Happy Birthday Old Hickory
On March 15, 1767 (245 years ago today) Andrew Jackson, the 7th President of the United States, was born in Waxhaws, North Carolina. His father had died three weeks before Andrew Jackson's birthday, and his exact birth site is unclear because he was born about the time his mother was making a difficult trip home from burying Jackson's father.
Jackson and his two brothers were raised by his mother Elizabeth. During the American Revolutionary War, a 13 year old Andrew Jackson joined a local militia as a courier. His eldest brother, Hugh, died at the Battle of Stono Ferry, on June 20, 1779. Jackson and his brother Robert were captured by the British and held as prisoners. They nearly starved to death in captivity. When Jackson refused to clean the boots of a British officer, the officer slashed at young Andrew with a sword, leaving Jackson with scars on his left hand and head. While imprisoned, the brothers contracted smallpox. Robert Jackson died on April 27, 1781, a few days after their mother Elizabeth successfully pleaded for the release of her children. After being assured Andrew would recover, Elizabeth Jackson volunteered to nurse prisoners of war on board two ships in Charleston harbor, where there had been an outbreak of cholera. She died from the disease in November 1781.
Jackson became a lawyer and a local politician, but he gained his greatest fame as a general. He defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814), and the British at the Battle of New Orleans (1815). Jackson was nicknamed "Old Hickory" because of his toughness and aggressive personality. He fought in duels and was also slaveholder. He championed the cause of the common man and fought politically against what he saw as a closed, undemocratic aristocracy.
Jackson ran for president in 1824 and won the most popular vote, but failed to gain a majority of the electoral vote. When the election was decided by Congress and John Quincy Adams was chosen as president over Jackson, his bitterness at the political elite increased. He was elected president in 1828, and supported a small and limited federal government. He strengthened the power of the presidency and was a supporter of states' rights, but he did not believe that states do not have the right to nullify federal laws. He was strongly opposed to the national bank, he vetoed the renewal of its charter, which many argue to be the cause of the economic depression that followed his presidency.
The worst aspect of Jackson's presidency is his aggressive enforcement of the Indian Removal Act, which resulted in the forced relocation of thousands of Native American tribes to what was referred to as Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). Because of this his reputation is mixed. Historians credit him for his protection of popular democracy, but he is criticized for his support for slavery and for his role in Indian removal. After his presidency Jackson retiring to his home called "the Hermitage" in Nashville, where he enjoyed eight years of retirement. Andrew Jackson died on June 8, 1845, at the age of 78, of chronic tuberculosis.
Jackson and his two brothers were raised by his mother Elizabeth. During the American Revolutionary War, a 13 year old Andrew Jackson joined a local militia as a courier. His eldest brother, Hugh, died at the Battle of Stono Ferry, on June 20, 1779. Jackson and his brother Robert were captured by the British and held as prisoners. They nearly starved to death in captivity. When Jackson refused to clean the boots of a British officer, the officer slashed at young Andrew with a sword, leaving Jackson with scars on his left hand and head. While imprisoned, the brothers contracted smallpox. Robert Jackson died on April 27, 1781, a few days after their mother Elizabeth successfully pleaded for the release of her children. After being assured Andrew would recover, Elizabeth Jackson volunteered to nurse prisoners of war on board two ships in Charleston harbor, where there had been an outbreak of cholera. She died from the disease in November 1781.
Jackson became a lawyer and a local politician, but he gained his greatest fame as a general. He defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814), and the British at the Battle of New Orleans (1815). Jackson was nicknamed "Old Hickory" because of his toughness and aggressive personality. He fought in duels and was also slaveholder. He championed the cause of the common man and fought politically against what he saw as a closed, undemocratic aristocracy.
Jackson ran for president in 1824 and won the most popular vote, but failed to gain a majority of the electoral vote. When the election was decided by Congress and John Quincy Adams was chosen as president over Jackson, his bitterness at the political elite increased. He was elected president in 1828, and supported a small and limited federal government. He strengthened the power of the presidency and was a supporter of states' rights, but he did not believe that states do not have the right to nullify federal laws. He was strongly opposed to the national bank, he vetoed the renewal of its charter, which many argue to be the cause of the economic depression that followed his presidency.
The worst aspect of Jackson's presidency is his aggressive enforcement of the Indian Removal Act, which resulted in the forced relocation of thousands of Native American tribes to what was referred to as Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). Because of this his reputation is mixed. Historians credit him for his protection of popular democracy, but he is criticized for his support for slavery and for his role in Indian removal. After his presidency Jackson retiring to his home called "the Hermitage" in Nashville, where he enjoyed eight years of retirement. Andrew Jackson died on June 8, 1845, at the age of 78, of chronic tuberculosis.