Evening star., 1923-03-27
j NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
THE PARTY BATTLES OF THE
JACKSON PERIOD. BY Claude G..
Bowers Houghton-MifaIn Com

THE PARTY BATTLES OF THE
JACKSON. PERIOD. BY Claude G.
Bowers. Houghton-Mihiin Com
/ pany. --r'
We can easily recall certain things
that came to pass O. acant hundred
lyears ago. Or, once inside this book
SO it seems to US. For there Is
here none Of the thinned-out effec!
of second hand knowledge. On the
contrary. the bulk and variety Of Its
living details present to us reality
in which we ourselves seem to have
! moved. once. and TO which. under this
| good guidance, we are now return
I ing. Therefore IL Is In spirit OF
actual remembering that we here set
out TO take a look over the federal
us In that remoter atmosphere are
the Capitol, the White House, the
few noble dwellings. the huddles OF
mean structures. the little streets
roaming at will. We feel again the
stir of that. interesting and unique
| life of the young capital, social and
political. But on this particular day
there is definite point and destination
to our ''outfaring. We are headed
upon Gadsby's--you recall tho IA
National Hotel stands today For
or this morning, Andrew Jackson. the
| new President of the United States
1 is at Gads by'S, waiting to take the
oath Of office. And we, surrounded
by triumphant democrats. among
| and bitter whigs, are moving upor
Gadsby's to catch q possible glimpse
| of the new man.
! 4 y =
| A new man and new times. Mr.
\
! period, in which we are at the mo-
ment standing, Is the scene Of tht
most dramatic and significant .polti-
between the foundation of the re
public and the administration o.
WoodroW Wilson. And this bool
1 rounds out a body Of concrete. evi-
dence in support OF his assertion
The Significance of these battles lie:
1.-THE origin and 20. an extent as th'
Interpretation Of many forces anc
agencies of large potency in the po
litical field Of the present.
x r.
It Is in the Jackson period tha
this country becomes, for the frs
this the government has been th'
affair OF the intellectuals and th'
men of wealth. Washington. Hamil
ton, the. Adamses, Jefferson, too--de
spite the broad theories Of democrac,
which he held-Webster, Calhoun
Clay. the bankers, the big mer
chants-these have, in effect, bee!
the government But an expansion
OF the voting right has gradually in
the mechanic. the small farmer ane
lshopkeeper. These hereafter are T.
have a growing influence in a gov
ernment. by the people" The i'm
mediate need is to educate the new
voters in political facts and habits o
organize them into groups Of politi
cal activity and usefulness.
~
There is around President jackson
| a band of unofficial supporters, de
risively called the kitchen cabinet b!
/ the defeated and embittered Whigs
j These are shrewd. far-seeing. de
voted men, keen to the motives lyini
| back of human action, commandins
| and persuasive men. Industrious, In
| ventive. tenacious men, who for tht
| first time embody the practical poll
| affairs At the head of this band
| Is Amos Kendall, a genius OF politi'
| cal sagacity and organizing power
| master of the art of personal appeal.
Amos Kendall stands as worthy
forbear OF the man who today or
ganizes political campaigns, deploys
political armies and conserves, in
season and out. the principles and
doctrines and policies of his party
Here, for the first time also. does
party government in its full signifi-
! canoe come into action.
4
| At this point. too, the party press
begins an acute and ceaseiess ac'
! tivity. Again II Is Amos Kendall
who, realizing that the increasing
body of voters must be both edu.
Gated and stirred. swings the pres.
into line TO deliver the common peo,
! pie, body and boots. into the Jack
| sonian camp. An amazingly clever
| and ingenious press, this, a Vgi'
liant and sleeping thing, ready tc
pounce in ruthless enmity upon any
sin, or upon any 'feible even. o, q
flooded with campaign documents
with political pamphlets, with cate
| chisms of party doctrine, with car
itoons and advertisements, exactly al
II is in these later days. The tw'
the bank" and qualification" Th,
former, with its war cry Of '.souues;
corporations" and sons OF toll.
sounds like yesterday and serves ii
both cases TO intensity class preju
dice and class hatred. The latter
the obsession Of Calhoun, is SOWING
the seeds of secession and civil wal
The immediate "spoils' policy o
jackson becomes an incompatible
irritant TO this highly infiamed AM
explosive political complex. It il
around the bank" and Qualification
and spills that the party battles o
the period are raging.
| x x y x
In the hands of the author thi
eight-year span in the thirties OF tn,
nineteenth century becomes a stage
Upon it is set the drama of part.
strife In political democracy. Th
Inew and unframed are standing VI
IagaInst old practitioners in the pro
fession OF government. The new ar
!truculent. a part OF their newness
1.-THE old are naughty in a traditiopa
against class Is rampant in countr!
founded upon the pleasing pronounce
ment that all men are equal. Their
is rough work on the one hand, {
isupercilious efficiency on the other
But the truculanoe slips gradually
into plain hard work under a com
bined leadership of unsurpassed
power. The supermen begin to f1d.
get--a little; to get nerve-Some
But the battle is on. Out OF ii
many things are falling away: use