|
President Andrew Jackson History and Biography
| President Andrew Jackson |
|
| President Andrew Jackson Painting |
|
Seventh President of the United States (1829-1837).
Born: March
15, 1767, in Waxhaw, South Carolina.
Died: June 8, 1845, at the Hermitage near Nashville, Tennessee.
Married: Rachel
Donelson Jackson. |
Unlike many of his predecessors, Andrew Jackson was elected by popular vote. Many historians believe
that Jackson was the United States' staunchest adherent and most zealous proponent of the Monroe Doctrine.
Born in a backwoods settlement in the Carolinas in 1767, he received sporadic
education. But in his late teens he read law for about two years, and he became an outstanding young lawyer in Tennessee.
Fiercely jealous of his honor, he engaged in brawls, and in a duel killed a man who cast an unjustified slur on his wife Rachel.
Jackson prospered sufficiently to buy slaves and to build a mansion, the Hermitage,
near Nashville. He was the first man elected from Tennessee to the House of Representatives, and he served briefly in the
Senate. A major general in the War of 1812, Jackson became a national hero when he defeated the British at New Orleans.
In 1814 the Cherokees allied themselves with Jackson and defeated the Creeks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. Jackson is
reported to have told Cherokee Chief Junaluska: “As long as the sun shines and the grass grows, there shall be friendship between us, and the feet of
the Cherokee shall be toward the east.” In a few years, Junaluska would have occasion to recall those words with
bitterness. When the great removal of the Cherokee began, aka Trail of Tears, Junaluska said: “If I had known that Jackson would drive
us from our homes, I would have killed him that day at the Horseshoe.” (See President Andrew Jackson: The Cherokees' Perspective.)
Although David (Davy) Crockett allied himself with General Andrew Jackson against the Creeks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, the Tennessee Congressman strongly
and openly opposed President Jackson’s Indian removal policies, which ultimately cost Crockett his political career. Consequently, Crockett relocated to Texas and died in the Battle of the Alamo.
In 1824 some state political factions rallied around Jackson; by
1828 enough had joined "Old Hickory" to win numerous state elections and control of the Federal administration in Washington.
In his first Annual Message to Congress, Jackson recommended eliminating the
Electoral College. He also tried to democratize Federal officeholding. Already state machines were being built on patronage,
and a New York Senator openly proclaimed "that to the victors belong the spoils. . . . "
| Battle of New Orleans |
|
| President Andrew Jackson and Battle of New Orleans |
Jackson took a milder view. Decrying officeholders who seemed to enjoy life
tenure, he believed Government duties could be "so plain and simple" that offices should rotate among deserving applicants.
As national politics polarized around Jackson and his opposition, two parties
grew out of the old Republican Party--the Democratic Republicans, or Democrats, adhering to Jackson; and the National Republicans,
or Whigs, opposing him.
Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and other Whig leaders proclaimed themselves defenders
of popular liberties against the usurpation of Jackson. Hostile cartoonists portrayed him as King Andrew I.
Behind their accusations lay the fact that Jackson, unlike previous Presidents,
did not defer to Congress in policy-making but used his power of the veto and his party leadership to assume command.
The greatest party battle centered around the Second Bank of the United States,
a private corporation but virtually a Government-sponsored monopoly. When Jackson appeared hostile toward it, the Bank threw
its power against him.
Clay and Webster, who had acted as attorneys for the Bank, led the fight for
its recharter in Congress. "The bank," Jackson told Martin Van Buren, "is trying to kill me, but I will kill it!" Jackson,
in vetoing the recharter bill, charged the Bank with undue economic privilege.
His views won approval from the American electorate; in 1832 he polled more
than 56 percent of the popular vote and almost five times as many electoral votes as Clay.
Jackson met head-on the challenge of John C. Calhoun, leader of forces trying
to rid themselves of a high protective tariff.
When South Carolina undertook to nullify the tariff, Jackson ordered armed
forces to Charleston and privately threatened to hang Calhoun. Violence seemed imminent until Clay negotiated a compromise:
tariffs were lowered and South Carolina dropped nullification (Nullification Proclamation: Nullification Crisis).
| President Andrew Jackson |
|
| President Andrew Jackson (78 years young) |
In January of 1832, while the President was dining with friends at the White
House, someone whispered to him that the Senate had rejected the nomination of Martin Van Buren as Minister to England. Jackson
jumped to his feet and exclaimed, "By the Eternal! I'll smash them!" So he did. His favorite, Van Buren, became Vice President,
and succeeded to the Presidency when "Old Hickory" retired to the Hermitage. Andrew Jackson died at the Hermitage on June 8, 1845. Andrew Jackson, Old Hickory, is considered one of the
most controversial presidents.
(Right) President Andrew Jackson, ca. 1845.
Sources: The White House; Eastern Band of Cherokee Nation; Library of Congress; National Park Service; National
Archives and Records Administration.
|
