"American History Is Returning Full Circle"

"Downplaying or ignoring Jackson's conservatism, while conjuring a liberal ideology on his behalf, served a partisan interest for 20th-century Democrats. But there are also honest reasons that may have led historians like Schlesinger astray. From the standpoint of the 20th century, the United States had evolved into a two-party system in which the more liberal of the two parties had its strongest base in the Deep South. As this felt to many to be the inevitable direction of American politics, it seemed natural to peer back at the 19th century and see those coalitions in protean form. Despite its conservative views on race and suspicion of Washington, the white South probably appeared like a plausible base for the development of a liberal party.
"From the standpoint of the 21st century, things look very different."


Jonathan Chait in New York argues that Andrew Jackson "is, clearly, the father of the modern Republican Party."