The Hermitage

Phil and I just got back from a short trip to Nashville, Tennessee. We decided to go tour the Hermitage this past Thursday. It's the home of Andrew Jackson, 7th president of the United States. He and his wife Rachel had quite a set up there. They owned thousands of acres and numerous slaves to work those acres. The neat thing about the Hermitage is that they aren't trying to rewrite history and make believe that the slave thing is inconsequential. The Ladies Historical Society, the foundation in charge of all things Hermitage, is trying to show slave life along side the life of the Jacksons in an upstairs / downstairs sort of way.

Those of you who know me, know how I am always on the look out for a love story. The story of Andrew and Rachel Jackson was a love story that became a big scandal during his presidential campaign. She was a divorcee and through some kind of goof that the Jacksons were unaware of her divorce had not been finalized before they married. You can imagine how his political enemies used that against him. They got married again and Andrew Jackson went on to win the presidency. Well, Rachel Jackson died three days before they were to leave for Washington. At a time when he should have been overjoyed, Andrew Jackson left for Washington with a heavy heart. He did bring along family and friends to keep him company in the White House. Some time passed and then one day President Jackson read in the newspaper that his home in Tennessee had burned to the ground. He sent out a messenger to the Overseer with plans to start rebuilding the house and instructions that the beautiful mural type wallpaper that hung in the huge entrance hall be reordered and hung in the entrance hallway of the new house. Rachel loved that paper and he wanted it in the new house. That wallpaper is still hanging in the entrance hall at the Hermitage and seems to me to be a sort of tribute to their love and affection.