Matthew Warshauer is Associate Professor of History at Central Connecticut State University.His new book is Andrew Jackson and the Politics of Martial Law.
I asked Matt to apply the "page 69 test" to his book. Here is his reply:
Andrew Jackson and the Politics of Martial Law: Nationalism, Civil Liberties, and Partisanship is about the first time that civil liberties and the writ of habeas corpus were ever suspended in the United States. The book deals with how broad nationalism allows civil liberties to be circumvented, and how politicians manipulate important issues to better their own or their party’s needs. Jackson’s actions set a precedent for emergency powers that subsequent leaders have not hesitated to utilize. When his use of martial law was ultimately debated years after he actually imposed it, the parties of the day were as much if not more interested in using the issue to influence upcoming presidential and congressional elections. Jackson was able to push the matter through the Congress because of his own political prowess and popularity, as well as the Democratic Party’s devotion to him and his nationalist popularity. The larger question around which all of this revolves is, are there times when the letter of the law should bend to extreme necessity. Americans have differing views on this question. Yet the really big issue for me is that the very first time our legislators debated the issue, they weren’t focused enough on ideological conviction and what was best for the nation. Rather, they engaged in the same partisan bickering and maneuvering that we are so tired of today. A disconcerting fact to be sure!
Like other authors who have written about p. 69 in their books, I was at first concerned that one page would not adequately or accurately reflect the larger focus of my work. Yet when reading the page, I was pleasantly surprised that it does reflect some of the major themes that I’ve outlined above. The page has to do with Jackson’s run at the White House and how supporters made the issue of martial law, his arrest of Louisiana State Senator Louis Louaillier and Federal District Judge Dominick Hall, a test for being patriotic:
“Nor did the general’s defenders stop at denouncing men like Judge Hall and Senator Louaillier as conspirators and turncoats…. Exposing Hall’s supposedly unconstitutional acts entered the complicated realm of legalese, and Jackson’s partisans much preferred sticking to basic, clearly understood points. Comparing Jackson to Washington was one such strategy. Making the support of martial law and of Jackson a matter of patriotism was another. The reverse, of course, as was shown with the attacks upon Hall and Louaillier, was that anyone criticizing Jackson was unpatriotic. ‘The man whose bosom does not swell with pride at the recollection of his [Jackson’s] exploits,’ announced one speaker before a crowd in New York, ‘possesses not an American heart.’ Maj. Henry Lee, son of Henry ‘Light Horse Harry’ Lee, made a similar implication, announcing, ‘I am…satisfied, that no friend to his country, can lay his hand on his heart and say, he [Jackson] did not perform’ his duty."
Many thanks to Matt for the input.
He [Jackson] defied a writ of habeas corpus, the legal privilege recognized by the Constitution which allows someone being detained to insist that a judge look into his case. Jackson was fined for his actions, and, for the rest of his life, was shadowed by the charge that he had behaved tyrannically. In retirement, after two terms as President, he called on his reserves of political clout to get the fine refunded, and Congress ended up debating the legality of his actions in New Orleans for nearly two years. As Matthew Warshauer argues in a lucid and well-researched new book, “Andrew Jackson and the Politics of Martial Law” (University of Tennessee; $39.95), the debates changed the definition of martial law in American jurisprudence. They also set a precedent for granting emergency powers to the executive branch which remains a troubling legacy today.Matthew Warshauer is also the author of the forthcoming Andrew Jackson: First Men, America’s Presidents. His articles have appeared in Tennessee Historical Quarterly, Connecticut History, Louisiana History, and New York History.
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