Andrew Jackson was a highly visible president for his decisive actions that drew both praise and criticism.
Tennessee‘s recent legislation, in turn, has also brought the University of Tennessee’s discreet research project, “The Andrew Jackson Papers,” more into the public eye. Under a bill signed by Gov. Bill Lee in April, the Jackson project is now one of 10 official state books recently approved and will be listed in the Tennessee Blue Book.
For former project director Dr. Daniel Feller, the news is flattering and surprising. “This is a unique sign of recognition, which I believe should not go unnoticed or unrecognized,” he wrote in an email to colleagues and acquaintances.
Although he is now retired and does not speak for the university, he added in a follow-up phone interview that he does not know the story behind how the Jackson project made it onto the list along with books by such prominent Tennessee-related authors.
“It’s different from the other books,” he said. “It is the only one of the 10 books that is still in production. It is also the only academic work not on the best-seller list and the only one published by a state university press.”
In this bill introduced and supported by Republicans, the Revolutionary War-era Aitken Bible became one of the first official state books along with the Jackson project books and eight others.
The other books or works published are “Farewell Address to the American People” by George Washington, “Democracy in America” by Alexis de Tocqueville and books such as “Roots” by Alex Haley, “A Death in the Family” by James Agee, ” All the King’s Men” by Robert Penn Warren, “American Lion” (also about Andrew Jackson) by Jon Meacham, “The Civil War: A Narrative” by Shelby Foote and “Coat of Many Colors” by Dolly Parton.
Feller said one or two of those others have scant connections to Tennessee, while Tocqueville’s book, written by a Frenchman who toured the United States during the Jackson administration, is a complicated book.
“It’s an abstract analysis,” he said. “It is not a hymn of praise to American democracy.”
Feller said the “Jackson Papers” project was created to publish 17 volumes of the former president’s papers and other materials, with eight books designed to cover each year of his presidency.
Feller was hired in 2003 to direct and edit the project and teach history at UT. He had followed Dr. Harold Moser and was succeeded by Dr. Michael Woods when he retired in 2020. Feller said he had never fully fallen in love with Jackson while growing up or during his academic research, but fell on the topic while doing his dissertation. related to Jacksonian politics.
But he has certainly always been intrigued by Jackson, who served from 1829 to 1837 and was praised for being a defender of the common man and preserving the union, but criticized for his negative treatment of American Indians.
“Jackson is a fascinating figure,” he said. “He was considered a hero and a villain. “The more you learn about it, the more complicated and fascinating it becomes.”
Feller said his work from his office in the historic Hoskins Library included editing the first six volumes of his presidency, with the most recent being published in 2023.
While serving as editor, Feller periodically crossed paths with well-known people. He said he met Jon Meacham while the Chattanooga native and historian was researching “American Lion,” which won the Pulitzer Prize after its 2009 publication.
“I helped Jon Meacham with ‘American Lion’ and was kindly thanked in the footnotes and acknowledgments of the book,” he said, adding that he later nominated Meacham for an honorary degree from UT.
When noted National Public Radio host Steve Inskeep spoke at the Bijou Theater in 2015 about his new book “Jacksonland,” Feller introduced him. He and local historian Jack Neely also took him to some of the sites described in the book “Suttree” after learning that Inskeep was a big admirer of noted author and former Knoxvillian Cormac McCarthy.
And at least one family he crossed paths with was focused on making history in the present. Admittedly not someone who is very up on modern popular culture, Feller said he received an email in 2010 from an eighth-grade student in California about having seen him speaking in a video of Jackson’s class.
He responded and then received a thank you from his parents. He later realized the people were television and social media stars Kendall Jenner and mother and then-stepfather Kris and Bruce (now Caitlyn) Jenner.
That and his more story-focused work made his Jackson Papers project pretty enjoyable overall, he added. “I loved everything about it,” she said.
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