TENNESSEE’S PRESIDENTS- ANDREW JACKSON

TN Social Studies Standards 8.5.17c & 8.5.17d

Jackson’s Early Life Andrew Jackson was born March 15, 1767, in

the Waxhaws area on the border of North and South Carolina. (This area is between just south of Charlotte, NC and Lancaster, SC)

A 13 year old prisoner of war to the British, Jackson developed a hatred for the British at an early age as his entire immediate family died due to war related hardships, orphaning Jackson at the age of 14

Jackson studied to become a lawyer in North Carolina, being admitted to the Bar in 1787 when he moved to Jonesborough, TN (which was still NC then)

Jackson and Rachel Donelson During Jackson’s travels to the Davidson

County area, he boarded with the Donelson family

While staying with the Donelson family, Jackson fell in love with the Mrs. Donelson’s daughter, Rachel- she was separated from her husband Col. Lewis Robards

Robards came back for her and they returned to Kentucky, but things between the two just got worse, so he told her that they were divorced

Jackson came to Kentucky to rescue Rachel when he learned of her unhappiness

The couple took a trip to Natchez, Mississippi and

were married in August of 1791- the only problem with this is her divorce was not final like she thought

Their marriage was deemed invalid and they were remarried in January of 1794- however Rachel would be labeled with adultery the rest of her life and Jackson’s enemies would not forget this

Jackson was highly sensitive when it came to his wife as he was constantly defending her honor

Jackson fought 13 duels to protect Rachel’s honor, killing one man, Charles Dickinson

The most notable duel came on October 1, 1803 when Jackson and Tennessee Governor, John Sevier, met in Kingston, TN for a duel- no shots were fired though as both remained bitter enemies

Jackson the Politician

Jackson continued his work as a frontier lawyer and began working his way in to the political scene as Tennessee began moving toward statehood.

At the time Tennessee was getting ready to become a state, Jackson was mentored by territorial governor William Blount

Jackson was elected as Tennessee’s first US Congressman in the House of Representatives in 1796- He was elected the following year to the US Senate but resigned within the year

Jackson would become a judge on the

Tennessee State Supreme Court until 1804 After his stint as a judge, Jackson turned

his career to farming purchasing a 640 acre plantation from Nathaniel Hayes which Jackson named the “Hermitage.”

This was a cotton plantation that Jackson would begin running with 9 slaves

Jackson added 360 acres to the plantation which was very productive for Jackson- though Jackson spent little time there until his retirement from public life

His success allowed Jackson to expand his slave force to 44 by 1820 and at its peak had 150 slaves

The HermitageNashville, TN

ANDREW JACKSON: MILITARY LIFE

Jackson’s Military Life Jackson was appointed commander of the

Tennessee militia in 1801 where he was given the rank of Colonel.

Jackson, who is famous for being a champion of Indian removal in the territories, was given command of American forces during the Creek War in 1812- he commanded US regulars, TN militia, as well as Native Americans from the Cherokee, Choctaw, and southern Creeks.

The Creek War was considered a part of the War of 1812 because it was incited by the Native American Tecumseh, a leading British ally.

Jackson faced the Red Stick Creeks who

were responsible for the Fort Mims Massacre

Jackson defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend (Alabama) on March 27, 1814, thus ending the Creek War- serving with Jackson during this campaign were the Tennesseans Sam Houston and Davy Crockett

Jackson forced the Creek to sign the treaty of Fort Jackson which ceded 23 million acres of Georgia and Alabama to the US from the Creek Indians despite the pleading of the Creek Indians that fought along side Jackson- 1.9 million acres were given to the Cherokees that fought with Jackson only to have it taken from them during his presidency.

Battle of New Orleans Jackson became most famous for his role during

the War of 1812 at the Battle of New Orleans. January 8, 1815, Jackson commanded American

forces in the defense of New Orleans from the British- Jackson’s 5000 men faced a British force of approximately 7500.

The British attack began at daybreak, and as the fog lifted, they were bombarded by American artillery fire- The British suffered heavy casualties including the death of 3 senior officers

Ironically, the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812, was signed on December 24, 1814, but word did not reach New Orleans until February

It was here that Jackson earned the nickname “Old Hickory” because he was as tough as hickory wood

Jackson and Florida After the war, Jackson would once again serve in

the First Seminole War against the Seminole and Creek Indians

In 1817, Jackson lead a campaign that burned villages of Seminole Indians that attacked he and his Tennessee Militia

Secretary of State John Quincy Adams was negotiating the purchase of Florida from Spain when Jackson took military control of West Florida, stalling negotiations and causing an international crisis- Adams told Spain to control the inhabitants of East Florida or give it to the US

Spain did not have the military force to do so and Florida was given to the US where Jackson served as military governor in 1821

Jackson’s Popularity Jackson was an extremely popular person both in

congress and with his troops. When a movement to punish Jackson for his actions

in Florida came, it was defeated soundly Jackson was also popular with the people- he and

Issac Shelby were sent to the Chickasaw tribes by President Monroe to purchases the land between the Tennessee River and Mississippi River- the “Jackson Purchase” was made and gave Tennessee its western section including the Memphis area giving birth to the three grand divisions of Tennessee

Jackson would ride this popularity and make a run for the Presidency in 1824

Election of 1824 The election had four candidates:

Andrew Jackson, Tennessee John Quincy Adams, Massachusetts William H. Crawford, Georgia Henry Clay, Kentucky

None of the men received enough votes to become president- Congress had to decide

The House of Representatives choose Adams over Jackson as the 6th President of the United States of America

Many believed that Jackson was robbed of the election

ANDREW JACKSON: THE PRESIDENCY 1829-1837

Election of 1828 Jackson and his supporters, John C. Calhoun, Martin

Van Buren, and Thomas Richie revitalized their party and reformed it from the Democratic-Republicans to just the Democrats

Jackson and his supporters won an electoral landslide in the election easily defeating Adams as Andrew Jackson became the 7th President of the United States of America

During the campaign, the Adams camp repeatedly flung insults at Jackson and especially at Rachel. By the end of the campaign, Rachel was worn out and on December 22, 1828, Rachel Jackson suffered a heart attack and died- Jackson blamed Adams’ camp

1828 Electoral College Map

Jackson was the first president to open the

White House to the public for the inauguration ball.

Every day people came to the White House to see the president

The crowd got so large that White House security could not control the group as things began to break

People were eventually lead to the front lawn where the party continued

Jackson had no problem getting re-elected in 1832. He soundly defeated Henry Clay- the only change was that Jackson replaced his first Vice-President, John C. Calhoun, with long time friend, Martin Van Buren

Jacksonian Democracy Over Jackson’s two terms in office, he dealt with a

great many issues- many of these issues made him very unpopular with people as they thought he had too much power

Jackson is the only president to pay off the national debt, but a severe depression in 1837 made the national debt skyrocket back up ten times

This panic was due directly to Jackson’s fight against a federal bank- When Jackson successfully ended it in 1832, inflation from non-backed money soared

Jackson also spent his entire time trying to get rid of the electoral college and give the vote directly to the people- a motion that he failed to get accomplished

Jackson and Indian Removal One of Jackson’s stances during his life was

that of the removal of Native Americans- In 1830 he signed the Indian Removal Act in order to negotiate the purchase of Indian lands in exchange for lands further west

Jackson believed the Cherokees should either go or submit to United States law- something that they did not have to abide by at the time

Jackson negotiated the Treaty of New Echota which moved the entire Cherokee nation west into Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma)- this was not agreed upon by the Cherokee National Council, however Congress accepted it

The Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was the systematic

removal of the Cherokee Nation from the states of Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, and Georgia

Approximately 16,000 Cherokee Indians and 2,000 black slaves were moved out of these areas by the United States military under the command of General Winfield Scott.

It is believed that over 4,000 Cherokee Indians died on the walk west known as the Trail of Tears

Though the actual removal was overseen by now president Martin Van Buren, it was then president Andrew Jackson who paved the way for their removal

ANDREW JACKSON:THE LATER YEARS

Jackson: Later Life Jackson retired to the Hermitage after his second

term in the White House He stayed active in politics and enjoyed a quiet 8

years at the Hermitage before he died on June 8, 1845 from chronic tuberculosis and heart failure- he was entombed with his wife Rachel on the grounds of the Hermitage

Jackson’s legacy is one of protection of democracy and as a champion of the common people

Today’s historians have mixed opinions as he was also a champion for systematic removal of Native Americans and for the institution of slavery- though he never spoke for or believed in secession