Jackson, Andrew

Nicknamed “Old Hickory” for his toughness and aggressive personality, Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States. He had a successful military career, fought in duels, and became a wealthy lawyer. Jackson later entered into politics, rising from poverty to become the nation's first frontier president. His presidential legacy is a controversial one, stemming from his decision to remove five Native American tribes from their southeastern homes and relocate them in the western United States. Many contemporary historians refer to this policy as an “ethnic cleansing” of the tribes, and they denounce the deception with which Jackson and other federal officials forced Native Americans to abandon their homelands.

Jackson was born on March 15, 1767, to Scottish-Irish immigrants Andrew Jackson and Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson in the Waxhaws border region between North and South Carolina. He was the couple's third child; however, Jackson's father died in an accident three weeks before his birth. Jackson received little formal education, entering into a local militia as a courier at the age of 13. During the Revolutionary War's Battle of Stono Ferry on June 20, 1779, Jackson's eldest brother Hugh died from heat exhaustion. Jackson and his brother Robert were captured by the British and held as prisoners, both contracting smallpox. Robert died before their mother could secure their release. She volunteered her time as a nurse to prisoners of war during outbreak of cholera. Elizabeth died from the disease, leaving Jackson an orphan.

Jackson blamed the British for the deaths of his mother and brothers. Jackson later moved to northeast Tennessee, beginning his legal career. In 1796, he was elected a delegate to the Tennessee constitutional convention and in the following year was elected a U.S. senator as a Democratic-Republican. Jackson later resigned from the Senate and was appointed judge of the Tennessee Supreme Court. In addition to his legal career, Jackson had a successful career in the military, eventually becoming a war hero to the nation. Jackson fought in the War of 1812, defeating the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. He was appointed commander of the Tennessee militia, serving as major general. After the war, Jackson fought off British forces that were threatening New Orleans. He became a national hero because of his victory at the Battle of New Orleans, receiving a gold medal and thanks from Congress. In [Page 558]December 1817, Jackson ordered an invasion of Florida. His troops captured Spanish posts, claiming the surrounding land for the United States.