“To Make a Christian of Andrew Jackson”: Piety, Power, and Politics in the Election of 1824

When Andrew Jackson burst onto the political scene in 1824, thousands of voting white men saw in him their best hope to redeem a nation on the verge of damnation. As scholars have long noted, the elections of 1824 and 1828 marked a dramatic change in how presidential elections were conducted, initiating what one historian has dubbed “the birth of modern politics.” Presidential straw polls made their debut, as did the first widespread use of the campaign button, and political cartoons and songs flourished like never before. But along with the arrival of a white man’s democracy came a new kind of religious politics to traverse, handle, and manipulate. Setting a pattern going forward, the Election of 1824 saw commentators inquire into the religious affiliations of the leading contenders, and propagandists used religion to their candidate’s advantage. None, however, were more creative or successful than the supporters of Andrew Jackson. This talk will examine how Jacksonians pioneered religious electioneering, centered on bolstering Jackson’s image as a devout Christian whilst fending off pious criticism concerning his proclivity for violence, slaveholding, and controversial military record. This also meant casting Jackson’s presidential rivals as unworthy and unchristian, impious threats to the spiritual health of the republic. Presented as a holy heir to the Founding Fathers, Jackson, aided by his allies, transformed religious politics in the Early Republic.

Daniel N. Gullotta is a Ph.D. candidate (ABD) at Stanford University in American Religious History. Currently, he is completing a dissertation on the role religion played in the rise of Andrew Jackson and the formation of the Democratic Party. He is a frequent contributor to The Bulwark, and his writings have also appeared in The Washington Post, The Hill, National Review, and The New Criterion.