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Andrew Jackson and Andrew Jackson Donelson

During both of his terms as President, Andrew Jackson's private secretary was his nephew, Andrew Jackson Donelson. Donelson was more like a son to the 7th President. He was loyal and almost always managed to stay in the good graces of the sometimes volatile Jackson.

andrewcover

Andrew Jackson Donelson was one of the three sons of Samuel and Mary Donelson. He was born in Nashville, Tennessee and his younger brother, Daniel Smith Donelson, was the Confederate brigadier general after whom Fort Donelson was named. Donelson's father died when Donelson was about five. When his mother remarried, Donelson moved to The Hermitage, the home of his aunt, Rachel Donelson Jackson, and her husband, Andrew Jackson, after whom the young Donelson had been named.

Donelson attended Cumberland College in Nashville and then joined the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, where he graduated second in his class in 1820. He was first in the service of his famous uncle for his first two years as an officer in the United States Army, when he served as aide-de-camp to Major General Andrew Jackson. He was alongside Jackson during his uncle's campaign against the Seminole Indians in Florida. When that campaign ended, Donelson resigned his commission and studied law at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. A year later, he started practicing law in Nashville and, less than a year after that, had married his first cousin, Emily Tennessee Donelson.

Jackson called on Donelson's assistance during both the 1824 and 1828 presidential campaigns. In 1829, when Jackson became President, Donelson became Jackson's private secretary when his uncle was inaugurated as President of the United States. His wife Emily served as White House hostess and unofficial First Lady of the United States following Rachel Jackson's death in December, 1828. Donelson remained Jackson's private secretary throughout his administration. During his stay in Washington, Donelson had his new home, Poplar Grove (later renamed Tulip Grove), constructed on the land he had inherited from his father, which was adjacent to the Hermitage.

After Jackson's term in office ended, Donelson moved back to Nashville to practice law. His wife Emily died of tuberculosis, leaving the widower to care for four young children. While in Nashville, Donelson continued to help his uncle, and the two men remained very active in the Democratic party. Donelson wrote newspaper editorials defending the Democratic party and he helped Democratic candidates campaign for state, local, and national offices. In 1841, Donelson married another cousin, Elizabeth (Martin) Randolph, with whom he would have eight more children. (Elizabeth Martin Randolph was a widow of Meriwether Lewis Randolph, who was a grandson of Thomas Jefferson).

In 1844, Donelson was instrumental in helping James K. Polk win the Democratic presidential nomination over Martin Van Buren and other more notable candidates. He attended the convention initially with instructions to try to secure the Vice-President's spot on the Democratic ticket. When the convention was unable to produce a strong front-runner, Donelson worked to convince Jackson loyalists that Polk should be at the top of the ticket.

In the final days of President John Tyler's administration, Tyler appointed Donelson Chargé d’Affaires of the United States mission to the Republic of Texas. Tyler hoped that Jackson's nephew would help persuade former Tennessee politician Sam Houston to endorse the United States' annexation of Texas. Donelson was successful in this endeavor, and Texas joined the United States on December 29, 1845.

Andrew Jackson death

Andrew Jackson died on June 8, 1845 at the Hermitage, and Donelson was present. When James K. Polk became President, he appointed Donelson Minister (Ambassador) to Prussia in 1846, a position Donelson would hold for the remainder of Polk's term.
In 1851, Donelson became the editor of the Washington Union, a Democratic newspaper. Donelson became unpopular with several factions within the Democratic party over the issue of sectionalism, and he left the party in 1852. In 1856, Donelson was nominated as the running mate of former President Millard Fillmore on the American Party ticket. Fillmore and Donelson managed to garner only 8 electoral votes.

In 1858, Donelson sold Tulip Grove and moved to Memphis, Tennessee. During the Civil War, Donelson was unpopular with both sides of the conflict. He was loyal to the south, but maintained his uncle's strong pro-union sentiment. Two of his sons were killed in the war, fighting on the side of the confederacy. He died in 1871 at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis.
Tags: andrew jackson, james k. polk, john tyler, millard fillmore
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