efore the Jacksonian Era had even begun, the American Antiquarian Society had already been actively collecting historical material since 1812. Over two centuries later, that work of collection building continues unabated.

In 2015, the William C. Cook Jacksonian Era Collection arrived at AAS adding almost five hundred books, prints, manuscripts, newspapers, and more to the Society's already significant holdings from or about the Jacksonian Era. This online exhibition follows the books from that collection through the process of being integrated into the Society's other library collections in order to reveal the everyday work of collection-building being done by AAS members, staff, friends, and researchers. Learn How Books Become Library Collections

The 1820s–1840s were critical decades in the life of the young United States. Publications from those years are full of heated debates that still resonate today—debates on the use of military force, the rights of Native Americans and African Americans, federal banking policy, popular democracy and the electoral college, and the formation of the Democratic party. Research Jacksonian Era Subjects

Collecting the Jacksonian Era presents a history of a collection and how it was built; it does not attempt to be a history of the era or of the man. Especially for a controversial figure and era, it is imperative to preserve primary sources so that the original materials of America’s past can be returned to again and again, to be remembered and reinterpreted. Examine Featured Items

Click here to learn what little is known about the three states of this equestrian engraving of Andrew Jackson. Perhaps you can help solve the mystery!