American Lion

By Jon Meacham

Categories: Biographies & Memoirs

American Lion (2008) is historian Jon Meacham's biography of Andrew Jackson, focused on his years as president from 1829 to 1837. Meacham draws on family letters to portray Jackson in the White House alongside the relatives and friends who surrounded him. He traces Jackson's battles over the Bank of the United States and the nullification crisis, his expansion of presidential power, and his role in the forced removal of Native Americans from the Southeast.

Recommended by 1 person

• Fareed Zakaria: “Jon makes a convincing argument that Jackson should be mentioned in the same breath as Washington or Jefferson or Lincoln”