Seventh President of the United States, Andrew Jackson, was born on March 15, 1767, to Scotch-Irish immigrant parents Andrew Jackson, Sr. and Elizabeth "Betty" Hutchinson, who came from Carrickfergus, in modern-day Northern Ireland, in 1765. Jackson was the first president not born an aristocrat.
Jackson's exact birthplace is disputed. His claim to have been born in South Carolina is suspect by many as being for political reasons. Most likely he was born in either Waxhaw, North Carolina or Lancaster, South Carolina. However, the line between the states had not yet been drawn at the time of his birth. He received only a sporadic education, but in his late teens read law for about two years and became an outstanding young lawyer in Tennessee.
Jackson, along with his brother Robert, joined the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, where they served as couriers. At one point both boys were taken prisoner by the British. When they refused to shine the boots of one of their captors, the officer struck Jackson with his saber, wounding him on the hand and forehead. Due to that incident, he carried a hatred of the British for the remainder of his life. Both boys caught smallpox during this time. While Jackson survived, his brother fell victim to the disease and died.
Jackson, who due to his ruggedness became known as "Old Hickory," continued serving in the army becoming a nationally recognized hero following his defeat of the British in the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. Later, he fought the Creek Wars as well as the Seminole War in Florida. He became Florida's military governor in 1819 after Spain ceded it to the United States in the Adams-Onís Treaty.
Jackson prospered sufficiently to buy slaves and to build a mansion, the Hermitage, near Nashville. He was the first man elected from Tennessee to the House of Representatives, and he served briefly in the Senate.
Jackson ran for the Presidency in 1824, where he received more popular and electoral votes any of the other candidates. However, because he did not receive a majority of either the outcome of the election had to be decided by the House of Representatives who, in a surprising turn, awarded the office to John Quincy Adams. Feeling the election had been stolen from him, Jackson was not one to accept defeat, and he and his supporters began campaigning immediately. Thanks largely to his humble beginnings and reputation as a national hero, Jackson won the next election in 1828 by a substantial majority. He took office in 1829.
Jackson's victory was due in part to large numbers of Western farmers as well as people in the cities supporting him. Because he was the first candidate not born into the aristocracy, he was considered a “friend of the common man,” and was known as “the people’s president.” This was the first election in which many states allowed people without land to vote, and they cast their vote for Jackson. His popularity with voters led to him being elected to a second term in 1832.
The election of 1828 was extremely negative in its tone due to allegations regarding Jackson's marriage to Rachel Robards. Rachel was undergoing a divorce from her first husband, Col. Lewis Robards, at the time she and Jackson married. Only after the marriage did the couple find out her divorce was not final. They separated until the divorce was finalized, then were were legally married soon after.
Rachel died on 22 December 1828, six weeks after his election to the presidency, and Jackson blamed Adams for her death due to the vicious gossip that had been spread during the election. Jackson never forgave Adams for that incident. In addition, he killed a man named Charles Dickinson in 1806 in a duel (with pistols) over Mrs. Jackson's honor.
Jackson is credited with instituting a practice that is common to this day in politics, that of the "spoils" system, or what is known as patronage. He replaced a large number of federal employees with supporters who had worked on his campaign. He felt this system promoted the growth of democracy and involved more people in the political system.
A notable crisis during his period of office was the nullification crisis (or secession crisis), from 1828 to 1832. This involved a disagreement between southern colonies and the north. High tariffs on imports of common goods were seen southern farmers as unfairly benefiting Northern merchants and industrial entrepreneurs. The issue was brought to a head when the Vice President, John C. Calhoun, supported the claim of his home state, South Carolina, that it had the right to 'nullify', or declare illegal, the tariff legislation of 1828.
Although Jackson, a southerner himself, was sympathetic to the south, his strong support of federalism caused a bitter rivalry between he and Calhoun to occur. The crisis was finally resolved in 1833 with a compromise settlement.
Another significant crisis during Jackson's presidency was the notorious Indian Removal Act of 1830. This is the incident in which Native American tribes (Cherokee, Seminole, Choctaw, Creek, and Chickasaw) were removed from their homelands in the south and relocated to what was called the Indian Territory, which later became Oklahoma. Many of these people died along what has become known as the infamous Trail of Tears.
On January 30, 1835 the first assassination attempt against an American president occured in the United States Capitol. It happened while Jackson was leaving a funeral. A mentally ill man named Richard Lawrence fired a pistol at him at point-blank range. The pistol misfired and Lawrence pulled another pistol which also misfired. Jackson's demeanor as a pugnacious fighter kept him from running for cover. Instead, he boldly confronted his attacker and proceeded to beat the man over the head with his cane.
Jackson never remarried after the death of his wife Rachel. His only child was an adopted son, also named Andrew. Jackson died on June 8, 1845.