
Mr. Jefferson's Hammer
William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy
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Narrated by:
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Doug McDonald
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By:
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Robert M. Owens
About this listen
Often remembered as the president who died shortly after taking office, William Henry Harrison remains misunderstood by most Americans. Before becoming the ninth president of the United States in 1841, Harrison was instrumental in shaping the early years of westward expansion. Robert M. Owens now explores that era through the lens of Harrison’s career, providing a new synthesis of his role in the political development of Indiana Territory and in shaping Indian policy in the Old Northwest.
Owens traces Harrison’s political career as secretary of the Northwest Territory, territorial delegate to Congress, and governor of Indiana Territory, as well as his military leadership and involvement with Indian relations. Thomas Jefferson, who was president during the first decade of the nineteenth century, found in Harrison the ideal agent to carry out his administration’s ruthless campaign to extinguish Indian land titles.
More than a study of the man, Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer is a cultural biography of his fellow settlers, telling how this first generation of post-Revolutionary Americans realized their vision of progress and expansionism. It surveys the military, political, and social world of the early Ohio Valley and shows that Harrison’s attitudes and behavior reflected his Virginia background and its 18th-century notions as much as his frontier milieu.
Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer offers a much needed reappraisal of Harrison’s impact on the nation’s development and key lessons for understanding American sentiments in the early republic.
The book is published by University of Oklahoma Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.
"A cogent and compeling addition to the scholarship....” (Journal of America’s Military Past)
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Overall
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In this lively and compelling biography, Harlow Giles Unger reveals the dominant political figure of a generation. A fierce fighter in four critical Revolutionary War battles and a courageous survivor of Valley Forge and a near-fatal wound at the Battle of Trenton, James Monroe (1751 - 1831) went on to become America's first full-time politician, dedicating his life to securing America's national and international durability.
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Readable, but more hero worship than history
- By Elaine Martin on 12-22-10
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FDR
- By: Jean Edward Smith
- Narrated by: Marc Cashman
- Length: 32 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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One of today's premier biographers, Jean Edward Smith, has written a modern, comprehensive, indeed ultimate book on the epic life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This is a portrait painted in broad strokes and fine details. We see how Roosevelt's restless energy, fierce intellect, personal magnetism, and ability to project effortless grace permitted him to master countless challenges throughout his life. Smith recounts FDR's personal battles and also tackles head-on and in depth the numerous failures and miscues of Roosevelt's political career.
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Interesting but flawed
- By Mike From Mesa on 09-15-13
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The Unexpected President
- The Life and Times of Chester A. Arthur
- By: Scott S. Greenberger
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Despite his promising start as a young man, by his early 50s Chester A. Arthur was known as the crooked crony of New York machine boss Roscoe Conkling. For years Arthur had been perceived as unfit to govern, not only by critics and the vast majority of his fellow citizens but by his own conscience. As President James A. Garfield struggled for his life, Arthur knew better than his detractors that he failed to meet the high standard a president must uphold. And yet, from the moment President Arthur took office, he proved to be not just honest but brave.
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Exceptional
- By Jean on 07-30-18
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William Henry Harrison
- A Fascinating Biography of the 9th United States President
- By: Steven Wallace
- Narrated by: Thomas Rode
- Length: 1 hr and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Of the presidents who died of natural causes during their term in office, arguably the most preventable was that of William Henry Harrison, the ninth president of the United States. Despite holding the record for the shortest presidential term of merely a month, William Henry Harrison could never be deemed a failure, though he certainly saw his fair share of them.
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8th Grade Writing. No Insight. Little Substance
- By Anonymous User on 11-23-23
By: Steven Wallace
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American Lion
- Andrew Jackson in the White House
- By: Jon Meacham
- Narrated by: Richard McGonagle
- Length: 17 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Beloved and hated, venerated and reviled, Andrew Jackson was an orphan who fought his way to the pinnacle of power, bending the nation to his will in the cause of democracy. Jackson's election in 1828 ushered in a new and lasting era in which the people, not distant elites, were the guiding force in American politics. Democracy made its stand in the Jackson years, and he gave voice to the hopes and the fears of a restless, changing nation facing challenging times at home and threats abroad.
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Unlikable Old Hickory
- By John M on 01-05-09
By: Jon Meacham
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Eisenhower in War and Peace
- By: Jean Edward Smith
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 28 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Author of the best-seller FDR, Jean Edward Smith is a master of the presidential biography. Setting his sights on Dwight D. Eisenhower, Smith delivers a rich account of Eisenhower’s life using previously untapped primary sources. From the military service in WWII that launched his career to the shrewd political decisions that kept America out of wars with the Soviet Union and China, Smith reveals a man who never faltered in his dedication to serving America, whether in times of war or peace.
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Good, although biased, biography
- By Mike From Mesa on 10-15-12
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James Monroe
- A Life
- By: Tim McGrath
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 28 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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The extraordinary life of James Monroe: Soldier, senator, diplomat, and the last Founding Father to hold the presidency, a man who helped transform 13 colonies into a vibrant and mighty republic.
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Large and inconsistent, much like Monroe himself.
- By Kindle Customer on 01-31-21
By: Tim McGrath
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Gallop Toward the Sun
- Tecumseh and William Henry Harrison's Struggle for the Destiny of a Nation
- By: Peter Stark
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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The conquest of the American West through violence and corrupt treaties in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries transformed the global balance of power. It was an upheaval on a grand scale, but acclaimed author Peter Stark shows us its fundamental conflicts through the clash between two men—Shawnee chief and warrior Tecumseh and Indiana governor William Henry Harrison.
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Good duel biography of Tecumseh and Harrison
- By Chris on 09-17-23
By: Peter Stark
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Andrew Jackson
- His Life and Times
- By: H.W. Brands
- Narrated by: John H. Mayer
- Length: 25 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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The extraordinary story of Andrew Jackson—the colorful, dynamic, and forceful president who ushered in the Age of Democracy and set a still young America on its path to greatness—told by the bestselling author of The First American.
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Very Thorough
- By Eric on 02-07-06
By: H.W. Brands
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A. Lincoln
- A Biography
- By: Ronald C. White Jr.
- Narrated by: Bill Weideman
- Length: 27 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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In this important new biography, Ronald C. White, Jr. offers a fresh and fascinating definition of Lincoln as a man of integrity - what today's commentators are calling "authenticity" - whose internal moral compass is the key to understanding his life. Through meticulous research, utilizing recently discovered Lincoln letters, legal papers, and photographs, White depicts Lincoln as a person of intellectual curiosity, comfortable with ambiguity, and capable of changing his mind.
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Insight into Lincoln
- By Julieann on 02-17-10
Good story, but some fluff filler.
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Appreciate the fine insights
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Progressive propaganda
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Good examination of frontier politics in early America
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Interesting
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Anyone really interested in Indian policy in the early 19th century will love the detail here. As one with more casual interest in that topic in particular, I was pleased to learn the big picture particularly well, but I got a little bogged down here and there with all the names, etc. A more general interest study of Harrison would have spent some more time on the latter part of his life, for example.
In any case, I can strongly recommend this book to anyone who finds the title intriguing ... others looking for a more general biography of Harrison should just be aware of what they are getting into.
Title = Truth in Advertising
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Early US Indian Affairs Policy
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After reading it, I feel I have a much better understanding of what transpired between the Native Americans and the expanding population of the United States as they pushed inexorably Westward. It is without a doubt a very sad chapter in our history and one that deserves critical analysis. The author does a good job of illuminating the best and worst of what happened without dwelling in either pointless self-loathing or hero-worship for the principals involved.
What the book lacks is any serious attempt to look into the type of man William Henry Harrison was and what made him tick. The same could be said for other principal characters in the narrative like Tecumseh and Tenskatawa. Because of this, it reads a bit like an academic paper. But one can get a rough idea of the personalities in the narrative through their actions. Harrison comes across as a driven and calculating individual with a deep devotion to his country.
I was disappointed in the lack of any details on Harrison's long political life from 1815-1841 which culminated in two important national campaigns for President against Martin Van Buren. Harrison won the second one and changed the very nature of political campaigns in the process ("Tippecanoe and Tyler Too"). Overall, I am glad to have learned a bit more about the man most people simply know for having the shortest Presidential term in US History. We owe him more than that.
An informative analysis of Harrison's early career
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Solid for a relatively unknown American figure
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Enjoyable bio of one aspect of the shortest serving President
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