Lynn Hudson ParsonsThe Birth of Modern Politics: Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and the Election of 1828 (Pivotal Moments in American History)

For most of us public school-educated Americans of a certain age, here is what our history classes sounded like: "Columbus in 1492 ... mumble, mumble ... Plymouth Rock and the first Thansgiving ... mumble, mumble ... Revolutionary War ... George Washington ... mumble, mumble, mumble ... slavery and the Civil War ... mumble, mumble ... cattle drive, cowboys, gold rush ... mumble ... World War I ... League of Nations ... World War II ... mumble, mumble ... zzzzzzzzz."Most of us can recognize that Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams were presidents and if we really, really concentrated hard we might remember that Jackson gave us a victory at the Battle of New Orleans (though it came after the War of 1812 was concluded). But now Lynn Hudson Parsons has made some of those dusty names come alive in a very readable book that finds the seeds of modern politics in the 1828 presidential race between Jackson and J.Q. Adams.This is a book that makes memorable a period of time that's often glossed over by teachers (or, more likely, napped through by bored students). There is enough sex, violence and intrigue to keep even the most bored student awake in history class. There's Jackson's famous temper that involved him in several duels in his younger years (and from which he still carried bullets lodged in his body from two of them). Then there's the scandal of Jackson running off with his future bride while she was still married to another man. The repercussions of that followed Jackson into the campaign and may have even contributed to his wife's death before he took the oath of office.The Birth of Modern Politics draws stark comparisons between Jackson, the Southern little-educated orphan of immigrants, and Adams, the privleged son of the second president. Despite their differences, each man had a respect for the other and shared a sort of friendship. That friendship ended as Jackson and Adams locked horns for the presidency.By 1828 the rules of the game had changed in elections. While blacks and women still were unable to vote, white males no longer had to be property owners in most states to vote. This brought an unprecedented number of new voters to the polls and Jackson's followers were the first to capitalize on this change. Likewise, the 1828 election saw coordinated political rallies, early attempts at fund-raising, and, perhaps the most lasting legacy, political partisanship.Though it's a long way from today's 24-hour news cycle, sound bites and candidates racing back and forth across the country (candidates left the campaigning to their supporters in 1828), Parsons makes a convincing case that the election sewed the seeds of change in American politics. One of Parsons' most astute observations is the anti-intellectualism that accompanies tarring one's opponent as an "elitist." That's a tactic that still resonates in today's campaigns.This is the kind of history book that not only brings history alive, but draws clear connections to the world we see about us today. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in politics and history.

Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams have always been two of the more interesting historical figures in american history. Jackson is a man that should be celebrated on one hand, and villanized on the other. John Q. is also fascinating as he was a brilliant man who really accomplished nothing of any value during his four years as President. Parsons does a very unique job weaving the seams of this story together and creating a cohesive and fun read on these candidates. This election of 1828 was one that really fired up the engines of bipartisanship in politics and help to shape the process that is so visible even today.First, I will start with the positive attributes of the book before discussing the negative. This book is obviously not a biography of either man. The role of this book is to break into the story behind the story which led to a ferocious election in 1828. However, Parsons paints a unique picture of both men. She traces the origins and stories of both in a very clear and linear path. While I have learned about Jackson in history class this gave me some more information about his background. His life as a youth is not one that anyone should envy. He was the son of immigrants who endured the loss of literally everyone in his family. His climb to success was of course perilous as everyone knows that Jackson had a volatile temper. Parsons also laid a nice introduction for John Q. He is one that in some ways had a sad life. While he was born into privilege and well-loved, it seems that his life was not really his own and he was being trained for his future during his entire lifetime.She also did a nice job developing the storyline as it was neither rushed nor drawn out. She traces the steps and the burgeoning friendship of two unlikely friends. The chasm of differences between Jackson and Adams could not be more pronounced and their mutual admiration is an unusual story. The alliance between them was not merely political and it seems that they had developed a genuine respect for one another. It was in fact the election of 1824 that caused a breach between the two of them. Henry Clay throwing his weight to gets Adams elected enraged Jackson and brought about the accusation that the process had been corrupted, hence the name "corrupt bargaining." Of course, Adam's presidency was able to accomplish very little. His educated manner and polished style really made Americans more disconnected from Adams and his policies as well as ideals widened the rift between he and Jackson. The media and the election process severed their friendship and introduced a more pronounced ugliness in politics.Parsons makes the argument that this was the election that really shaped modern electioneering with the mudslinging, cheap shots and party bases. To a certain extent she has a valid point. However, she failed to elaborate that the election 1800 with Jefferson was charged with political fire and had its own divisive factions. She did bring up but it seems that she played it down a little. While Adam's father stated that parties were negative for America it does not seem that he meant it and while she gives much of the rhetoric of the early fathers she does not always discuss the ways in which they contradicted their own ideas. It is true however that Martin Van Buren "the little magician" really fired up a base for Jackson and helped institute a set of practices that helped foster strong political partisanship.Overall, the book was well done. It is a short book in comparison but I think it accomplishes the mission that it sets out to do. All things in the book lead up to the year of 1828. The implications of that year do have long lasting effects on the modern process. I agree that political parties create a situation that is good for the party but not always for the community. Communities are often the victims of the political process and this was one the reasons the fathers were against them.... at least in theory. Unfortunately, it is a fact of human nature that people always find reasons to divide and the story of our nations history is no exception.

"One of the earliest letters we have of John Quincy Adams was written at the age of nine to his father, asking for advice and a notebook. The earliest letter we have of Andrew Jackson, written at the age of twenty-one, challenges a man to a duel.""The two parties whose outlines began to form around Adams and Jackson in 1828 began a dialogue that in many respects continues today.""The Election of 1828" is based upon the belief that it analyzes the first "modern" U.S. Presidential election, with competing political parties, ad hominem attacks and aggressive campaigning, and fund-raising, campaign rallies, and campaign stops. The two participants -- Northerner Adams, son of the second President and a formidable public servant himself, against southerner Jackson, a plain-spoken rough-and-tumble military hero -- were a complete mismatch, and even though they were both nominally Republicans, had little in common either personally or politically.By the parlance of today's time, Adams would be considered a big-government progressive who under-utilized his powers of office during his lone term (not completely dissimilar to Barack Obama), while Jackson would be an avowedly small-government conservative who would aggressively expand his powers in office in order to carry out his policies. This certainly has resonance today -- it did when I first read this book back in 2014, and is even more resonant today in 2018. Adams was one of the last of the original Federalists (the party of Alexander Hamilton, and the one implicitly claiming George Washington himself), while Jackson, whose campaign was orchestrated by Martin Van Buren (the Lee Atwater or Karl Rove of his day) ran on anti-Federalist themes that make him a forerunner to the modern Republican party. The terms "Federalist" and "anti-Federalist" have very inverted meanings today, with the current "Federalist Society" and its advocates espousing a strictly anti-Federalist agenda, as Jackson and Van Buren would have understood them in 1828.Obviously the reader of this book knows the outcome of the election in advance -- Adams loses badly, although he obtains a modicum of revenge by returning to Congress and serving there for another almost two decades; Jackson serves two tumultuous terms, leaving his successor Van Buren with an untenable one-term Presidency, and now has a much-debated historical legacy. The excitement then lies not in the result, but in how well the goings-on in 1828 match up with modern times. The author here milks all this material for a fairly short book, spending half the material on the run-up, and the other half of the book on the campaign, the election results, and the aftermath, but there's still a lot to interest the reader.While there are longer and more magisterial tomes out there now on both Quincy Adams and on Jackson, "The Election of 1828" is a very good introduction to the two men, and a good overview as to the state of American politics in the first election after the deaths of Adams the first, and Thomas Jefferson. Things are not so different today.

This book was a good cursory review of the Jackson/Adams era; however the American party system,I believe,was begun by Hamilton and Jefferso when Washington was president.

Profesor Parsons demonstrates a generously broad range of historical opinions and observations in this book describing the election of 1828 and briefly the preceding presidential election. The reader feels assured that facts are presented where available and opinion is clearly noted and specifically cited within his extensive end-notes. This is a bit of history shown under the magnifying glass - presented to illustrate the birth of many (not all) of the characteristics of modern politics.The read is easy and pleasurable and the conclusions are less about hero and goat, or winner and looser, or even good and bad, than the evolution of the political (campaign) process and the factors that influenced its evolution. The author offers that: "...competition for public office came to be seen as contributing to the Republic's vitality, rather than weakening it." (Prologue); "He [Jackson] emerges as an opponent of those who wished to attach public service to religious conviction..." (pg. 10); "The use of graphics, boldface newspaper type, cartoons, campaign emblems, nursery rhymes, and what one historian has called 'the cadence and emphasis of spoken language' proliferated in ways not seen before."(pg 160); and that "Van Buren's [Martin - the first campaign manager] coalition-combining the supporters of Crawford, Calhoun and Jackson-laid the groundwork for the nineteenth century Democratic Party."(pg. 188)There is a biographical sub-text to the book, illustrating the characters of John Q. Adams and Andrew Jackson, but even that is principally focused on the life-experiences that would go on to influence their politics and philosophies. In the end, the Party of Jefferson has split into branches that either go on to become, or to morph into our two modern political parties. A recommended read if your interest is in politics, or this era of history, or these two Presidents.-----kindle edition-----Perfect! The new (May 2012) software update puts the table of contents within easy reach, the book contains very extensive end-notes easily accessed from within the text, and a there is working index that makes tracing a topic or character throughout the book an ease. All e-books should be this good! e-Book publication quality, ★★★★★ (Bravo, again Oxford University Press!)