Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson Jr. (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American politician who was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. He was the first president to be a Democrat and is on the twenty dollar bill. His nickname was "Old Hickory". He forced many Native Americans to leave their homeland so white people could live there, and many died and contracted diseases. This was called the Trail of Tears. He was also the first president to ride in a train.

Andrew Jackson
Portrait by Ralph E. W. Earl, 1833
7th President of the United States
In office March 4, 1829 – March 4, 1837
Vice President	John C. Calhoun (1829-1832) Martin Van Buren (1833-1837)
Preceded by	John Quincy Adams
Succeeded by	Martin Van Buren
Military Governor of Florida
In office March 10, 1821 – December 31, 1821
Appointed by	James Monroe
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	William Pope Duval
United States Senator from Tennessee
In office March 4, 1823 – October 14, 1825
Preceded by	John Williams
Succeeded by	Hugh Lawson White
In office September 26, 1797 – April 1, 1798
Preceded by	William Cocke
Succeeded by	Daniel Smith
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's at-large district
In office December 4, 1796 – September 26, 1797
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	William Claiborne
Personal details
Born	(1767-03-15)March 15, 1767 Waxhaw settlements, Carolina, USA
Died	June 8, 1845(1845-06-08) (aged 78) Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Rachel Donelson Robards Jackson (niece Emily Donelson Jackson and daughter-in-law Sarah Yorke Jackson were first ladies)
Children	Andrew Jackson III, Lyncoya Jackson, Theodore Jackson
Parents	Andrew Jackson, Sr. (father) Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson (mother)
Religion	Presbyterianism

Early life

Andrew Jackson was born in Waxhaws in the Carolinas on March 15, 1767.

Jackson studied law as a teenager and passed the bar exam at age 20.

As a boy Andrew was a messenger for the Continental Army. The British caught him and mistreated him.

He was the first U.S. president who was not born into a rich family. He was not a rich man and did not have a college education. He moved to Tennessee and became a politician.

Military

During the War of 1812, he became a general and won the Battle of New Orleans which made him very famous. He joined the war because of childhood trauma that he had endured during the Revolutionary War; both his mother and his brother died during the war, and Jackson blamed the British and wanted to avenge his late loved ones.

Marriage

In 1791, he fell in love with Rachel Donelson Robards. They went through a marriage ceremony. However, the marriage was not legal because she had not been granted a divorce from her first husband. Therefore, they married legally three years later. They had no children, but they adopted several. He became rich and owned a large plantation.

Politics

In the 1790s Jackson was a member of the United States House of Representatives, the United States Senate, and the Supreme Court of Tennessee. In 1823 he returned to the Senate.

Andrew Jackson reorganized the Democratic Party and was its leader.

In 1828, he defeated John Quincy Adams in the Presidential Election of 1828, he became president on March 4, 1829, aged 61, and four years later, aged 65, he was inaugurated for a second term as president. In the Nullification Crisis of 1832-1833, South Carolina declared secession from the United States. Jackson threatened war, and then compromised.

In January 1835, aged 67, Jackson was almost assassinated when an unemployed painter wanted to shoot him but both his guns jammed. He is the first president to have had an attempted assassination.

In 1830, Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act which allowed the U.S. government to violently force the Native Americans to move from their land and go west. Many Native Americans were killed and the path they walked to get to the west was called the Trail of Tears.

Andrew Jackson was against the national bank of the United States because he felt that banks and their banknotes were for rich and powerful people and did not serve the interests of the common man. The national bank expired during Jackson's presidency. Jackson chose not to continue the bank.

On March 4, 1837, aged 69, Andrew Jackson finished his second term. After that, vice-president Martin Van Buren was elected president and continued many of the things Jackson did. Jackson was a big influence on other Democrats during the 1800s. He died on June 8, 1845 in Nashville Tennessee at age 78 due to tuberculosis.

Legacy

Jackson's legacy among historians is mixed and heavily debated. Some have liked him because he was against aristocrats, bankers, businessmen, the British Empire, cities, and paper money, and in favor of ordinary country people. Some have disliked him for the same reasons and because he was in favor of war and against Indians.

Other websites

• Jackson's White House biography