THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 26, 1997 TAG: 9701240175
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: OLDE TOWNE JOURNAL
SOURCE: Alan Flanders
LENGTH: 101 lines
As things heat up for President Clinton during his second term, he might take a hint from an earlier occupant of the White House ``hot seat,'' President Andrew Jackson, who saw boat trips down the Chesapeake Bay to Hampton Roads as a perfect escape from the mud-slinging politics of Washington.
It only took the seventh president his first year in office to realize that the nation's capital had a darker side. The press hounded him unmercifully about his private life, which involved dueling over the reputation of his wife, as well as a fiery relationship with political enemies. From the very start in 1829, Old Hickory - as he was popularly referred to by his native Tennessee supporters - invited what Washington society saw as rabble to his inauguration. Some say the parties got so wild in the Executive Mansion - that Jackson would later name the White House - that he was forced to move across the street to get some rest.
And, for short and lofty inauguration speeches, Jackson still holds the record. His entire address can be summed up in one quote: ``The Federal Constitution must be obeyed, state rights preserved, our national debt must be paid, direct taxes and loans avoided, and the Federal Union preserved.''
That was enough right there to alienate him from many of his former supporters and, at the same time, offend his opposition. Then there was the issue of the ``spoils system,'' which, historians say, Jackson invented. Those familiar with politics today will recognize this as ``influence-peddling'' between friends, at the highest level of government.
Jackson offended conservative critics even more by shoring up a group of so-called ``pet banks'' by allocating federal funds to selected state banks.
Looking back on those days, it sounded like a scandal a day. So if history teaches us anything, it tells us there is some hope for today's politicians. But Jackson was smart enough to simply escape Washington and head south to the cooler, healthier waters of the lower Chesapeake Bay.
On June 22, 1829, the local edition of the Herald sympathetically announced that the president's need for rest would bring him to this area on July 10. After barely six months in Washington, the Herald said, ``He doubtless needs some respite from his painful and incessant labors, and a trip to the salt water region, with the benefit of the sea-bathing, and the pure air of the ocean, will do much to invigorate and restore his exhausted frame.''
Finally, Jackson arrived at Old Point Comfort - where he was met by the commanding officer of Fort Monroe and dignitaries from Norfolk and Portsmouth, including the shipyard commander, Capt. James Barron. As the military band played ``The Presidential March,'' Jackson greeted them with the obvious satisfaction of being away from the capital.
But even at Fort Monroe he could not escape politics. At a reception in his honor he was asked when he might visit Gosport navy yard in Portsmouth, a Democratic Party stronghold.
For a frazzled politician, his reply was a classic. ``Let us go there first,'' he said. ``The public business must receive the earliest attention, and then we will visit the citizens of Norfolk.''
At midday July 13, the steamboat Potomac, with Jackson aboard, passed Hospital Point while receiving a 21-gun salute and the cheers of a huge crowd assembled along the waterfront.
Finally stopping at Gosport, Jackson was welcomed by Capt. Barron and taken on a tour of the construction site of Drydock One. It was during this segment of the shipyard inspection that the president had one of his most amusing moments. It is preserved in Mildred Holladay's ``History of Portsmouth'':
``Mr. Ebenezer Thompson, who was at that time about ten years old, was employed to keep the men working on the dock with drinking water. He carried with him a bucket and dipper; and he was zealous in his work.
``On the eventful day while eagerly pursuing his duties he was stopped by a tall gentleman and asked for a drink of water. Seeing at a glance that the request did not come from a workman, he replied, `I haven't the time, Sir; I'm hired by the government to wait on its employees.' `Then, my lad, I am entitled to a drink. I am employed by the government as its President, Andrew Jackson, at your service!' According to Holladay, Thompson told this story with joy well into his 90s, while he was still employed at the yard.
Obviously Jackson enjoyed his meeting with the shipyard water boy and went on to attend a reception at the home of Capt. John W. Murdaugh on Crawford Street. At about 4 p.m., he returned to the steamboat Potomac and crossed the river to Norfolk, where he was greeted by a company of local troops and a throng of supporters.
At a hotel reception given in his honor later that evening, Jackson responded to a series of accolades given him by Mayor John E. Holt. Sounding something like newly inagurated president, he said, ``I trust I am duly sensible to the responsibilities which rest upon me in the arduous station to which I have been called under the Constitution of our country.'' But always the politician, Jackson reassured his admirers that, despite some major scandals and setbacks, ``I can only say that I shall certainly endeavor to give you an honest administration.''
After a tour the next day of the Dismal Swamp, and a dinner with Capt. Barron at Gosport, Jackson returned to Fort Monroe in preparation for his return to Washington.
For the next eight years, Jackson would firmly establish a political dynasty that came to be called the ``Jacksonian Era.'' Those years saw Martin Van Buren, John Tyler, James Polk and Zachary Taylor elected under his political banner.
Perhaps his numerous getaways to Hampton Roads restored his energy to survive in Washington and control the political destiny of the United States for 20 years. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
Andrew Jackson couldn't get away from scandals and political enemies
- even on vacation.