raharris1973
Well-known member
What if legendary victor of the Battle of New Orleans, and frontier "bad boy" Andrew Jackson hadn't dropped dead from poor health aggravated by bullet wounds in 1822 [1]?
Around the time of his sudden health downturn and death, despite the controversy of his Florida intervention and the irregularities of the trials and executions of British agents Armbruster and Arbuthnot under his command, he was overall quite a popular man, exonerated of wrongdoing in Congressional investigations, having served as territorial Governor of Florida, and Senator from Tennessee.
Most importantly, while he did turn down approaches from friends to run for Governor of Tennessee, he did show interest in other approaches to run for President, and seemed to be formulating a campaign centered on opposition to the Bank of the United States, a rather populist (and popular) stance in the aftermath of the Panic of 1819.
Given Jackson's broad popularity, especially in the south and west, but even among the rural farmers common city folk of the northeast, I think he had excellent prospects of winning the Presidency if he ran in 1824.
What type of changes should we expect a Jackson candidacy, and Presidency, to make to make in the turbulent early 19th century United States in terms of its party system, economy and fiscal system, foreign policy and sectional issues? The leaders we did have had strong policy views, but Jackson seems to tower above them in terms of his popular acclaim, self-confidence, and impatience with obstacles. Could he, as some speculated ever since the Battle of New Orleans, risked becoming the American Napoleon?
[1] OOC (out of character) OTL he got very sick at this time and was very worried about his mortality, but recovered
Around the time of his sudden health downturn and death, despite the controversy of his Florida intervention and the irregularities of the trials and executions of British agents Armbruster and Arbuthnot under his command, he was overall quite a popular man, exonerated of wrongdoing in Congressional investigations, having served as territorial Governor of Florida, and Senator from Tennessee.
Most importantly, while he did turn down approaches from friends to run for Governor of Tennessee, he did show interest in other approaches to run for President, and seemed to be formulating a campaign centered on opposition to the Bank of the United States, a rather populist (and popular) stance in the aftermath of the Panic of 1819.
Given Jackson's broad popularity, especially in the south and west, but even among the rural farmers common city folk of the northeast, I think he had excellent prospects of winning the Presidency if he ran in 1824.
What type of changes should we expect a Jackson candidacy, and Presidency, to make to make in the turbulent early 19th century United States in terms of its party system, economy and fiscal system, foreign policy and sectional issues? The leaders we did have had strong policy views, but Jackson seems to tower above them in terms of his popular acclaim, self-confidence, and impatience with obstacles. Could he, as some speculated ever since the Battle of New Orleans, risked becoming the American Napoleon?
[1] OOC (out of character) OTL he got very sick at this time and was very worried about his mortality, but recovered
