Andrew Jackson

US President

1767 – 1845

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Who was Andrew Jackson?

Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States. Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, and the British at the Battle of New Orleans. A polarizing figure who dominated the Second Party System in the 1820s and 1830s, as president he dismantled the Second Bank of the United States and initiated forced relocation and resettlement of Native American tribes from the Southeast to west of the Mississippi River. His enthusiastic followers created the modern Democratic Party. The 1830–1850 period later became known as the era of Jacksonian democracy.

Jackson was nicknamed "Old Hickory" because of his toughness and aggressive personality; he fought in duels, some fatal to his opponents. He was a wealthy slaveholder. He fought politically against what he denounced as a closed, undemocratic aristocracy, adding to his appeal to common citizens. He expanded the spoils system during his presidency to strengthen his political base.

Elected president in 1828, Jackson supported a small and limited federal government. He strengthened the power of the presidency, which he saw as spokesman for the entire population, as opposed to Congressmen from a specific small district. He was supportive of states' rights, but during the Nullification Crisis, declared that states do not have the right to nullify federal laws. Strongly against the national bank, he vetoed the renewal of its charter and ensured its collapse. Whigs and moralists denounced his aggressive enforcement of the Indian Removal Act, which resulted in the forced relocation of thousands of Native Americans to Indian Territory. Historians acknowledge his protection of popular democracy and individual liberty for United States citizens, but criticize him for his support for slavery and for his role in Indian removal.

Famous Quotes:

  • Every good citizen makes his country's honor his own, and cherishes it not only as precious but as sacred. He is willing to risk his life in its defense and its conscious that he gains protection while he gives it.
  • There are no necessary evils in government. Its evils exist only in its abuses.
  • You must pay the price if you wish to secure the blessing.
  • Peace, above all things, is to be desired, but blood must sometimes be spilled to obtain it on equable and lasting terms.
  • One man with courage makes a majority.
  • Never take counsel of your fears.
  • Heaven will be no heaven to me if I do not meet my wife there.
  • The wisdom of man never yet contrived a system of taxation that would operate with perfect equality.
  • John Marshall has made his decision: now let him enforce it!
  • Our Union: It must be preserved.

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Born
Mar 15, 1767
Waxhaws
Also known as
  • Old Hickory
  • King Mob
Parents
Spouses
Children
Religion
  • Presbyterianism
Ethnicity
  • Scottish American
  • Scotch-Irish American
Nationality
  • United States of America
Profession
Education
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Lived in
  • Nashville
Died
Jun 8, 1845
Nashville
Resting place
The Hermitage

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

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