Andrew Jackson
Early life
Jackson was born on the western frontier of the Carolinas, an area that was in dispute between North Carolina and South Carolina, and both states have claimed him as a native son. Jackson maintained that he was born in South Carolina, and the weight of evidence supports his assertion. The area offered little opportunity for formal education, and what schooling he received was interrupted by the British invasion of the western Carolinas in 1780–81. In the latter year he was captured by the British. Shortly after being imprisoned, he refused to shine the boots of a British officer and was struck across the face with a sabre.
His mother and two brothers died during the closing years of the war, direct or indirect casualties of the invasion of the Carolinas. This sequence of tragic experiences fixed in Jackson’s mind a lifelong hostility toward Great Britain. After the end of the American Revolution, he studied law in an office in Salisbury, North Carolina, and was admitted to the bar of that state in 1787. In 1788 he went to the Cumberland region as prosecuting attorney of the western district of North Carolina—the region west of the Appalachians, soon to become the state of Tennessee.
Jackson, Andrew Illustration from John Frost's A Pictorial Biography of Andrew Jackson (1860) depicting 13-year-old Andrew Jackson's refusal to shine the boots of a British officer. A Pictorial Biography of Andrew Jackson by John Frost, 1860
When Jackson arrived in Nashville, the community was still a frontier settlement. As prosecuting attorney, Jackson was principally occupied with suits for the collection of debts. He was so successful in these litigations that he soon had a thriving private practice and had gained the friendship of landowners and creditors. For almost 30 years Jackson was allied with this group in Tennessee politics. Jackson boarded in the home of Col. John Donelson, where he met and married the colonel’s daughter, Rachel Robards (Rachel Jackson).
Tennessee politics
Jackson’s interest in public affairs and in politics had always been keen. He had gone to Nashville as a political appointee, and in 1796 he became a member of the convention that drafted a constitution for the new state of Tennessee. In the same year he was elected as the first representative from Tennessee to the U.S. House of Representatives. An undistinguished legislator, he refused to seek reelection and served only until March 4, 1797. Jackson returned to Tennessee, vowing never to enter public life again, but before the end of the year he was elected to the U.S. Senate. His willingness to accept the office reflects his emergence as an acknowledged leader of one of the two political factions contending for control of the state. Nevertheless, Jackson resigned from the Senate in 1798 after an uneventful year. Soon after his return to Nashville he was elected a judge of the superior court (in effect, the supreme court) of the state and served in that post until 1804. In 1802 Jackson had also been elected major general of the Tennessee militia, a position he still held when the War of 1812 opened the door to a command in the field and a hero’s role.
Military feats
In March 1812, when it appeared that war with Great Britain was imminent, Jackson issued a call for 50,000 volunteers to be ready for an invasion of Canada. After the declaration of war, in June 1812, Jackson offered his services and those of his militia to the United States. The government was slow to accept this offer, and, when Jackson finally was given a command in the field, it was to fight against the Creek Indians, who were allied with the British and who were threatening the southern frontier. In a campaign of about five months, in 1813–14, Jackson crushed the Creeks, the final victory coming in the Battle of Tohopeka (or Horseshoe Bend) in Alabama. The victory was so decisive that the Creeks never again menaced the frontier, and Jackson was established as the hero of the West.
Jackson, Andrew Andrew Jackson with the Tennessee forces at Hickory Grounds, Alabama; hand-coloured lithograph, c. 1830–50. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
In August 1814, Jackson moved his army south to Mobile. Though he was without specific instructions, his real objective was the Spanish post at Pensacola. The motive was to prepare the way for U.S. occupation of Florida, then a Spanish possession. Jackson’s justification for this bold move was that Spain and Great Britain were allies in the wars in Europe. At Mobile, Jackson learned that an army of British regulars had landed at Pensacola. In the first week in November, he led his army into Florida and, on November 7, occupied that city just as the British evacuated it to go by sea to Louisiana.
Jackson then marched his army overland to New Orleans, where he arrived early in December. A series of small skirmishes between detachments of the two armies culminated in the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815, in which Jackson’s forces inflicted a decisive defeat upon the British army and forced it to withdraw. The news of this victory reached Washington at a time when morale was at a low point. A few days later, news of the signing of the Treaty of Ghent(Belgium) between the United States and Great Britain on December 24, 1814, reached the capital. The twin tidings brought joy and relief to the American people and made Jackson the hero not only of the West but of a substantial part of the country as well.
New Orleans, Battle of; Jackson, Andrew The Battle of New Orleans, reproduction of an oil painting by E. Percy Moran, c. 1910. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Battle of New Orleans Battle of New Orleans, lithograph by Kurz & Allison, c. 1890. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
New Orleans, Battle of Andrew Jackson During the Battle of New Orleans, illustration by Frederick Coffay Yohn, c. 1922. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
After the close of the war, Jackson was named commander of the southern district. He entrusted the command of the troops in the field to subordinates while he retired to his home at the Hermitage, near Nashville. He was ordered back to active service at the end of December 1817, when unrest along the border appeared to be reaching critical proportions. The instructions given Jackson were vague, and he ordered an invasion of Florida immediately after taking active command. He captured two Spanish posts and appointed one of his subordinates military governor of Florida. These bold actions brought an immediate and sharp protest from Spain and precipitated a cabinet crisis in Washington. The staunch defense of Jackson by Secretary of State John Quincy Adamssaved Jackson from censure and hastened the U.S. acquisition of Florida.
Hermitage, the The Hermitage, Andrew Jackson's estate in Tennessee; chromolithograph by Endicott & Co., 1856. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Presidential prospects
Jackson’s military triumphs led to suggestions that he become a candidate for president, but he disavowed any interest, and political leaders in Washington assumed that the flurry of support for him would prove transitory. The campaign to make him president, however, was kept alive by his continued popularity and was carefully nurtured by a small group of his friends in Nashville, who combined devotion to the general with a high degree of political astuteness. In 1822 these friends maneuvered the Tennessee legislature into a formal nomination of their hero as a candidate for president. In the following year this same group persuaded the legislature to elect him to the U.S. Senate—a gesture designed to demonstrate the extent of his popularity in his home state.
In the election of 1824 four candidates received electoral votes. Jackson received the highest number (99); the others receiving electoral votes were John Quincy Adams (84), William H. Crawford (41), and Henry Clay (37). Because no one had a majority, the House of Representatives was required to elect a president from the three with the highest number of votes. Crawford was critically ill, so the actual choice was between Jackson and Adams. Clay, as speaker of the House, was in a strategic and perhaps decisive position to determine the outcome, and he threw his support to Adams, who was elected on the first ballot. When Adams appointed Clay secretary of state, it seemed to admirers of Jackson to confirm rumours of a “corrupt bargain” between Adams and Clay. Jackson’s friends persuaded him that the popular will had been thwarted by intrigues, and he thereupon determined to vindicate himself and his supporters by becoming a candidate again in 1828.
American presidential election, 1824 Results of the American presidential election, 1824Sources: Electoral and popular vote totals based on data from the United States Office of the Federal Register and Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections, 4th ed. (2001)
Jackson, Andrew A political cartoon from 1824 showing Andrew Jackson (“Old Hickory”) under attack from a pack of dogs representing the opposition press. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
“HUZZA! For Gen. Jackson!!” “HUZZA! For Gen. Jackson!!” Broadside advocating the electon of Andrew Jackson as president of the United States, 1825. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., Printed Ephemera Collection; Portfolio 229, Folder 10
In the election of 1828 Jackson defeated Adams by an electoral vote of 178 to 83 after a campaign in which personalities and slander played a larger part than in any previous U.S. national election. Jackson and his wife, Rachel, despite their long marriage, had been vilified in campaign pamphlets as adulterers. The basis was that Rachel Jackson was not legally divorced from her first husband at the time she and Jackson were wed. When they discovered their mistake they remarried, but the damage had been done. Jackson’s hour of triumph was soon overshadowed by personal tragedy—his wife died at the Hermitage on December 22, 1828. Retiring and religious, she had avoided the public eye, and the scabrous attacks had hurt her deeply. Jackson had these words inscribed on her tombstone: “A being so gentle and yet so virtuous, slander might wound, but could not dishonor.” She had dreaded becoming the hostess of the President’s House, saying that she would “rather be a doorkeeper in the House of God than live in that palace.”
American presidential election, 1828 Results of the American presidential election, 1828Source: United States Office of the Federal Register.
Jackson, Rachel Rachel Jackson. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Rachel Jackson’s niece, Emily Donelson, the wife of Andrew Jackson Donelson, served as the president’s hostess until 1836. At times, Sarah Yorke Jackson, the wife of Andrew Jackson’s adopted son, also served as his hostess.
Donelson, Emily Emily Donelson. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Jacksonian Democracy
The election of 1828 is commonly regarded as a turning point in the political history of the United States. Jackson was the first president from the area west of the Appalachians, but it was equally significant that the initiative in launching his candidacy and much of the leadership in the organization of his campaign also came from the West. The victory of Jackson indicated a westward movement of the centre of political power. He was also the first man to be elected president through a direct appeal to the mass of the voters rather than through the support of a recognized political organization. Jackson once said: “I know what I am fit for. I can command a body of men in a rough way; but I am not fit to be president.” Yet today he is regarded as the maker of the modern presidency.
White House reception Satirical drawing of Andrew Jackson's first reception at the White House, from The Playfair Papers, 1841. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Jackson was the first president born in poverty. In time he became one of the largest landholders in Tennessee, yet he had retained the frontiersmen’s prejudice against people of wealth. He had no well-defined program of action when he entered the presidency. He was the beneficiary of a rising tide of democratic sentiment, a trend that was aided by the admission of six new states to the Union, five of which had manhood suffrage, and by the extension of the suffrage laws by many of the older states. As the power of the older political organizations weakened, the way was opened for the rise of new political leaders skilled in appealing to the mass of voters. Not the least remarkable triumph of the Jacksonian organization was its success in picturing its candidate as the embodiment of democracy, despite the fact that Jackson had been aligned with the conservative faction in Tennessee politics for 30 years and that in the financial crisis that swept the West after 1819 he had vigorously opposed legislation for the relief of debtors.
Jackson, Andrew Andrew Jackson, engraving, c. 1860. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
As the victory of Jackson reflected the emergence of new forces in U.S. politics, so Jackson himself brought to the presidency a new set of personal qualifications that were to become the standard by which presidential candidates would be judged for the remainder of the 19th century. He was the first president since George Washington who had not served a long apprenticeship in public life and had no personal experience in the formulation or conduct of foreign policy. His brief periods of service in Congress provided no clue to his stand on the public issues of the day, except perhaps on the tariff.
Jackson approached the problems of the presidency as he had approached all other problems in life. He met each issue as it arose, and he exhibited the same vigour and determination in carrying out decisions that had characterized his conduct as commander of an army. He made it clear from the outset that he would be the master of his own administration, and, at times, he was so strong-willed and decisive that his enemies referred to him as “King Andrew I.” In making decisions and policy, Jackson relied on an informal group of newspaper editors and politicians who had helped elect him; they came to be known as his "kitchen cabinet."
“King Andrew the First” Political cartoon accusing Andrew Jackson of monarchical ambitions, 1832. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The first term
When Jackson was inaugurated on March 4, 1829, it was the first time in more than a quarter of a century that the election of a new president reflected the repudiation of his predecessor. Hundreds who had worked for the election of Jackson hoped this would mean that incumbent officeholders would be replaced by friends of the new president, and within a few weeks the process of removing opponents of Jackson to make way for supporters had begun. Some years later, in the U.S. Senate, William L. Marcy of New York defended the principle of “rotation of office” with the aphorism, “To the victors belong the spoils.” The so-called spoils system, however, did not begin with Jackson, nor did he utilize this practice as extensively as was charged. In eight years as president, Jackson removed fewer than one-fifth of all federal officeholders.
First Capitol Inauguration, 1829; Jackson, Andrew Chief Justice John Marshall administering the oath of office to Pres. Andrew Jackson, First Capitol Inauguration, 1829, oil on canvas by Allyn Cox, 1973–74. Architect of the Capitol
Jackson was in poor health when he became president, and few believed that he would have the strength or inclination to seek a second term. The question of the succession was, therefore, certain to attract early attention. One obvious candidate was Vice President John C. Calhoun from Jackson’s native state of South Carolina. Another was Martin Van Buren, Jackson’s first secretary of state. The harmony of the new administration was marred from the outset by the rivalry between Calhoun and Van Buren. Moreover, Jackson learned in 1830 that during the cabinet debates in 1818 Calhoun had urged that Jackson be censured for his invasion of Florida. In that episode Jackson had captured the Spanish forts at St. Marks, Pensacola, and several other towns, and claimed the surrounding territory for the United States. He had also seized two British subjects, Alexander Arbuthnot and Robert Ambrister, and hanged them. Jackson, though considered a hero in many parts of the country for this action, was severely criticized by Congress. Calhoun was the most prominent of these critics, and Jackson concluded that he could no longer trust him. From that time, Van Buren was generally recognized as the probable successor of Jackson as president.
Jackson, Andrew Andrew Jackson, oil on canvas by Asher B. Durand, c. 1800; in the collection of the New-York Historical Society.
Jackson, Andrew: cabinet nomination Pres. Andrew Jackson's message nominating his cabinet, including Martin Van Buren as Secretary of State, March 6, 1829. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Van Buren, Martin Martin Van Buren, 1835. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The feud between Jackson and Calhoun assumed momentous importance in 1830 when Calhoun openly espoused the cause of South Carolina in its opposition to a high protective tariff. Feeling in South Carolina was so intense that there were covert threats that the state would attempt to prevent collection of the tariff within its borders. The issue of the tariff drifted unresolved, however, until 1832, when congressional leaders sought a compromise in the form of a moderate reduction of the tariff. South Carolina was not satisfied and in reply adopted a resolution declaring the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 null and void and prohibiting the enforcement of either within its boundaries after February 1, 1833. Jackson accepted the challenge, denounced the theory of nullification, and asked Congress for authority to send troops into South Carolina to enforce the law. The president believed the tariff to be too high, however, and urged Congress to reduce the rates it had enacted a few months earlier. On March 1, 1833, Congress sent to the president two companion bills. One reduced tariff duties on many items. The other, commonly called the Force Bill, empowered the president to use the armed forces to enforce federal laws. South Carolina repealed its nullification ordinance, but at the same time it declared the Force Act null and void.
Calhoun, John John Calhoun, detail of a daguerreotype by Mathew Brady, c. 1849. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Whatever the motives, Jackson had preserved the integrity of the Union against the most serious threat it had yet faced. In contrast, he was remarkably complacent when Georgia defied the federal government. In 1829 Georgia extended its jurisdiction to about 9,000,000 acres (4,000,000 hectares) of land that lay within its boundaries but was still occupied by the Cherokee Indians. The Cherokees’ title to the land, on which gold had been discovered, having been guaranteed by a treaty with the United States, the Indians appealed to the federal courts. In two separate cases, the Supreme Court ruled against Georgia, but Georgia ignored those decisions and continued to enforce its jurisdiction within the territory claimed by the Cherokees. In contrast to his strong reaction against South Carolina’s defiance of federal authority, Jackson made no effort to restrain Georgia, and those close to him felt certain that he sympathized with the position taken by that state. He is said to have declared privately, “John Marshall [the chief justice] has made his decision, now let him enforce it!” Jackson’s failure to support the Supreme Court remains an indelible stain on his record.
Jackson, Andrew Andrew Jackson, hand-coloured lithograph (1830) from a painting by William James Hubard. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The Cherokee, left without a choice, signed another treaty in 1835 giving up their land in exchange for land in the Indian Territory west of Arkansas. Three years later, having been rounded up by Gen. Winfield Scott, some 15,000 Cherokees were forced to wend their way westward, mostly on foot, on a journey that became known as the Trail of Tears. On the way, during the cold and wet of winter, nearly a quarter of them died of starvation, illness, and exposure.
The Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears, oil on canvas by Robert Lindneux, 1942.
The plight of the Cherokee was a consequence of the Jackson government’s policy toward the Native American peoples who lived east of the Mississippi (especially in the Southeast) on lands that were desired for white settlement. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 authorized Jackson to grant these Indian tribes unsettled western prairie land in exchange for their homelands. When members of the so-called Five Civilized Tribes, including the Cherokees, refused to relocate, military coercion was employed to force compliance. Even more reluctant to leave their Florida home were the Seminoles, who would resist resettlement in the Second Seminole War (1835–42)..
Trail of Tears Routes, statistics, and notable events of the Trail of Tears.
In the meantime, Jackson acquiesced to the pressure of friends and sought a second term. As the election of 1832 approached, Jackson’s opponents hoped to embarrass him by posing a new dilemma. The charter of the Bank of the United States was due to expire in 1836. The president had not clearly defined his position on the bank, but he was increasingly uneasy about how it was then organized. More significant in an election year was the fact that large blocs of voters who favoured Jackson were openly hostile to the bank. In the summer of 1832, Jackson’s opponents rushed through Congress a bill to recharter the bank, thus forcing Jackson either to sign the measure and alienate many of his supporters or to veto it and appear to be a foe of sound banking. Jackson’s cabinet was divided between friends and critics of the bank, but the obviously political motives of the recharter bill reconciled all of them to the necessity of a veto. The question before Jackson actually was whether the veto message should leave the door open to future compromise.
American presidential election, 1832 Results of the American presidential election, 1832Sources: Electoral and popular vote totals based on data from the United States Office of the Federal Register and Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections, 4th ed. (2001).
Few presidential vetoes have caused as much controversy in their own time or later as the one Jackson sent to Congress on July 10, 1832. The veto of the bill to recharter the bank was the prelude to a conflict over financial policy that continued through Jackson’s second term, which he nevertheless won easily. Efforts to persuade Congress to enact legislation limiting the circulation of bank notes failed, but there was one critical point at which Jackson was free to apply his theories. Nearly all purchasers of public lands paid with bank notes, many of which had to be discounted because of doubts as to the continuing solvency of the banks that issued them. Partly to protect federal revenues against loss and partly to advance his concept of a sound currency, Jackson issued the Specie Circularin July 1836, requiring payment in gold or silver for all public lands. This measure created a demand for specie that many of the banks could not meet; banks began to fail, and the effect of bank failures in the West spread to the East. By the spring of 1837 the entire country was gripped by a financial panic. The panic did not come, however, until after Jackson had had the pleasure of seeing Van Buren inaugurated as president on March 4, 1837.
“New Edition of MacBeth. Bank-oh's! Ghost” “New Edition of MacBeth. Bank-oh's! Ghost,” political cartoon satirizing the Panic of 1837 and condemning Martin Van Buren's continuation of predecessor Andrew Jackson's “hard-money” policies as the source of the crisis. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
During Jackson’s time, the President’s House underwent noteworthy alterations. The North Portico, which had long been advocated by James Hoban, its architect, was added to the mansion. The appropriation that Jackson obtained for this work included a sum for refurbishing the interior of the building, and the public rooms were refitted on a grand scale. A system of iron pipes was also installed in order to convey water from a well to a small reservoir on the grounds from which it could be pumped to various parts of the building. For the first time, the occupants’ needs for water could be met without relying on the time-honoured system of filling pails and carrying them where required.
White House View of the east elevation of the White House, including the proposed North and South Porticos, 1807. Library of Congress, Washington.
Jackson retired to his home, the Hermitage. For decades in poor health, he was virtually an invalid during the remaining eight years of his life, but he continued to have a lively interest in public affairs.
Jackson, Andrew Andrew Jackson. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Hermitage, the The Hermitage, home of Andrew Jackson.
“Death of Genl. Andrew Jackson” “Death of Genl. Andrew Jackson,” hand-coloured lithograph by Currier & Ives, 1845. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Jackson’s influence
Jackson had left office more popular than when he entered it. The widespread approval of his actions exercised a profound effect on the character of U.S. politics for half a century. His success appeared to be a vindication of the new democracy. Powerful voices still questioned the wisdom and morality of democracy in 1829; there were few who would question it in 1837. Jackson had likewise established a pattern that future candidates for the presidency attempted to imitate. Birth in humble circumstances, experience on the frontier, evidence of being close to the mass of the people, a devotion to democracy, and, if possible, some military exploits were all valuable assets for any candidate.
The intensity of the political struggles from 1825 to 1837 led to the revival of the two-party system. Jackson never thought of himself as a master politician, but he and his associates proved themselves the most skillful political leaders of that generation. When Jackson was elected president in 1828, he was the candidate of a faction rather than of a party. When he retired from the presidency he left a vigorous and well-organized Democratic Party as a legacy.
Jackson, Andrew Andrew Jackson, detail of an oil painting by John Wesley Jarvis, c. 1819. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
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