“Precisely so,” ejaculated the member. “General Jackson is popular, just because he is General Jackson; so much so, that if a man were to say a word against him in the Western States, he would be ‘knocked into eternal smash.’”
“And this sort of popularity,” continued the senator, “our Northern people consider as the mere consequence of the battle of New Orleans. The battle, and General Jackson’s military character, had undoubtedly a great deal to do with it; but they were not of themselves sufficient to elevate him to the Presidency. In a country in which so large a portion of the people consider the acquiring of a fortune the only rational object of pursuit,—in which so great and so exclusive an importance is attached to money, that, with a few solitary exceptions, it is the only means of arriving at personal distinction,—a character like Jackson’s, so perfectly disinterested, and so entirely devoted to what he at least deemed the good of his country, could not but excite astonishment and admiration among the natural, and therefore more susceptible, people of the Western States. The appearance of General Jackson was a phenomenon, and would at the present time have been one in every country. He called himself ‘the people’s friend,’ and gave proofs of his sincerity and firmness in adhering to his friends, and of his power to protect them. The people believed in General Jackson as much as the Turks in their prophet, and would have followed him wherever he chose to lead them. With this species of popularity it is in vain to contend; and it betrays little knowledge of the world, and the springs of human action, to believe those who possess it men of ordinary capacity.
“What the French call ‘le génie du caractère,’ which is the true talisman of popular favour, is perhaps the highest talent with which mortals can be endowed. It is a pure gift of Heaven, and has accomplished the noblest deeds in history. When Napoleon reproached Voltaire with not having sufficiently appreciated the character of Mahomed, whom the French poet introduced in the drama of the same name as a mere impostor, he felt that none but a great mind could have conceived and executed what to ordinary men would have appeared absurd or chimerical; and that he who had the power to instil a lasting enthusiasm for a new cause into millions, and on that enthusiasm to establish an empire which has spread over half the world, must have been more than a mere charlatan, for he must have been possessed of a thorough knowledge of human character. This is a thing a man cannot acquire by study, if he do not possess it by intuition; and hence it can neither be defined nor understood by men not similarly gifted, who, applying their own scale to what is truly incommensurable, are always astonished at the success of those whom they were all their lives accustomed to look upon as second or third rate men.
“Have we not heard it objected to Napoleon, that he could not write an elegant epistle? Do the French not pity Shakspeare for having been so little of a scholar, and so inelegant in his expressions? And yet wherein consisted the particular genius of these men, so entirely opposite to one another, if it was not, principally, in the perfect knowledge which truly intuitively they possessed of human character?
“In the same manner it has been said of General Jackson that he is incapable of writing a good English sentence, as if this were the standard by which to measure the capacity of a political chief, especially in America, where, out of a hundred senators and representatives, scarcely one has received what in Europe would be called a literary education. If classical learning were to constitute the scale by which to measure the talents of our statesmen, how far would they not rank behind the paltriest Prussian schoolmaster! General Jackson understood the people of the United States better than, perhaps, any President before him, and developed as much energy in his administration as any American statesman. I do not here speak as a partisan, nor do I wish to inquire whether all his measures were beneficial to the people; but they were, at least, all in unison with his political doctrines, and carried through with an iron consequence, notwithstanding the enormous opposition that wealth, and, in a great degree, also talent, put in the way of their execution. And yet they call Jackson a second-rate man, because he is not a regular speechifyer, or has never published a long article in the newspapers!
“To judge of a man like General Jackson, one must not analyze him after the manner of a chemist; one must not separate his talents—his oratory—his style of composition—his generalship, &c.; but take the tout ensemble of the man, and I venture to say there is not such another in the United States. It is useless to draw envious comparisons between him and Washington, Wellington, Napoleon, Jefferson, and so forth. Great men always wear the imprints of the times and circumstances which call their talents into action; but history is sure to preserve the name of any man who has had the strength and genius to stamp his own character on the people over whose destinies he presided. General Jackson has many political enemies, and his political doctrines are perhaps only maintained—I will not say maintainable—by his own great personality. His successor in office may not be able to continue to make head against the opposition;—another party may get into power, and introduce different doctrines into the administration of the country;—but the impulse which General Jackson has given to the democracy of America will always continue to be felt, and impel the government in a more or less popular direction.”
“You are a great friend of General Jackson,” said I, “from the animated defence you make of his character.”
“I certainly am, sir,” said he; “and I do not know a single man of our party that is not warmly attached to him. Not that I approve of all his political principles; but I like the man, and would rather see him President than any other.”
“You have spoken my very heart,” cried the other senator. “I like Old Hickory, because he is just the man for the people, and as immovable as a rock. One always knows where to find him.”
“He is just the man our party wanted,” rejoined the first senator, “in order to take the lead.”