|7th President of the United States|
March 4, 1829 – March 3, 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|
March 10, 1821 – December 31, 1821
|Appointed by||James Monroe|
|Preceded by||Position established|
|Succeeded by||William Pope Duval|
|United States Senator
March 4, 1823 – October 14, 1825
|Preceded by||John Williams|
|Succeeded by||Hugh Lawson White|
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
December 4, 1796 – September 26, 1797
|Preceded by||Position established|
|Succeeded by||William Claiborne|
|Born||March 15, 1767
Waxhaws area of South Carolina, USA
|Died||June 8, 1845
The Hermitage, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
|Spouse(s)||Widowed. Rachel Donelson Robards Jackson (niece Emily Donelson Jackson and daughter-in-law Sarah Yorke Jackson were first ladies)|
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was a General in the War of 1812 and was considered to be a war hero. He became the seventh President of the United States of America. He was the first Democrat and is on the Twenty Dollar Bill. His nickname was "Old Hickory".
Early life[change | change source]
As a boy Andrew Jackson 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. For these reasons, Jackson stood for the common man (people who worked hard and did not make a lot of money, like farmers).
Marriage[change | change source]
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.
Politics[change | change source]
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 4th, 1829, and four years later he was re-elected to a second term as President.
Jackson supported a popular democracy where the people directly elect the President instead of what we have now, the Electoral College where the people elect people who elect the President.
During his Presidency, he 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 it was run by rich powerful people and that it 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 4th, 1837, Andrew Jackson finished his second term. After that, Vice-President Martin Van Buren became President (because he was elected) and continued many of the things Jackson did. Jackson was a big influence on other Democrats during the 1800's.
Legacy[change | change source]
Jackson's legacy among historians is mixed.
On one hand, Jackson became a rich man and owned many slaves. He had many Native Americans killed or kicked out of their homes. Most people now disagree with him and believe that a national bank is necessary for a country to do well.
On the other hand, Jackson was a successful General in war and led a powerful political movement in peacetime. He stood for the common man, and changed the country.
References[change | change source]
- President Andrew Jackson the First Democrat at College Term Papers.com
Other websites[change | change source]