Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1883-01-25
AADREW 5AUAsBs.
interesting Reading for students
OF Human Nature.
s, L.ou,s Rspubliean.

st. Louis Republican.
In a recent article upon Jackson
ind the Democratic party We spoke of
his political principles, relations and
influence. The importance of these
% the students OF American politics
,an scarcely be oyerrated, for It is
generally conceded that, next to Jet-
American Democracy owes
more to jackson than TO any one else,
and that as long as the Democratic
party exists it must and will remain
essentially the shape and color he
gave it from 1929 to 1887, bat aside
from the soldier, statesman and poll
tician, there is the man; to whom q
stronger and deeper interest attaches
for ell who care to study human ma
ture in its rarest developments. Let
ms try to look at him in this dry
light" untinged by partisan partlality
or prejudice; and in SO doing we may
catch the secret of his wonderful
mower upon his contemporaries and the
hold he still has upon the vast ma
iority OF his countymen.
The manhood Of jackson was his
most prominent characteristic. There
never was a more thoroughly manly
man than he, and this quality-if it
can be called one-made him, nstu-
rally and inevitably, a leader Of hen.
1t has been said, with as much truth
As felicity, that if he had Joined a com
pluy of emigrants in early days, an en-
Tire stranger, and the camp had been
attacked the same night by Indians,
the command would at once have been
assigned to him, with fullest conf
dence 10 his ability to meet the emer
pency. His faults were neither lev
oor small, but among them there was
aot one that lessened the respect even
of his Interest enemies. He was un
,paringly denounced, intensely hated
and vindictively fought; but always
respected because OF the tremendous
rec that was 10 him. o ten desper-
| ,te. occasionally unscrupulOus. he was
never mean. He could and would deal
leadly blows, but always in the face
| never "below the belt" or behind the
Jack. The war be waged upon his
opponents was terrible, but he stopped
u no tricks and had a hearty con
;empt Tor trIckery and %tricksters.
What he did, whether good, bad OF
Indifferent, was open and above board
His familiar saying, II take the re-
possibility" meant precisely Whist II
aid, and reveals the salient feature o
mis- life. He never lodged, never
,hirked, and despised shirkers and
dodgers. He had the supremest con-
6dence in himself. At times it MAJ
nave been rash and presumptuous, but
It any rate, it was governing idea, anC
Usually the result justified it. H'
1ad, too, at all times and under al
circumstances, "the courage OF hi
convictions" a courage that seemed
to strengthen rather than weaken will
The rising clsmor Of opposition and tn
growing a~eroaDess OF personal attack
Whether right or wrong he Away.
believed himself right. He had n,
ioubt on that subject, aud Away
acted With a prOmptness an,
: mercy which Indicated tina
: he did not think others sSOnld hav
i, any. Age and reflection did not soften
much less o~bliterate, this peculiarly
Not long before his death, in a con
yersation upon the use Of Fedora
patronage during his administration
he declared that he had removed n
man FROM Office for POLITICAL reasons
but only "for cause" A friend VIII
visited him in his last illness saw a
: old pistol on the msntel and was ex
aiming it, when the dying man re
marked very quietly: That's the pis
OF with which ! killed Mr.. Dickin
son." He was then seTentyrelght an
member of tbs church, but neithe
advancing years, converting grace, no
uearness to the grave had brough
repentance or regret. He would hav
killed Dickinson then and there unde
the same provocatlon. This conf
denee aud courage we're supplements
BY an indomitabls will; q wi
Ehieh nothing could break c
bend, and which neither the as
slults oil foes, the treachery Of friend
sorrow, sickness or suffering coul
crush. Literally an iron will it "a
(, indeed iron is strong enough
represent Il. This it was whic
carried him through ordeals tia
would have pulverized ordinary mel
which blotted "failure" from his W
cabulary; which would be Statistic
: With nothing but victory, and victor
I, complete and overwhelming. Couple
with his conf 1ence ano courage it mac
; him irresistible, and nobody ever dl
successfully resist him from beginnit
!. 70 end OF his career, except the ladi,
Of Wasbinetop who would not recoI
aize Mrs. Eaton. Confidence. cou
,ge aud will made him the s0ul an
i right arm Of every enterprise in Ehic
! be was engaged. No odds, hover,
} z eat, daunted hin; and the great
! the cd Is, the higher rose the conf
:. dence aud COURAGE. aud 6rmer gre
! he will. If Fred Dougless' mot
: God aud one make a majority" hi
been submitted to him he YOU.
have amended it to read, Jacks
! himself, by the eternal is a m
y ljOrity." With any other opposlr
= General than Jackson, the flower
y the British army would have hi
|, Booty and Beauty" 10 New 0llean
! instead Of laying their bones 10 h
! swamps Of Chalmette. With al
! other President than Jackson, Bidd
= and the United States Bank wou
z have had salvation instead of annih
alton; and With any other Preside
y than jackson. South Carolina null
cation would have blosspmed in
n secession thirty years earlier. I
single man in American history h
been, we think, so nearly omnipoteI
Nor has there ever been q finer illu
tratiou ef the power Of the spirit ov
the flesh. DickinsOn's bullet stru
B and shattered JaCkson's breast boz
il inhicting a Wound from which
Il.