Trump takes up the mantle of old hickory.

• Author: Chambers, Thomas
• Position: Political Landscape

"Time will reveal the final report card for the [Donald] Trump presidency, but [Andrew] Jackson may provide some hints."

THE COMPARISONS between Andrew "Old Hickory" Jackson, our seventh president, and the 45th commander in chief, Donald Trump, are remarkable. Both started their presidencies as Washington outsiders, men of the people and scrappers who did not mind a fight. Jackson ended up with a poor record for his methods, but a relatively good one for results. Time will reveal the final report card for the Trump presidency, but Jackson may provide some hints.

Jackson, a rough-and-tumble individual from the hills of North Carolina--and later Tennessee--ran against the well-bred incumbent, John Quincy Adams, whose father had been the nation's second president and who had captured the election of 1824 over Jackson despite the fact that Old Hickory won the popular vote and had a plurality of electoral votes. In 1828, Jackson portrayed Adams as having been responsible for a high national debt and for the "corrupt bargain" he was alleged to have made with Henry Clay, allowing the latter to become Secretary of State.

It was the battle of the eastern elite vs. the frontier. As Pres. Adams appealed to the upper class, Jackson's message was for the masses. To say Jackson was cantankerous is an understatement. He waged war against Native-Americans and supported slavery. Unable to control his temper, he participated in numerous brawls and killed at least one man in a duel. He also was rumored to have killed another person in cold blood. Though as a general Jackson was considered a hero of the War of 1812, he is said to have caused the First Seminole War when he invaded Spanish Florida in a violation of his orders, leading to an international incident when he executed two British citizens.

Like the current president, Jackson was unpredictable, even considered wild by some. He drank heavily early in life, but later swore off spirits completely. Trump, meanwhile, insists he never has touched a drop of liquor. Though Jackson lacked a formal education and Trump possesses an Ivy League degree, neither would be considered among the gentry and both might be labeled anti-intellectual, as when Trump claims he learns most of what he knows from "watching TV shows." There is a commonality of reckless youth followed by piousness. Trump was sent to military school as a teenager.

In his personal life, Jackson was accused of condoning bigamy because his wife was...