Death : June 8, 1845 - (Near) Nashville, Tennessee
Andrew Jackson was the son of a Scottish-Irish immigrant farmer. His parents had settled in South Carolina. His father died before he was born. As a boy, young Jackson studied under private tutors. He was later apprenticed to a saddler. During the Revolutionary War, Jackson became a messenger for the Continental Army. He spent two weeks in a British prison camp. He was wounded by British soldiers.
In 1784, Jackson began studying law in North Carolina. When he was 20 years old, he was admitted to the North Carolina Bar. Jackson practiced law briefly in North Carolina. In 1788, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee. (The Tennessee territory was then part of North Carolina.) In Tennessee, Jackson became friendly with the Blount-Overton faction. (They were prominent Tennessee politicians and landowners.) They guided his political career.
In 1789, Jackson became a prosecutor in Tennessee. He later became a lawyer for the county militia. When Tennessee was admitted to the Union in 1796, Jackson won a seat in U.S. House of Representatives. The next year, the Tennessee legislature elected him to the U.S. Senate. Shortly thereafter, Jackson left the Senate and became a member of the Superior Court of Tennessee.
Jackson prospered in Tennessee. In 1804, he bought The Hermitage, his estate near Nashville. When the War of 1812 broke out, he was appointed major general in the Tennessee militia. He put down an Indian revolt. He joined the U.S. Army. In 1814, British troops burned Washington, D.C. Jackson assembled a force of 6,000 men to fight the British. On January 8, 1815, his troops defeated the British in the battle of New Orleans.
By the time the battle of New Orleans was won, the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812, had already been signed. But Jackson's battle at New Orleans was a triumph. His victory defeated British claims on North America south of the Canadian border. After the war, Jackson was appointed military commander of New Orleans. He acted rashly. He imposed martial law on the city and dismissed the Louisiana legislature. Congress disapproved of Jackson's actions. He was fined $1,000. (The fine was later refunded.)
In 1818, President JAMES MONROE sent Jackson to Georgia. He wanted Jackson to end Indian raids on white settlements. The raids were launched from Florida. Jackson promptly invaded Florida. He unseated the Spanish colonial governor. He ordered the executions of two British citizens. Congress was outraged. General Jackson barely escaped censure.
Still, Jackson was a national hero. He was widely known as "Old Hickory," a nickname given to him by his loyal troops. In 1823, Jackson returned to the Senate. In 1824, he launched his first bid for the presidency. He was defeated by JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. In 1825, Jackson resigned from the Senate. He began planning another presidential race.
By 1828, Jackson's supporters had formed the Democratic-Republican Party. They nominated him for president. He won the 1828 election. As president, Jackson was unpopular with the country's elites. They made fun of his rude manners and lack of education. But he was popular with other Americans. Jackson was reelected in 1832. As it turned out, he was also a lucky man. In 1835, a mad gunman named Richard Lawrence fired two derringers (pistols) at the president. He escaped unharmed.
When his second term ended in 1836, Jackson retired to The Hermitage. He remained active in public affairs. He scolded eastern bankers for creating the economic crisis of 1837. As president, he had opposed admitting Texas to the Union. In retirement, Jackson changed his mind. He favored Texas annexation. His hand-picked successor MARTIN VAN BUREN still opposed annexation. Jackson turned on him. In 1844, Jackson supported JAMES POLK for president.
During the last years of his life, Jackson was deeply in debt. His adopted son had mismanaged his estate. The Hermitage had become a famous meeting place for prominent Democrats. But he could barely afford to maintain it. He died there in 1845. Andrew Jackson is buried at The Hermitage near Nashville, Tennessee.
