, Lawrence pulled the trigger, but his pistol misfired. He took out a second pistol and must have terrible luck, because that one misfired too. Once Jackson realized what was happening, he charged Lawrence with his cane (he was an old timer by the time he was president). Lawrence was apprehended but deemed insane and was never tried. The weapons were tested afterwards and both fired perfectly. Many concluded that God protects democrats. ;)

Anyway, there's much more to the story, and if you're looking for a good historical read, I would recommend this one!