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Born
He was born in the Carolinas colony in what will eventually become the United States. His father died right before he was born from an accident. -
Obtains a large slave plantation
Jackson acquired the Hermitage plantation in Tennessee in 1803. He grew mostly cotton, which was very profitable. He owned lots of slaves, up to 300, to work the land. -
Defeats Red Sticks Indians at Battle of Horseshoe Bend
In April 1814, Jackson defeated Tecumseh and his Red Sticks tribe in Mississippi, killing 800 of them. The slaughter and subsequent treaty greatly expanded the size of the US, adding nearly 200,000 square miles. It was a large victory for Jackson. https://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/54horseshoe/54horseshoe.htm -
Crushes British in New Orleans to end War of 1812
Jackson and his troops destroyed the British in New Orleans in a crucial battle, killing 2,000 British men. While this battle did end the War of 1812, Jackson was unaware that the war was actually already over, a treaty had already been negotiated that he was not aware of. http://www.history.com/topics/battle-of-new-orleans -
Loses Presidential Election of 1824
Jackson ran for President in 1824, and actually got the most votes and electoral votes. However, none of the three candidates got enough electoral votes needed to win. So, Henry Clay, one of the candidates, threw his support to John Quincy Adams, who ended up winning. Jackson was furious, calling it a "corrupt bargain" -
Wins Presidential Election of 1828
Jackson was more successful the second time around, easily defeating John Quincy Adams. It was a fierce campaign process, and ended with a victory. He had finally won the White House. -
Jackson is put on the $20 Bill
As shown in the following article, it really is truly unclear why Jackson was added to the $20 bill. But he has been there since 1828, and will be replaced by Harriet Tubman in 2020. It's an interesting piece of history! https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/03/06/why-is-andrew-jackson-on-the-20-bill-the-answer-may-be-lost-to-history/?utm_term=.c76bbafa3417 -
Death of his wife
Jackson's wife, Rachel Andrews died of a heart attack just 10 weeks before Jackson would be inaugurated as President. This came mainly from stress, she had been the target of many political attacks by Jackson's opponent, Adams. Jackson was distraught and heavily mourned her. -
Vetoes the National Bank Charter
In one of his more controversial actions as President, Jackson vetoed the charter of the Second National Bank. Jackson hated the concept of a federal bank, and expressed his disapproval by vetoing the charter and putting federal funds in state "pet banks". This led to an economic crisis. It was a massive failure. http://www.history.com/topics/bank-war -
Re-election in 1832
In 1832, Jackson cruised to an easy re-election campaign, winning 55% of the vote over Henry Clay and Martin Van Buren. The main issue was that of the National Bank, which Jackson strongly opposed. -
Assassination Attempt
This was the first attempted attack on a President in US History. Richard Lawrence, a painter, shot at Jackson with a pistol but missed. He then missed again with a different gun. Jackson then famously beat him with his cane.http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/andrew-jackson-narrowly-escapes-assassination -
Death
Jackson died from tuberculosis and heart failure on June 8th, 1845. He died at his plantation, and left his estate to his son, Andrew Jackson Jr.
