Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

About the show

The show opens when the cast, dressed as 19th-century American cowboys and prostitutes, take the stage. They are led by Andrew Jackson. They sing about their eagerness to strip the English, Spanish, French, and, most importantly, the Native Americans, of their land in North America, and their desire to bring political power back to the public and away from the elite ("Populism, Yea Yea"). This section also introduces the Storyteller, a historian who tells the audience what his legacy was after certain notable events. Jackson's childhood is shown in the Tennessee hills during the late 18th century. His family and the local shoe cobbler die of cholera and an Indian attack. This leads him to join the military, where he is imprisoned by the British. Jackson begins to express his disdain for the U.S. government's lack of involvement with the people of the frontier and how he wishes someone would stand up to them ("I'm Not That Guy"). Jackson is then shown as a young adult, regaling local tavern goers with his short meeting with George Washington. He is interrupted and attacked by several Spaniards. Jackson defeats them, but is injured in the process. A woman named Rachel helps him to recover from his injuries. They bond over a shared habit of self-harm, playing on emo music's frequent glorification of pain, and reference Illness as Metaphor by Susan Sontag as a way to ground their fantasies. Jackson and Rachel eventually marry, though Rachel is not yet divorced from her current husband ("Illness as a Metaphor"). At the end of the song, news comes that British, Indian, and Spanish forces are making advances into American territory. Meanwhile, the U.S. government continues to do nothing to stop the attacks. Jackson realizes that if he wants this cycle to end, he must change things himself and takes a stand, shooting the Storyteller in the neck and saying that he'll take it from there ("I'm So That Guy"). Jackson organizes a militia to drive Indian nations out of the Southeast ("Ten Little Indians"). In the aftermath of a battle, he adopts a young Native American child called Lyncoya. John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, John Calhoun, and Martin Van Buren are introduced as they express their concern over Jackson's unauthorized territorial expansion. Jackson rebuffs their pleas, explaining how he has driven out the French and the Spanish, while acquiring more land than Thomas Jefferson. The Battle of New Orleans transforms Jackson into a national hero. He becomes Governor of Florida and decides to run for United States President in 1824. Although he receives the most popular and Electoral votes, he does not have a majority, leading to a loss in the subsequent contingent election in the House of Representatives. ("The Corrupt Bargain"). Jackson spends the four years after the election at his home, The Hermitage. He returns from political exile and forms the Democratic Party. During the presidential election of 1828, Andrew Jackson becomes a surprise candidate and mocks the others for not being able to handle the pressure of politics ("Rock Star"). However, his campaign is grueling both publicly and personally to Jackson and his family. Rachel dislikes not having a private life, feels as though she has been making more compromises in their relationship than he has, and questions Andrew's devotion to her versus the American People ("The Great Compromise"). Days before the election, a Senate panel led by Clay investigates Jackson's past wrongdoings and slings accusations, including accusing Rachel of bigamy. Jackson wins the election despite this and becomes the 7th President of the United States. However, the accusation of his rivals, along with the stress of the election, leads to Rachel dying of grief. He vows to use both his presidency and his wife's death as a mandate to "take this country back" ("Public Life"). Once in office, Jackson is faced with a plethora of problems, ranging from the National Bank to questions about Indian relocation. Being the "People’s President," Jackson begins polling the American populace on all executive decisions. This draws the ire of Congress and the Supreme Court. In response, Jackson consolidates Executive Power, thus making the Presidency more powerful than Congress and the Courts. At first, his exhilarating cowboy-like governing tactics are met with great enthusiasm by the average citizen. But, as the problems grow tougher, the public begins to resent being asked to make difficult decisions ("Crisis Averted"). As the American people gradually turn on him, Jackson takes stock of all that he has lost: his family, his wife, and now the love of the American public. He decides he must take ultimate responsibility for the nation's choices and declares that he alone will be the one to make the unenviable policy decisions regarding the Indians' fate ("The Saddest Song"). He summons Black Fox — an Indian Chief who organized the remaining Indian tribes into a confederation against Tennessee settlers — in order to make one last deal with the Native Americans still living in American Territories. Jackson implores Black Fox to peacefully move his people west of the Mississippi River. Black Fox asks for time to consult his tribe, but Jackson violently snaps and decrees that federal troops will forcibly move the Indians west, leading to thousands of deaths along the Trail of Tears. Near the end, the musical reviews Jackson's legacy and the views attributed to him. Some believe he was one of America's greatest presidents, while others believe him to be an "American Hitler" who deliberately engaged in a genocide against the Indigenous American people. The final scene shows Jackson receiving an honorary doctorate at Harvard. He reflects upon his achievements and his questionable decisions. The show then offers a more modern view of Jackson's damning legacy and American society's collective culpability in shaping a new country at the expense of the native population ("Second Nature"). Finally, the company gathers to sing "The Hunters of Kentucky", before taking their bows.