Andrew Jackson

Guide Note

Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States and a colonel in the Tennessee militia during the War of 1812. He was elected as president on March 4, 1829 where he served two terms. He was the first president mainly associated with the frontier.

Fast Facts

1. Born: March 15, 1767
2. Birthplace: Waxhaws area between North and South Carolina
3. Vice President: John C. Calhoun (First Term)
4. Vice President: Martin Van Buren (Second Term)
5. Wife: Rachel Donelson Robards Jackson
6. Preceded by: John Quincy Adams
7. Succeeded by: Martin Van Buren

Jackson was born on March 15, 1767 in the Waxhaws area between North and South Carolina. His parents were Andrew and Elizabeth Jackson. He received his education in a local school. At the age of thirteen, Jackson joined a local regiment as a courier during the American Revolutionary War. He, along with his brother Robert, was captured by the British and they were held captive as prisoners of war where they contracted smallpox. Robert died soon after their release from prison. Jackson's whole family died when he was only 14 leaving him orphaned. Jackson later studied law in Salisbury, North Carolina and was admitted to the bar in 1787. He later relocated to Tennessee.

In 1791, Jackson married a divorcee from Nashville, Tennessee named Rachel Donelson Robards. However, two years later, they learned that Robard's divorce was never finalized. As a result, the couple remarried in 1794 after the official divorce was granted. Jackson often defended his wife's honor from criticism that resulted from her previous marital situation. As a result, he fought many duals in which resulted in the death of one of his opponents, Charles Dickinson. His wife died on December 22, 1828 from unknown causes. The couple adopted two sons, nephew Andrew Jackson Jr and Creek Indian orphan Lyncoya. Lyncoya died in 1828 from tuberculosis.

In 1796, Jackson was elected U.S. Representative for Tenessee. A year later, he became a U.S. Senator resigning after less than one year in office. He was appointed judge of the Tennessee Supreme Court where he served from 1798-1804. In 1801, Jackson achieved the title of commander in the Tennessee militia. In 1814, Jackson defeated the Red Stick Creek Indians in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. Upon his victory, he imposed the Treaty of Fort Jackson. In 1817, Jackson once again served in the military where he lead a campaign in Georgia against the Seminole and Creek Indians during the First Seminole War. In 1822, Jackson was once again elected as U.S. Senator.

Jackson served as the President of the United States from March 4, 1829 – March 4, 1837. During his early reign, his opponents gave him the nickname Jackass later becoming the symbol for the Democratic Party. In 1835, Jackson was able to reduce the federal debt to it's lowest point since 1791. However, two years later, the country suffered a severe depression lasting until 1844. Jackson was the victim of two failed assasination attempts while in office. The first attempt by Robert B. Randolph was brought about as a result of Jackson ordering his dismissal from the Army because of embezzlement and the second attempt by Richard Lawrence was due to Lawrence's insanity.