in the early 1800s, with jesse benton and thomas hart benton. jesse benton is wonderful.on common currency, he became a senator from missouri, and jackson's largest legislative ally. at the beginning of their lives, they were in a brawl, a gunfight, in which jackson got shot. they were fighting each other. they were not on the same side. jackson bled through two mattresses, and they were about to cut off his arm, and he simply ordered the doctor -- i will keep the arm. even the doctor stood back. so, yes, he was quick to violence as a young man. but it was not uncommon at the time. again, i think we have to judge them by the standards of his time. >> the early 1800s was a period of revivalism. did that have any effect on the democratic lifestyle of the people? >> absolutely. there is a wonderful book by nathan hatch or john butler. they have both written great books about this. on exactly this. how the second great awakening fed democratic thought, and the energy that really reached the higher point by the 1820s, it was -- and to the extent of r