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Born
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 -
where he grew up
Growing up in poverty in the Waxhaws wilderness, Jackson received an erratic education in the years before the Revolutionary War came to the Carolinas. After his older brother, Hugh, died in the Battle of Stono Ferry in 1779, the future president joined a local militia at age 13 and served as a patriot courier. Captured by the British along with his brother Robert in 1781. -
Wife
When Jackson arrived in Nashville in 1788, he met Rachel Donelson Robards, who, at the time, was unhappily married to but separated from Captain Lewis Robards. Rachel and Andrew married before her divorce was officially complete — a fact that was later brought to light during Jackson's 1828 presidential campaign. Although the couple had legally remarried in 1794, the press accused Rachel Jackson of bigamy. -
Getting Started
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. -
"Old Hickory "
Dubbed a national hero, Jackson received the thanks of Congress and a gold medal. He was also popular among his troops, who said that Jackson was "as tough as old hickory wood" on the battlefield, earning Jackson the nickname "Old Hickory." -
Military
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. -
the election
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. -
Presidency
After a bruising campaign, Jackson — with South Carolina’s John C. Calhoun as his vice-presidential running mate — won the presidential election of 1828 by a landslide over Adams. With his election, Jackson became the first frontier president and the first chief executive who resided outside of either Massachusetts or Virginia. -
Became President
On March 4, 1829, Andrew Jackson took the oath of office and became the seventh President of the United States. Jackson's inauguration has become a part of American political folklore because thousand of people participated in the ceremonies. Jackson's supporters reveled in the image of an executive mansion, and by extension a government, open to all. -
Decision's
Despite his popularity and success, Jackson's presidency was not without its controversies. One particularly troubling aspect of it was his dealings with Native Americans. He signed and implemented the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which gave him the power to make treaties with tribes that resulted in their displacement to territory west of the Mississippi River in return for their ancestral homelands. -
Accomplishments
The negative reaction to the House's decision resulted in Jackson's re-nomination for the presidency in 1825, three years before the next election After becoming president, Jackson did not submit to Congress in policy-making and was the first president to assume command with his veto power. While prior presidents rejected only bills they believed unconstitutional, Jackson set a new precedent by wielding the veto pen as a matter of policy. -
His vice president
Old Hickory believed that paper money did not benefit the common man and that it allowed speculators to buy huge swaths of land and drive prices artificially high. Having taken a financial loss from devalued paper notes himself, issued the Specie Circular in July 1836, which required payment in gold or silver for public lands. Bank, however, could not meet the demand. They began to fail, and the ensuing Panic of 1837. -
Death
After completing his second term in the White House, Jackson returned to Tennessee, where he died on June 8, 1845, at the age of 78. The cause of death was lead poisoning caused by the two bullets that had remained in his chest for several years. He was buried in the plantation’s garden next to his beloved Rachel.