Liberty and Power

This book is a very insightful examination of the political thinking and alignments of the Jacksonian era - the two-plus decades after the Monroe presidency through the Polk years. The author's analysis draws upon the 18th century concept of republicanism, a somewhat nebulous notion with wide-ranging interpretations and implications. The different political factions of the era all claimed to be "republicans," yet their different understandings were such that by 1836 two well-defined political parties - the Whigs and the Democrats - had emerged based on those differences. Though the Southern system of enslavement loomed large throughout this period, the reactions to the commercial advances of the period, the Market Revolution in the author's words, proved to be most contentious as it intersected with republicanism. Republicanism is a creed that has no tolerance for monarchy, dictatorship, nobility, aristocrats, and the like. It posits equal, free, independent, and virtuous self-governing citizens as the basis of the political community. The Jeffersonian ideal of such a person was the small, mostly self-subsisting, farmer. Liberty, above all, was emphasized but was compromised if a person was not independent, or, in other words, dependent on others for his well-being. In addition, a central tenet of republicanism was that a "common good" existed. Society with its various elements constituted a harmonious whole with no need for factions or political parties to represent "interests." Perhaps a cherished ideal, especially among Jacksonians, such an ideal social state has never existed in America. Dating from the founding, the landed gentry and commercial elites were more powerful socially and politically and certainly formed alliances. Of course, it was simply assumed that equality applied only to white men. Most small farmers were drawn into the world of banks, currency, and credit as some of their production was directed to the marketplace. But the US financial system throughout the 19th century was unstable, subject to speculation and panics with those at the end of the credit chain being squeezed the most. Despite the obvious impact of these financial injuries, many contended that America needed to advance commercially for the overall strength of the nation. At a minimum, the manufacturing base had to be protected through tariffs, the development of transportation infrastructure was required to facilitate the movement of goods, and a robust banking and credit system was needed with paper money flowing through the economic system. This was Henry Clay's American System and was a core principle of the Whig party. Though such a system implies greater interdependence, it was claimed that individual prosperity, and thereby independence, would be enhanced. Drawing upon his own financial setbacks due to speculative overextension, Andrew Jackson adhered to ideals of agrarian simplicity with virtually no place for a strong financial sector. He contende

The central story line of the Jacksonian period economically, socially and politically was the fight over the establishment, continuation and rechartering of the Bank of the United States which despite its name was a privately owned corporation headed by the notorious Nicholas Biddle. In short the story was, as almost always under capitalism, about the money. Hard money, paper money, metallic money, federal money, state money, no money. It is all there. As confusing and, frankly, somewhat trivial as the issues may seem to the 21st century mind the various fights determined the path of capitalist formation for the rest of the 19th century. One does not have to be a partisan of any particular monetary policy to know that if the Biddle-led forces had won then capital formation in the United States would have taken a very different turn. Thus, the essential Jacksonian victory on the bank question is one that militants today can give a retroactive endorsement. To my mind the definitive assessment of the period is still Arthur Schlesinger's Age of Jackson. For those who want a shorter version of that epic updated to include more details about party formation, women and culture in the period the present book will do just fine. Although control of the money was the underlying premise for the political fights of the day they also represented some very different appreciations of what American society should look like. Watson, even more than Schlesinger, goes to great pains to highlight the various factions within each of the coalescing parties that would come to form the Democratic and Republican two-party system that we are familiar with today. Moreover, these fights had different implications for differing sections of the country. In that regard the names Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun and Henry Clay and their various congressional devotees can generally stand to represent the various sectional interests. One might also note that names that became familiar in the immediate pre-Civil War period, like Abraham Lincoln, James Buchanan, John Bell, Gideon Welles, William Seward, etc. started to receive political notice as secondary figures during this period. One should also note that this was a period of political realignment and that the political situation was fluid enough that with changing political winds the various leading personalities were as likely to change sides as not. Readers should pick up the trail that both Schlesinger and Watson only allude to on the importance on the third party Liberty and Free Soil Parties Despite that lapse dealing with the various political manifestations of the period is the strongest part of the professor's book.

I used Liberty and Power to teach the Jacksonian period to international students for a course on US History. The book started right where Gordon Wood's "Radicalism of the American Revolution" left off with the splintering of the Democrat-Republicans and the emergence of the Democrat Party. Because the book was not too long but still had some great ideas, it served very well as a textbook. The book does not go into an excruciating amount of detail, so it may not be ideal for those who desire primary source material. Probably Watson's best effort is seen in his description of the Democrat and Whig parties, their constituencies, and their platforms. He shines in showing how contemporary forces led to the creation of these parties, and how they continued to shape them. I gave the book 4 stars because I am not entirely convinced by the message behind its title. One could argue that the struggle between "Liberty" and "Power" began not with the Whigs and Democrats, but could be traced back to the Federalists and Democrat-Republicans over the First B.U.S. in the 1790s or even the Federalists and Antifederalists over the ratification of the US Constitution. The National Republicans/Whigs can be interpreted as inheriting the Federalists' role as promoting the economic and fiscal strength of the nation. Furthermore, Watson himself states that both the Whigs and Democrats, as the children of the previous Democrat-Republicans portrayed themselves as the champions of liberty, with the Democrats casting "big money" and corruption as the enemies of liberty and the Whigs struggling against what they interpreted as Jackson's absolutism ("King Andrew") and partisanship which the Founding Fathers themselves decried. Watson could have written a little more in Chapter 7 on Van Buren, Harrison, and Tyler. Quite a lot happened in these 8 years, including the rise of the railroads and the explosion of the Market Revolution. The events of these years also led to the Mexican War, which itself would have profound implications on the future unity of the nation. I think the most important lesson learned from this book is how the American party system began, which has continued more or less into the modern age. The reader will see the role which religion played in government even in these early years, along with anti-immigration and fear of big government among other political sentiments which exist even today.

Through this book I gained a better understanding of the politics of Jacksonian America. To call Liberty & Power a textbook would be a great injustice; Liberty & Power is more like a novel about a forgotten people and time.

This book by Harry Watson provides a facinating look at the Jacksonian era and the struggles between liberty and power in Antebellum America.