The Death of Andrew Jackson
On June 8, 1845 (167 years ago today) Old Hickory, Andrew Jackson, the 7th President of the United States, died at his residence (called the Hermitage) in Nashville, Tennessee. He was 78 years of age. Jackson is one of the more controversial Presidents. He is praised for his expansion of democracy and villified for his role in Indian removal (to the extent that some term it "ethnic cleansing").
Jackson was a hot-headed frontier lawyer who gained notoriety as the army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814, and the British at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. As president he closed down the national bank (setting up an economic "panic" that his successor would have to face). He relocated most Indian tribes from the Southeast to west of the Mississippi River. He is hailed as the creator tof he modern Democratic Party. His era later became known as the era of Jacksonian democracy.
Jackson was nicknamed "Old Hickory" because of his toughness and aggressive personality. He fought in duels, some fatal to his opponents, and some leaving him with lead implants. He was a slaveholder, who claimed to speak for the common men of the United States. He fought politically against what he believed to be as a closed, undemocratic aristocracy. He expanded the spoils system during his presidency to strengthen his political base. He strengthened the power of the presidency and was generally supportive of states' rights, but during the Nullification Crisis, he maintained that states do not have the right to nullify federal laws. On the last day of the presidency, Jackson said that he only had two regrets, that he "had been unable to shoot Henry Clay or to hang John C. Calhoun."
After retiring to Nashville, he enjoyed eight years of retirement. he tried to remain a player in the Democratic Party and was pleased to see two of his proteges (Martin Van Buren and James K. Polk) succeed him in office, but was disappointed whe Van Buren did not support the annexation of Texas. He was happy to live to see Polk defeat Henry Clay. The newly inaugurated Polk even tried to visit Jackson when he learned that the old man was near death, but he arrived a day late. Jackson died at The Hermitage on June 8, 1845, at the age of 78, of chronic tuberculosis, dropsy, and heart failure.
Jackson was a hot-headed frontier lawyer who gained notoriety as the army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814, and the British at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. As president he closed down the national bank (setting up an economic "panic" that his successor would have to face). He relocated most Indian tribes from the Southeast to west of the Mississippi River. He is hailed as the creator tof he modern Democratic Party. His era later became known as the era of Jacksonian democracy.
Jackson was nicknamed "Old Hickory" because of his toughness and aggressive personality. He fought in duels, some fatal to his opponents, and some leaving him with lead implants. He was a slaveholder, who claimed to speak for the common men of the United States. He fought politically against what he believed to be as a closed, undemocratic aristocracy. He expanded the spoils system during his presidency to strengthen his political base. He strengthened the power of the presidency and was generally supportive of states' rights, but during the Nullification Crisis, he maintained that states do not have the right to nullify federal laws. On the last day of the presidency, Jackson said that he only had two regrets, that he "had been unable to shoot Henry Clay or to hang John C. Calhoun."
After retiring to Nashville, he enjoyed eight years of retirement. he tried to remain a player in the Democratic Party and was pleased to see two of his proteges (Martin Van Buren and James K. Polk) succeed him in office, but was disappointed whe Van Buren did not support the annexation of Texas. He was happy to live to see Polk defeat Henry Clay. The newly inaugurated Polk even tried to visit Jackson when he learned that the old man was near death, but he arrived a day late. Jackson died at The Hermitage on June 8, 1845, at the age of 78, of chronic tuberculosis, dropsy, and heart failure.