Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States. He is known for founding the Democratic Party and supporting individual freedom.
Andrew Jackson was a lawyer, planter and built a brilliant military career. But he is remembered as one of the greatest presidents of the United States. Jackson strongly believed in the possibility of a union of democratic government and people. And although his personal life was heavily criticized, he never gave up to his opponents and continued to fight to the end.
Biography
Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767 in a place called Waxhaw, which is located between North and South Carolina. His parents Andrew and Elizabeth Hutchinson-Jackson were Irish colonists who arrived in the American city of Philadelphia in 1765.
Independence Hall in Philadelphia, USA Photo: Rdsmith4 / Wikimedia Commons
Andrew became the third child in the family. He had two older brothers - Hugh and Robert. However, while still very young, he lost his entire family. In February 1767, his father died. This happened in an accident three weeks before Andrew was born. His older brother Hugh died in 1779 from an injury sustained while fighting the British in the American Revolutionary War. In 1781 his mother and brother Robert died. Elizabeth Jackson contracted cholera while caring for sick prisoners of war. And my brother died from another contagious disease - smallpox.
Orphaned at the age of 14, he did not live long in a family of relatives. Jackson was educated at a local school before traveling to Salisbury, North Carolina to study law. After three years of training with renowned lawyers, he obtained a license to practice and moved to Jonesboro in 1787.
Career
In Jonesboro, Jackson was admitted to the bar. At 21, he was named attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, now part of Tennessee. In 1788, he moved to Nashville and bought the local land with money from his successful legal practice. This is how Andrew Jackson became a young and wealthy landowner.
In 1796 he became the first representative of the state of Tennessee in the US Congress. The following year, he was elected to the United States Senate, but after eight months of service, Jackson resigned. From 1798 to 1804, he served as a Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court.
Statue of Andrew Jackson in New Orleans, USA Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans / Wikimedia Commons
During the War of 1812, he led the American forces in a five-month campaign against the Indians, supported by Britain and Spain. As a result of this military operation, the United States took possession of about 9,000 square meters. km of land, on the territory of which the modern states of Georgia and Alabama stretch. After this success of the American army, Jackson was promoted to major general.
In 1815, he led 5,000 soldiers to an unexpected victory over the British at the Battle of New Orleans. This battle was the last major clash in the 1812 War.
In 1817, during the Seminole Wars, he and his troops captured Pensacola, Florida. In March 1821, Jackson was named Governor of Florida. In 1822, he first became the candidate for the presidency of America from the state of Tennessee. But Jackson lost the 1824 election to John Quincy Adams.
In 1828, after Adams ended his term, he ran for president again. This time he managed to bypass his opponents and Andrew Jackson became the seventh President of the United States.
In the elections of 1832, he was again nominated by the Democratic Party as a candidate for head of state. During the election campaign, the main issue was the possibility of extending the privileges of the Second Bank of the United States. Jackson vetoed a bill to extend the special conditions for the lending institution, believing it to be inherently a corrupt monopoly largely owned by foreigners. This decision only added to his popularity among the general population, and he was re-elected President of the United States.
Personal life
In 1794, Andrew Jackson married Rachel Donelson. For Rachel, this was her second marriage. She was previously married to Captain Lewis Robards.
Portrait of Rachel Donelson Photo: Tennessee Portrait Project / Wikimedia Commons
Andrew and Rachel had no biological children. But the couple brought up the Native American orphans that Jackson met during the Creek War. These children were a boy named Theodore, who died in early 1814, and Linkoia, who was found on the battlefield. The girl was lying in the arms of her dead mother. In addition, the family brought up three of Rachel's nephews. In total, they adopted ten children.
The couple remained together until the death of Rachel Donelson on December 22, 1828. She died of a heart attack two months before Jackson's inauguration. He grieved at the loss and was greatly depressed by her death. Jackson never married again.
After the end of his second term in the White House, Andrew Jackson returned to the Hermitage in Nashville, where he died on June 8, 1845 at the age of 78. Cause of death was lead poisoning caused by two bullets that remained in his chest for several years. He was buried next to his beloved wife Rachel.
Monument to Andrew Jackson in front of the White House, USA Photo: Ed Brown / Wikimedia Commons
Andrew Jackson is considered one of the most influential, aggressive, and controversial presidents in US history. He is often called the first "people's president" who expanded the functions of the head of state from just an executor to an active representative of the people.
