Jews for Jackson: Isaac Harby, Southern Politics during the Election of 1824, and the Rise of Jacksonian Democracy

Abstract

During the 1824 presidential election, the journalist and southern Jew Isaac Harby of Charleston made his case for Andrew Jackson. Writing under the pseudonym 'Junius,' Harby joined with other pro-Jackson forces and argued that the "Hero of New Orleans" would be the best man to succeed President James Monroe. Though some scholars have commented on the place of Jews within the early Jacksonian coalition, few have explained how and why American Jews united behind "Old Hickory." Harby's political activism mirrors the style and substance of other advocates for Jackson, especially those in the South, but Harby's identity as a southern Jew offers a distinctive case study within early Jacksonian Democratic politics. Although Harby's Jewish identity did not explicitly inform his argument in favor of Jackson, his experience as a southern Jew did influence his support. Harby's anxieties for the future of the American republic reinforced his political convictions. Despite his minority status, Harby shared the same fears and aspirations as his fellow non-Jewish citizens. In the process of supporting Andrew Jackson, Jews like Isaac Harby not only carved out their space in the rise of Jacksonian democracy, but also cooperated in its conception.