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Secondary sourceBook1912

The Life and Times of Andrew Jackson

Thomas E. Watson · 1912

A 1912 biography of Jackson by Georgia politician Thomas E. Watson, aiming to give a balanced account of his life.

A biography that set out to give a balanced, less mythologized view of Jackson's character and career.

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The Life and Times of Andrew JacksonPDF · 452 pages
Thomas E. Watson, The Life and Times of Andrew Jackson, 1912. Scanned book, Internet Archive.

About this source

What it is

This book was written by Thomas E. Watson, a Georgia politician and author, and published in 1912. It is a biography covering Jackson's career and character.

Why it matters

Watson states in his introduction that earlier biographies of Jackson were either too praising or too harsh, and that he set out to investigate original sources to present a more balanced, "human" Jackson. The book shows how writers decades after Jackson's death tried to separate legend from fact.

Look closer

  • Why does Watson say he wanted to show both Jackson's "defects" and his "virtues"?
  • What does it mean that Watson consulted "original authorities" and "official documents" when writing this book?
  • How might Watson's own background as a politician have shaped his view of Jackson?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Andrew Jackson on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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