Edith Bolling Galt Wilson: The Unintended President Book

A terrible book about a horrible man written by a coward. I know that sounds harsh but there's no other way to describe it. The book claims to be only about his years in the White House. It isn't. Frequently, Meacham cherry picks and subsequently white washes Jackson's past sins in an effort to show him as a complicated hero.

Jackson wasn't complicated. He was maybe one of the simplest presidents America ever had. Here are some simple facts:
1) His greatest military victory was the Battle of New Orleans. Unbeknownst to Jackson, it took place approximately 14 days after the War of 1812 was over. Therefore, at best, the victory was a tragedy.
2) Later, while still serving in the military, without any orders to do so, seized what is now Florida for America. Florida had been owned by Spain, a sovereign nation. Jackson should have been charged for any and all lives lost during this illegal conflict as a war criminal.
3) Fought against the National Banking system simply because he lacked the cognitive capacity to understand it.
4) His legacy on Native American removal/massacre/war is one of the saddest in all of American history. He was truly a monster.

I went into this book knowing very little about Jackson and if I had remained confined to what was printed in the book I would still know very little. With this work, Meacham really tried to re-write history. He would tell tiny snippets of all the issues I listed about but only enough so that the reader wouldn't figure out the truth. This is unacceptable. I realize that many biographers admire their subjects...that's frequently why they take on the project in the first place. But as a historian, it is his duty to present the facts. Let the reader know the good and the bad and let us decide if he was a monster or a hero.

I would like to think Meacham didn't include the necessary facts because he is incompetent but I fear that it was all purposeful propaganda garbage. The vast majority of the book was super boring. Here's my impression of 75% of the book: "How dare you, sir!" "No, how dare you, sir!" with lots of "hrumphs" thrown in for good measure.

Please avoid this work at all costs and if you see Jon Meacham call him foul names for me. An hour on Wikipedia will give you all you need on this jerk.