In 1829 Andrew Jackson was sworn in as the Seventh President of the United States--becoming the first Irish American to hold that office. Jackson's parents had emigrated from Boneybefore near Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim to the Carolina frontier, where Jackson had been born in 1767. In this episode we explore the life, legacy and identity of this remarkable and controversial figure, in company with Professor Bryan McGovern of Kennesaw State University.
In the show you will hear about Jackson's origins and uprbringing, and the familal experiences during the American Revolution which did much to shape his life. We discuss how his defeat of a British army (led by the Westmeath-born Edward Pakenham) at New Orleans propelled him into the spotlight, along with his rise to the Presidency and his policies when leader of the country. In addition to examining Jackson's sense of his Irish origins, we also chat about how he built his fortune as a plantation owner and traded in enslaved people, and his actions in signing the notorious Indian Removal Act. Finally we discuss Andrew Jackson's legacy, particularly how he became an important figure for large numbers of Irish American Catholics in the 19th Century United States.
Bryan is a noted scholar of Irish America and has published numerous books and articles, with the latter including 'Andrew Jackson and the Protestant Irish of Philadelphia: Early Nineteenth Century Sectarianism' which appears in Pennsylvania History. Among his books are a biography of John Mitchel, John Mitchel: Irish Nationalist, Southern Secessionist and The Fenians: Irish Rebellion in the North Atlantic World: 1858-1876 which he co-authored with Patrick Steward.
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