=352. Jackson’s Cabinet.=—Jackson’s Cabinet was chosen upon the basis of friendship or service and was mediocre in character. Van Buren,[153] who was made Secretary of State, had ability, it is true, and showed it conspicuously in the way he humored Jackson in order to secure the Presidential succession. Two Secretaries were friends of Calhoun, the Vice President, who had thus far supported Jackson. Within three years, however, the Cabinet was, with one exception, reconstituted. This very unusual and autocratic procedure of Jackson’s was owing partly to the alienation from Calhoun which followed Jackson’s discovery that the South Carolinian had wished to have him punished for his high-handed conduct in Florida (§ 324, note 2), and partly to the unwillingness of the wives of the other Secretaries to call upon the wife of the Secretary of War. This change in the personnel of the Cabinet but slightly affected the character of the administration, since Jackson rarely consulted his constitutional advisers, but preferred to take the advice of a small group of friends known as the “Kitchen Cabinet.” These men, chief among whom were William B. Lewis, an old Tennessee neighbor, and Amos Kendall, later Postmaster-General, acted as “coaches” to the old warrior. But the daring and energy needed for carrying out certain of his policies were furnished by himself. =353. Jackson’s Autocratic Reign.=—Jackson, in spite of his theories about the duty of an executive to do the people’s will, was too much accustomed to command to be able to play the part of a constitutional President with any grace. When he had made up his mind to do a thing there was no stopping him. Of all our Presidents he, the most typically democratic, with the exception of Andrew Johnson, was the most typical autocrat. Opponents called him “King Andrew” and his two administrations are often spoken of as the “Reign of Andrew Jackson.” Yet to his credit be it said, that when he was not persuaded to act spitefully, he always acted fairly and for what he believed to be the interests of the nation. He bullied Mexico, but he would not be bullied by South Carolina. He insulted Chief Justice Marshall, was unforgiving to Calhoun, but was loyal to Van Buren. He was stern when his resolution to act was kindled; yet at times he was remarkably gentle. Almost the only time his will was successfully crossed was when the women of Washington refused to receive Secretary Eaton’s wife. But in describing him thus we are evidently dealing with a real man, not with a mere personification of the nation’s dignity. The history of Jackson’s administrations is the biography of Jackson himself—a fact which shows us that republican governments are sometimes as much affected by personal influences as monarchies are. The parallel between his career and that of a typical autocratic ruler is drawn still closer when we remember that an attempt was made to assassinate him. But this parallel must not be pushed too far. No man