Andrew JacksonAndrew Jackson (1767-1845) was the seventh president of the United States (1829-1837). He made his way to wealth in a frontier society and leadership.
All of the common people liked him and he established a bond with them. All of the common people looked to him for leadership when they were struggling. To them he was a good role model. Andrew Jackson was born on March 5,1767 in south Carolina.
When Jacksons father died they moved into the home of James Crawford. He went to frontier schools and got a reputation on being fiery tempered and willing to fight. (“Jackson, Andrew,” Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2005http://encarta. msn.
com 1997-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. )The American revolution didn’t reach Carolina until 1780 and Jackson, who was only 13 at the time, served as a militia orderly and messenger. Jackson and his brother Robert were captured when the British raided Waxhaw. His mother and Robert died because of smallpox when he was 14.
(www. americanpresident. org/history/andrewjackson/biography) Since he didn’t have any other family he was a saddle maker and taught school. He inherited 300 dollars from his grandpa and went to Charleston, South Carolina and spent all his money there. In Salisbury, North Carolina Jackson studies law under Spruce Macay.
He set up an office in Mcleanville when he entered practice in 1787. (“Jackson, Andrew,” Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2005http://encarta. msn. com 1997-2005 Microsoft Corporation.
All Rights Reserved. )In 1788 he and John Mcnairy crossed the Cumberland mountains where they settled in Nashville. (www. ipl. org/div/potus/ajackson.
html) Mcnairy was made a judge of the district’s Superior Court because he had connections. He made Jackson solicitor general which was to prepare court cases on behalf of the state. Because of his successful law practice he made a name for himself by prosecuting debators. He married Mrs. Racheal Donelson Robards in 1791 but since she never completely divorced her old husband they were remarried two years later. (www.
americanpresident. org/history/andrewjackson/biography )They did not have any children of their own but they did adopt Racheals infant nephew, who was Andrew Jackson Jr. they also adopted three other nephews of Racheals. They even raised a native American boy whose parents had been killed in Jackson’s Campaign against the Creek Nation in 1814. In 1796 Jackson became the Tennessee delegate to the United States House of Representatives. One year in the house, Jackson was elected to fill out an unexpired term in the Senate.
He served from September 1797 to April 1798 and then retired to prvate life. Jackson was appointed Judge of the Superior Court from 1798-1804. His decisions were said to be “short, unethical, unlearned, sometimes grammatical , and generally right”. (“Jackson, Andrew,” Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2005http://encarta. msn.
com 1997-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. )He was very active in politics but didn’t really care about national affairs. In the war of 1812 Jackson was Major General of the Tennessee Militia.
At the battle of Horseshoe Bend in March 1814 on the Tallapoosa River Jackson wiped out millions of acres of Creek land to the United States and killed many Creek forces. In May 1814 Jackson Became Major General in the Federal army. On his way to New Orleans, to defend the city against British attack, he captured the British military base and arrived in New Orleans. On December 13,1814 the British were going to try a surprise attack on Jackson’s exposed flank.
(www. americanpresident. org/history/andrewjackson/biography ) Jackson heard the plan and he launched his own surprise attack and set up a defense in a dry canal. On January 8,1815 the British were attacked in force but were thrown back.
(“Jackson, Andrew,” Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2005http://encarta. msn. com 1997-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. )For the election of 1824 Jackson’s opponents were John Quincy Adams, William H.
Crawford and Henry Clay. Although Jackson had won the electoral and popular vote, he didn’t have enough of a majority vote to win. (“Jackson, Andrew,” Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2005http://encarta. msn.
com 1997-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. )On February 9,1825 the House of Representatives chose Adams for President. In 1828 Jackson received 178 electoral votes and Adams got 83. He also won a majority of the popular vote.
Jackson rewarded his political supporters with Cabinet positions. He relied less on his official cabinet in forming policy then he did on a group of close friends known as the Kitchen Cabinet. Jackson did not like the national bank and rejected it. In the election of 1832 it was Jackson vs. Clay. The election was centered on the bank issue, so Jackson won the second term easily.
Before Jackson’s second term began, nullification became an issue again. In 1832 there was a tariff that congress passed which deemed oppressive to South Carolina. A convention declared this tariff null. Finally South Carolina excepted the tariff but they nullified the force bill. (www. americanpresident.
org/history/andrewjackson/biography) Jackson was the only president to ever pay off the National debt. The state banks were printing money that was more than the government actually had. Jackson wanted to force all of the American Indians, remaining in the east of the Mississippi River, further west. (www. americanpresident.
org/history/andrewjackson/biography) He knew that Indian lands would make very good farms for white settlers. He turned a deaf ear to all arguments about Indian rights; so did his selfish supporters. Under United States treaties Indians were treated as an independent nation. Jackson encouraged people to ignore the courts ruling.
In Texas there were a lot of slaveholding southerners who settled there and Texas was part of Mexico which was sparsely colonized by the Mexicans and Spanish. Most of the new settlers wanted to annex Texas to the United States. Jackson thought the same way as them. Jackson refused to press for annexation because the Northern states didn’t want another slave state. On his last day in office he recognized the independent republic of Texas and appointing a diplomat to represent the United States there.
In 1836 Jackson was weak from tuberculosis and he didn’t want to do a third term, but he did continue with affairs of state and party, including that the party nominated Van Buren as his successor. He grimly fulfilled the duties of his office until the inauguration that following March. The last day of Jackson’s presidency was as much a personal triumph as his first. Thousands came to bid good bye to their beloved hero.
Jackson spent the last eight years of his life at the Hermitage. He continued to entertain political supporters and kept a close watch on National affairs. On his deathbed he said. “My dear children ,and friends, and servants, I hope and trust to meet you all in heaven, both white and black-both white and black.
“(“Jackson, Andrew,” Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2005http://encarta. msn. com 1997-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.)
