The Jacksons and Religion

The Jacksons and Religion. Reflection of the Times. At a time when America was growing in more than material ways, the Jacksons, too, were touched by matters spiritual. In the early 1800s, the stresses of a young nation on the move to new political, geographic, and economic areas produced rapid growth in religious activity, especially in the western areas of Kentucky and Tennessee. Historians have called this time the Second Great Awakening. Religious freedom in the United States enabled several new American denominations to flourish during the Jacksonian Era. These faiths reflected the growth in democracy by adopting the belief that all men were equal before God., The Presbyterian Church did not participate greatly in the movement; however, the religious fervor all around them did affect the Jacksons, especially Rachel. During Jackson's two year stint as a senator from Tennessee, Andrew and Rachel sampled different denominations when they lived in Washington. Books in the family library represent a variety of beliefs and Jackson himself continued to sample other denominations when he returned to Washington as president., After the end of Jackson's second term, he and his daughter-in-law Sarah Yorke Jackson joined the Hermitage Church. For Presbyterians, the process involved examination by the clergy on both the church's teachings and personal actions. Jackson found one act, forgiving his enemies, difficult but he eventually relented and satisfied the pastor., [Sidebar] , Andrew Jackson demonstrated his interest in different sects, as well as his democratic beliefs about the authority of religions, when he wrote privately to a young girl about her grandmother's religious concerns during his presidency. ,

I was brought up a rigid Presbeterian, to which I have always adhered. Our excellent constitution guarantees to every one freedom of religion and charity tells us, and you know Charity is the real basis of all true religion, and charity says judge the tree by its fruit, all who profess christianity, believe in a Savior and that by and through him we must be saved. We ought therefore to consider all good christians, whose walks correspond with their professions, be him Presbeterian, Episcopalian, Baptist, methodist or Roman catholic, let it be always remembered by your Grandmother that no established religion can exist under our glorious constitution. , Andrew Jackson to Ellen Hanson, March 25, 1835

Captions (bottom, left to right) , . This print by John Francis Prud'homme, likely executed between 1839 and 1845, shows Jackson greeting people outside the church. , . During the summers of 1823 and 1824, Rachel Jackson attended camp meetings; revivals noted for their frenzied emotional displays of religious conviction. Held in large outdoor spaces, the meetings attracted huge crowds, who camped for several days and listened to different ministers preaching from booths and platforms. , . Women increasingly became the guardians of family morality and thus pushed the family toward religion. Sarah Yorke Jackson exemplified this role. However, she never seemed to carry it into the wider community, as some women did, by promoting reform movements such as abolitionism and temperance. , . Andrew Jackson's slaves also worshipped here, although only one family actually joined the church. The newly emancipated slaves from The Hermitage and the Donelson plantations organized several Baptist and AME congregations in the Hermitage area after the Civil War. Aaron, the Hermitage blacksmith, was known to have preached a little in later life.