234 SPECIALPROVIDENCEtilydiscussedbyEnglishgentlemenina Londondining-room,whenthe
servant,havingplaceda freshbottleofcoolwineonthetable,respect-
fullyshutsthedoor,andleavesthemtotheirwalnutsandtheirwisdom;
butitwillbefoundlesspalatablewhenitpresentsitselfintheshapeofa
hard,greasypaw,andisclaimedinaccentsthatbreathelessoffreedom
thanofonionsandwhiskey.Strong,indeed,mustbetheloveofequality
inanEnglishbreastifitcansurviveatourthroughtheUnion."2o
InJacksonianAmerica,everyonemustfindhisorherownway.Each
individualmustchoosea faith,ornofaith,anda codeofconductbased
onconscienceandreason.Noonehastherighttotellanybodyelsewhat
tothinkorbelieve,andtheJacksonianfeelsperfectlyfreetostrikeoffin
anentirelynew religiousdirection. "Isincerely believe,"wrote Mrs.
Trollope,"thatifa fire-worshipper,oranIndianBrahmin,weretocome
totheUnitedStates,preparedtopreachandprayinEnglish,hewould
not belongwithouta 'veryrespectablecongregation.'"21 Shedidn't
knowthehalfofit.
Yetdespitethis individualism,theJacksoniancodealsomandates
acceptanceofcertainsocialmoresandprinciples.Loyaltytofamily,rais-
ingchildren"right,"sexualdecency(usuallyidentifiedwithheterosexual
monogamy,whichcanbeserial),andhonestywithinthecommunityare
virtuesthatcommendthemselvestotheJacksonianspirit.Childrenof
bothsexescanbewild;bothwomenandmenmustbestrong.Corporal
punishmentiscustomaryandcommon;Jacksoniansfindobjectionsto
thistime-honoredand(theyfeel) effectivemethodofdisciplineout-
landishandabsurd.Althoughwomenshouldbemorediscreet,bothsexes
cansowwildoatsbeforemarriage;afterit,toenjoytheesteemoftheir
community,a couplemustbeseentoputtheirchildren'swelfareaheadof
personalgratification.
ThefourthpillarintheJacksonianhonorcodestruckMrs.Trollope
andothersasmoredishonorablethanhonorable;neverthelessitpersists.
Letuscallitfinancialesprit.WhiletheJacksonianbelievesinhardwork,
heorshealsobelievesthatcreditisarightandthatmoney,especially
borrowedmoney,islessa sacredtrustthana meansforself-discoveryand
expression.Althoughpreviousgenerationslackedthefacultiesforcon-
sumercreditthatAmericansenjoyedattheendofthetwentiethcentury,
manyAmericanshavealwaysassumedthattheyhavearighttospend
moneyontheirappearance,onpurchasesthataffirmtheirstatus. The
strictJacksoniancodeofhonordoesnotenjoinwhatothersseeasfinan-
cialprobity.Whatitratherenjoinsisa daringandentrepreneurialspirit.