Andrew Jackson Donelson: Jacksonian and Unionist

449 Pages·2017·2.394 MB·English

by  R. Douglas Spence

Andrew Jackson Donelson
New Perspectives on Jacksonian America
Mark Cheathem, Cumberland University
Beth Salerno, Saint Anselm College
series editors
This series examines the period from 1812 to 1861, spanning the decades when Andrew
Jackson was a significant figure both in life and in memory. The chronological definition
of the series recognizes the importance of the War of 1812 in elevating Jackson to national
recognition and his continued importance, even after his death in 1845, to United States
politics and society in the years leading up to the Civil War. But while Jackson gives
one name to this period, the alternative titles of early republic, antebellum, and age of
association make clear how political, economic, sectional, and organizational movements
intersected to shape this critical era. The editors are particularly interested in books that
address the democratization of the United States, broadly defined, and the many groups
that jockeyed for power and influence in that process.
Editorial Advisory Board
John Belohlavek, University of South Florida
Andrew K. Frank, Florida State University
Lorri Glover, Saint Louis University
Ronald A. Johnson, Texas State University
Stephen A. Mihm, University of Georgia
Kirsten E. Wood, Florida International University
Andrew
Jackson
Donelson
JACKSONIAN AND UNIONIST
RICHARD DOUGLAS SPENCE
Vanderbilt University Press | Nashville
© 2017 by Vanderbilt University Press
Nashville, Tennessee 37235
All rights reserved
First printing 2017
This book is printed on acid- free paper.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
LC control number 2016042810
LC classification number E382.1.D57 S64 2017
Dewey classification number 973.5/6092 [B]— dc23
LC record available at lccn.loc.gov/2016042810
ISBN 978–0- 8265–2163–7 (cloth)
ISBN 978–0- 8265–2165–1 (ebook)
iv
Dedicated,
in an attitude of gratitude,
to my mother,
and especially,
to my father,
who would have read every word.
v

contents
acknowledgments ix
preface xi
Prologue: A Pleasant Stop in Memphis 1
1. New Lives in “that land of promise” 1716–July 1820 3
2. Emily—and a Triumph and a Tragedy
August 1820–December 1828 20
3. The Petticoat War January 1829–August 1831 35
4. The Rising Politician September 1831–December 1835 61
5. “Death could not extinguish the light of her spirit”
December 1835–August 1841 81
6. Elizabeth—and Polk and Texas! September 1841–August 1844 100
7. “The most important mission” September 1844–March 1845 118
8. “Donelson will have the honor of this important deed”
March 1845–July 1845 138
9. The Fruits of Annexation July 1845–February 1848 156
10. Märztage February 1848–November 1849 177
11. “If A. J. Donelson does not please the Democratic Party,
who can . . . ?” December 1849–December 1851 199
12. An Obstacle to Harmony December 1851–May 1855 219
13. Fillmore and Donelson! June 1855–November 1856 234
14. Bitter Twilight November 1856–June 1871 254
Epilogue: The Family and the Legacy 277
illustration gallery 285
abbreviations 293
notes 295
bibliography 401
index 421

acknowledgments
I should begin by stating that I am not a professional historian. I am, rather, a
plant physiologist, but I have been a history nut my entire life. While in gradu-
ate school at Texas A&M University back in the 1980s, I decided that in addition
to whatever contributions I might make to my scientific profession, I owed it to my
love of history to attempt a contribution in the field. In my various readings I kept
running across Donelson. I decided to undertake his biography, which at the time
seemed not to have been done. So whenever I could, I holed up in the Sterling C.
Evans Library poring through dusty books or cranking through rolls of microfilm.
My post-doctoral work at Duke University allowed me access to the collections
there and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Once I landed at my
permanent faculty appointment at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin in
Odessa in 1990, I did my best, despite the challenges of its geographic remoteness,
to continue working on the book, in fits and starts as imposed by the demands of
my “real” job. All in all, Donelson has lived with me for over thirty years.
Along the way I was scooped not once but twice. I discovered early on that the
late R. Beeler Satterfield had written his PhD dissertation in 1960 on Donelson,
which he published as Andrew Jackson Donelson: Jackson’s Confidant and Political
Heir (Bowling Green, KY: Hickory Tales, 2000). Then Mark R. Cheathem pub-
lished his PhD dissertation as Old Hickory’s Nephew: The Political and Private
Struggles of Andrew Jackson Donelson (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University
Press, 2007). Mark and I have exchanged e-mails and newspaper clippings on
Donelson, but to maintain my interpretive independence I did not read either
book until I had finished the first draft of mine.
Meanwhile, the Donelsons found me, starting with Lewis R. Donelson, a great
grandson of Andrew Jackson Donelson, now 99, the paterfamilias of the Donelson
clan and still an active attorney with Baker-Donelson in Memphis. His cousin,
Andrew Jackson (“Jack”) Donelson, MD, of Bowling Green, Kentucky, graciously
let me dig through boxes of Donelson family material. I thank them for their sup-
port and assistance, and my hope at this writing is that Lewis will yet see the pub-
lished book.
I would also like to thank Mark Cheathem, the anonymous reviewer, and
Vanderbilt University Press for selecting mine as one of the inaugural books of
their New Perspectives on Jacksonian America series. Mark’s longtime support is
especially appreciated, as he knows that my take on Donelson is frequently very
ix