Andrew Jackson

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Andrew Jackson
7th President of the United States From: March 4, 1829 – March 4, 1837
Vice President	John C. Calhoun; Martin Van Buren
Predecessor	John Quincy Adams
Successor	Martin Van Buren
Former U.S. Senator from Tennessee From: March 4, 1823 – October 14, 1825
Predecessor	John Williams
Successor	Hugh Lawson White
Former U.S. Senator from Tennessee From: September 26, 1797 – April 1, 1798
Predecessor	William Cocke
Successor	Daniel Smith
Former U.S. Representative from Tennessee's at-large Congressional District From: December 4, 1796 – September 26, 1797
Predecessor	none
Successor	William C. C. Claiborne
Information
Party	Democrat
Spouse(s)	Rachel Donelson Robards Jackson
Religion	Presbyterian
Military Service
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Rank	Major General

Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States of America, elected as a hero after his military triumphs over the Creek Indians of the Southeast and the British at New Orleans in 1815. As president (1829–1837), he destroyed the Bank of the United States, ethnically cleansed the remaining southeastern Natives, and built a new political coalition, the Democratic Party. A self-made man, Indian slaughterer, war hero and a fighter (and duelist) who believed in action instead of words, he was long an iconic Democrat folk hero.

But Jackson also defied the Supreme Court with a famous quip attributed to him: Chief Justice "John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it."^[1] Jackson then won reelection by a landslide. Liberals today, who use the courts to advance their agenda, no longer praise Jackson despite the fact that he was one of them.^[2][3]Jackson's opposition to the early deep state is admired by some conservatives.^[4]

Nicknamed "Old Hickory" by his admirers, he typified popular democracy in the "Jacksonian Age" of the 1830s and 1840s, and became the leader of Jacksonian Democracy during the Second Party System. He is the founder of the Democrat Party and was its hero for a time because of his strong use of the presidency to bash crony capitalism, central banking, and profligate federal spending. The poor farmers, workers and oppressed loved him because he embodied their hopes and fears, their passions and prejudices, their insight and ignorance, better than anyone. Jackson has been perceived as an early forerunner of the conservative Tea Party for his strong commitment to limited government, his strict construction of the Constitution, his rejection of globalism, and his commitment to American exceptionalism.^[5][6][7] A populist, he has also been viewed as a forerunner to President Donald Trump and the 45th President cites him favorably.^{[8][9][10][11]}

However, as noted above, he was considered a liberal, as Jacksonian democracy, the ideology named after him and supported by him, was thought of as being left-wing at the time, similar to its predecessor ideology Jeffersonian democracy. According to liberal historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., it provided roots for modern liberalism and influenced Franklin Delano Roosevelt.^[12] Robert V. Remini, who was Jackson's biographer, stated:

“

Jacksonian Democracy, then, stretches the concept of democracy about as far as it can go and still remain workable. [...] As such it has inspired much of the dynamic and dramatic events of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in American history—Populism, Progressivism, the New and Fair Deals, and the programs of the New Frontier and Great Society to mention the most obvious.[13]

”

Career[edit]

Born near the North/South Carolina border, Jackson studied law in Salisbury, North Carolina before moving to Nashville, Tennessee. Jackson was the first president who was not born in Virginia or Massachusetts. He fought at an early age in the battle of Stone Ferry during the American Revolution in 1780. As a teenaged volunteer in a local militia, Jackson refused an order by a British officer to polish his boots, and the officer angrily drew his sword and slashed Jackson across his hand and head with it, and imprisoned him. For the rest of his life Jackson loathed the British.

Tennessee Frontier[edit]

Jackson, John Sevier, and their allies were rich frontier lawyers and businessmen who used their vast land holdings to establish themselves as a political power in Tennessee. They allied themselves with the Jeffersonian Republicans, of the "Old Republican" faction that opposed strong national government. However, Thomas Jefferson and his circle strongly disliked and distrusted Jackson.

Serving a term in the Senate, he alarmed Jefferson but otherwise made little mark.

Soldier[edit]

Jackson sought election as major general of the Tennessee militia partly to escape the circuit riding required while he was a superior court judge. As a military commander he proved himself a master tactician, a brilliant organizer, and effective motivator of men. He won all his major battles, including the decisive defeat of the cream of the British regular army.

Jackson led two great victories in the War of 1812—the first against the "Red Stick" Creek Indian forces that had raided, raped and killed American settlers and assimilated Indians in what is now Alabama. Indians seldom fought pitched battles; they preferred the ambush. Jackson, aided by Cherokee allies, trapped the Creeks at Horseshoe Bend in Alabama in March 1814, and killed over 800 enemy; the rest fled to Spanish Florida. (See Creek War.)

Jackson led a contingent of Tennessee and Kentucky militia who routed over 2,000 British troops in the Battle of New Orleans in Jan. 1815. The defeat ended British plans to turn the Mississippi Valley into a pro-British Indian nation. It was a great victory for Jackson and became source of enormous pride to all Americans.^[14]

Religion[edit]

Jackson attended a Presbyterian church from time to time, and his wife was a devout Baptist. Jackson had little sympathy for religion in the political sphere, unlike many of his opponents (the Anti-Masons and Whigs), who were building political coalitions using religious voting blocs during the Second Great Awakening. For example, Jackson insisted that the mail be delivered on Sundays, much to the anger of the evangelicals.^[15]

After his presidency, Jackson became very serious about Christianity and returned to the rigid evangelical orthodoxy of his youth. Unlike many politicians of the period who, for ecumenical purposes, appealed to a theistic but not explicitly Christian God, Jackson professed Jesus Christ as his Redeemer, Lord, and Savior. To his son, Andrew Jr., he wrote in 1834: "I nightly offer up my prayers to the Throne of Grace for the health and safety of you all, and that we ought all to rely with confidence on the promises of our dear Redeemer, and give Him our hearts. This is all He requires and all that we can do, and if we sincerely do this, we are sure of salvation through His atonement."^[16] That same year, he sent a letter of condolence to the family of his friend General Coffee, who had recently died. He admonished that they "Rely on our dear Saviour. He will be father to the fatherless and husband to the widow. Trust in the mercy and goodness of Christ, and always be ready to say with heartfelt resignation, "may the Lord's will be done."^[17]

Shortly after becoming a communicant member of the Hermitage Presbyterian Church, Jackson was nominated to become a ruling elder of the church. Jackson declined on Biblical grounds, saying: “No, the Bible says, “Be not hasty on of hands.” I am too young in the church for such an office. My countrymen have given me high honors, but I should esteem the office of ruling elder in the Church of Christ a far higher honor than any I have ever received.”^[18]

As he neared the time of his death, Jackson entertained no fears about the afterlife because he believed that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus secured to him eternal life. After Ralph Earl died in 1838, Jackson wrote that "I must soon follow him, and hope to meet him and those friends who have gone before me in the realms of bliss through the mediation of a dear Redeemer, Jesus Christ."^[19] Jackson's Last Will and Testimony of 1845 beautifully expressed confidence in the Gospel:

Sir, I am in the hands of a merciful God. I have full confidence in his goodness and mercy. My lamp of life is nearly out, and the last glimmer has come. I am ready to depart when called. The Bible is true. I have tried to conform to its spirit as near as possible. Upon that Sacred Volume I rest my hope for eternal salvation, through the merits and blood of our blessed Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. First, I bequeath my body to the dust whence it comes, and my soul to God who gave it, hoping for a happy immortality through the atoning merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. ^[20]

Shortly before his death, Jackson expressed his confidence in Jesus unequivocally. "When I have Suffered sufficiently," the former president uttered, "the Lord will then take me to himself—but what are all my sufferings compared to those of the blessed Savior, who died upon that cursed tree for me? Mine are nothing."^[21]

In his farewell address in 1837, Jackson reflected on the role of God in America: “Providence has showered on this favored land blessings without number, and has chosen you as the guardians of freedom, to preserve it for the benefit of the human race."^[22]

Presidential campaigns[edit]

His military success gave him tremendous popularity with the common man, and he ran for president in the 1824 Presidential Election. He won a plurality of the votes but no one got a majority and the election went into the House of Representatives, where they chose John Quincy Adams instead. At the next Presidential Election in 1828 Jackson defeated John Quincy Adams, and then Jackson won reelection in the 1832 Presidential Election. Jackson survived an assassination attempt in January 1835 when a deranged man fired two pistols at him at point blank range in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.^[23]

Although Jackson won the 1828 election against incumbent John Quincy Adams by capturing almost 56% of the popular vote, the campaign was marked by anti-Jackson rhetoric that centered on Rachel Jackson's previous marriage to Lewis Robards and the allegedly "illicit union to Jackson"—that is, bigamy. Jackson's supporters portrayed the Robards matter as a minor legal misunderstanding. Adams's supporters saw the incident as no less than long-term adultery by Andrew Jackson and portrayed Rachel Jackson as an immoral woman, implying the political dilemma that 'a vote for Jackson was a vote for sin.' The controversy paralleled a critical development in American politics. Expansion in voter participation, the growth of state political organizations, party loyalty, and the development of local campaign papers all led to the wide dissemination of scandal and fed 'the hunger of sensationalism.' To offset this, Jackson's supporters portrayed him as a brave soldier endowed with the virtues of manhood and the frontier spirit, placing him outside the usual social constraints.^[24]

Issues[edit]

Banks[edit]

Jackson was firmly opposed to a national bank, and fought to dismantle the Second Bank of the United States. He vetoed Congress's bill to renew its charter, and began withdrawing money from it. He issued the Specie Circular in July 1836, which required land bought from the government to be paid for in specie (actual gold or silver coins), instead of bank notes. Most historians link this to the Panic of 1837, which broke out weeks after Jackson had left office and ruined the presidency of his successor, fellow Democrat Martin Van Buren.

Indian extermination[edit]

See also: White privilege

Jackson, with the backing of Southern politicians, sought to abrogate the standing treaties with the Chickasaw, Cherokee, Seminole, Creek, and Choctaw nations by evicting them from the land they lived on and relocating them to Indian territory (in present-day Oklahoma). The idea was roundly decried as illegal and inhumane by evangelical Protestants, who had missionaries to the tribes, and by Whigs. Advocates of forced removal, mostly Democrats from the South, called removal a 'humane' and 'compassionate' move to assist a 'dying people.' The debate surrounding removal quickly became a north–south issue with Southern politicians calling their Northern counterparts 'demagogues' who sought 'to weaken the South' by allowing Indians to remain. In 1830, the resolution was approved by Congress and, assisted by Georgia state officials, Jackson began the process of evicting Native Americans. By 1835 the Cherokee, the last remaining Indian nation in the South, had signed the removal treaty and relocated to Oklahoma.^[25]

Cave (2003) argues Jackson acted illegally in pressuring Indians to move west of the Mississippi River in the 1830s. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 called for voluntary removal and included safeguards for Indian rights, but Jackson ignored and distorted the act to suit his purposes. The newly formed Whig Party actively opposed Jackson's policies, and congressional legislation dealing with Indian removal was hotly debated and passed only by narrow margins. Had Jackson followed the legal dictates of the 1830 act, he probably would not have achieved Indian removal, says Cave. However Remini (2001) argued that the worst Jackson could be accused of was carrying out what most southern whites wanted at the time.^[26]

Democracy[edit]

See Jacksonian Democracy

Jackson thought the voice of the people was supreme law. Although a man of powerful prejudices and passions, he identified with the voice of the people, and thought his election as president gave him the unique power to express that voice. His opponents misunderstood the voice and lacked the legitimate national base in any case. Thus Jackson denounced anyone who crossed him an enemy of the sovereign people. To fulfill this voice of the people in the political arena, he thought that the preservation of states' rights was an indispensable precondition to the achievement of people-oriented democracy. Although Jackson's record was erratic, when his presidency was done, federal authority was vastly weaker, and the states, for practical purposes, were much stronger than before, though as the Nullification crisis proved, he would not tolerate defiance.

Personal life[edit]

As a young man, Jackson was a gambler who frequented brothels.^[27] He met a married woman (Rachel Donelson Robards) and reportedly broke up her marriage with his affections for her.^[28] Jackson eloped with this married woman while her husband was suing her for divorce (unusual in those days) on the grounds of adultery. Jackson's marriage to her constituted bigamy, a crime punishable by death under English common law, and Jackson remarried her after her divorce became final.

In one of many duels initiated by Jackson, he murdered a man who accused his wife of being a bigamist, as Jackson reportedly violated the rules of duels by firing twice at him.^[29]

Retirement and death[edit]

After honoring the precedent of George Washington to resign after serving two terms as president, Jackson then supported and advised many future candidates, most notably James K. Polk.

Jackson died on June 8, 1845. Since 1928, Jackson's picture has appeared on the United States $20 bill - somewhat ironic given that Jackson opposed paper money, wanting the country to use specie (gold and silver) instead.

Quotes[edit]

• Referring to the Bible: “That book, Sir, is the Rock upon which our republic rests.”^[30]
• "No people can flourish without true, genuine religion, which expels hypocrisy and deceit from their walks, purifies society, and calls down blessings upon a nation from above."^[31]
• "No free government can stand without virtue in the people and a lofty spirit of patriotism."^[32]
• "It is from within, among yourselves, from cupidity, from corruption, from disappointed ambition, and inordinate thirst for power that factions will be formed and liberty endangered. It is against such designs, whatever disguise the actors may assume, that you have especially to guard yourselves."^[33]
• "There is no real content and happiness in this world but what is produced by the consolations of religion, derived from the promises contained in the Scriptures."^[34]
• "True religion is calculated to make us happy not only in this, but in the next and better world, and therefore it was his [General Coffee's] regret that he had not joined the church. It is a profitable admonition to his family, that they may all become members of the church at an early day, for it is in religion alone that we can find consolation for such bereavements as the loss of our dear friend; it is religion alone that ever gives peace to us here and happiness beyond the grave; it is religion alone that can support us in our declining years, when our relish is lost for all sublunary enjoyments."^[35]
• "We all know [Moor and Poindexter] never had any moral principle, and when this is the case, such men never can be relied on in maintaining sound political principles—we know that men without moral principle, can always be corrupted by ambitious demagogues and are unworthy of trust by a virtuous people."^[36]
• "I am and I hope always have been a supporter of religion. Virtue is the basis of all republics. It is the sure foundation of temperance & charity which must be possessed by all who are really Christians—and I only lament that there are too many professors, who if judged by their fruit, do not possess it. When temperance and charity prevail, religion must flourish."^[37]
• "Our Government rests upon virtue. Its pillars, you see, are becoming rotten, and unless repaired by the virtue of the people, the fair fabric of liberty must tumble."^[38]
• In his inaugural address: "It is my fervent prayer to that Almighty Being before whom I now stand, and who has kept us in His hands from the infancy of our Republic to the present day ... that He will ... inspire the hearts of my fellow-citizens that we may be preserved from danger."^[39]
• Last words before dying: “What is the matter with my dear children? Have I alarmed you? Oh, do not cry. Be good children and we will all meet in Heaven. I hope to meet each of you in heaven. Be good, children, all of you, and strive to be ready when the change comes. I want to meet you all, white and black, in Heaven.”^[40][41]
• "It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their own selfish purposes."^[42]
• "To the people belongs the right of electing their Chief Magistrate; it was never designed that their choice should in any case be defeated, either by the intervention of electoral colleges or by the agency confided, under certain contingencies, to the House of Representatives."^[43]

Jefferson - Jackson Dinners[edit]

The United States Democrat Party claims Jackson and Thomas Jefferson as two of its key founding members. Although this claim is a bit of a stretch, for decades the Democrats have honored these two presidents by holding fund-raising events called "Jefferson-Jackson Dinners." Recently, in an act of extreme "political correctness", activists have demanded that these events be renamed on the grounds that Jefferson held slaves and Jackson mistreated Native Americans. Many units of the Democrat Party have given into these arguments and are denouncing and dishonoring two of what most Americans view as great Presidents.^[44][45][46]

Further reading[edit]

Biographies[edit]

• Brands, H. W. Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times (2005), scholarly biography emphasizing military career excerpt and text search
• Brustein, Andrew. The Passions of Andrew Jackson. (2003). online review by Donald B. Cole
• Hofstadter, Richard. The American Political Tradition (1948), chapter on Jackson. online in ACLS e-books
• James, Marquis. The Life of Andrew Jackson (1938). Combines two books: The Border Captain and Andrew Jackson: Portrait of a President; Pulitzer Prize for Biography; old fashioned action-packed narrative
• Meacham, Jon. American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House (2009), excerpt and text search
• Parton, James. Life of Andrew Jackson (1860). Volume I, Volume III.
• Remini, Robert V. The Life of Andrew Jackson. Abridgment of Remini's 3-volume standard scholarly biography, (1998)
  • Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Empire, 1767-1821 (1977); Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Freedom, 1822-1832 (1981); Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Democracy, 1833-1845 (1984)
• Wilentz, Sean. Andrew Jackson (2005) short biography, stressing Indian removal and slavery issues excerpt and text search

Specialized Studies[edit]

• Doutrich, Paul E. Shapers of the Great Debate on Jacksonian Democracy: A Biographical Dictionary. (2004). 360 pp. online edition
• Gammon, Samuel Rhea. The Presidential Campaign of 1832 (1922) online edition
• Feller, Daniel. "The Bank War," in Julian E. Zelizer, ed. The American Congress (2004), pp 93–111.
• Hammond, Bray. "Jackson, Biddle, and the Bank of the United States," The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 7, No. 1 (May, 1947), pp. 1–23 at JSTOR
• Hammond, Bray. Banks and Politics in America from the Revolution to the Civil War (1957). Pulitzer prize winner; the standard history. Pro-Bank
• Hammond, Bray. "The Second Bank of the United States. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, New Ser., Vol. 43, No. 1 (1953), pp. 80-85 in JSTOR
• Howe, Daniel Walker. What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848 (2007), outstanding survey of the era by conservative historian who dislikes Jackson; Pulitzer prize. excerpt and text search
• Latner Richard B. The Presidency of Andrew Jackson: White House Politics, 1820-1837 (1979), standard survey.
• Magliocca, Gerard N. Andrew Jackson and the Constitution: The Rise and Fall of Generational Regimes, (2007); 216 pages
• Ogg, Frederic Austin ; The Reign of Andrew Jackson: A Chronicle of the Frontier in Politics 1919. short survey online at Gutenberg
• Patterson, Benton Rain. The Generals: Andrew Jackson, Sir Edward Pakenham, and the Road to the Battle of New Orleans. (2005). 288 pp.
• Ratner, Lorman A. Andrew Jackson and His Tennessee Lieutenants: A Study in Political Culture (1997) online edition
• Remini Robert V. Andrew Jackson and the Bank War: A Study in the Growth of Presidential Power (1967). Pro-Jackson.
• Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr. The Age of Jackson. (1945). Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History. history of ideas of the era; strongly pro-Jackson, who is seen as an anti-business model for FDR
• Sellers, Charles. The Market Revolution: Jacksonian America, 1815-1846. (1991) influential liberal interpretation; anti-business; refuted by Howe (2007) online edition
• Syrett, Harold C. Andrew Jackson: His Contribution to the American Tradition (1953) online edition

Indian Wars and Removal[edit]

• Buchanan, John. Jackson's Way: Andrew Jackson and the People of the Western Waters. (2001). 434 pp. online review
• Cave, Alfred A. "Abuse of Power: Andrew Jackson and the Indian Removal Act of 1830." Historian 2003 65(6): 1330–1353. Issn: 0018-2370 Fulltext: online at Swetswise, Ingenta and Ebsco
• O'Brien, Sean Michael. In Bitterness and in Tears: Andrew Jackson's Destruction of the Creeks and Seminoles. (2003). 254 pp.
• Remini, Robert V.. The Legacy of Andrew Jackson: Essays on Democracy, Indian Removal, and Slavery (1988)
• Remini, Robert V. Andrew Jackson and his Indian Wars (2001)
• Remini, Robert V. "Andrew Jackson Versus the Cherokee Nation." American History 2001 36(3): 48–56. Issn: 1076-8866 Fulltext: in Ebsco
• Rowland, Dunbar. Andrew Jackson's Campaign against the British, or, the Mississippi Territory in the War of 1812, concerning the Military Operations of the Americans, Creek Indians, British, and Spanish, 1813-1815 (1926) online edition
• Satz, Ronald N. American Indian Policy in the Jacksonian Era. (1975)
• Wallace, Anthony F.C. The Long, Bitter Trail: Andrew Jackson and the Indians (1993)

Primary sources[edit]

• Bassett John Spencer, ed. Correspondence of Andrew Jackson Vols. 1-6. (1926).
• Smith Sam B., and Harriet Chappell Owsley, eds. Papers of Andrew Jackson . Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, Vol. 1, 1980; Moser Harold D., Sharon MacPherson, and Charles F. Bryan Jr., eds. The Papers of Andrew Jackson. Vols. 2-6. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2002; the latest vol 6 goes to 1828.
• online speeches and presidential messages

Historiography[edit]

• Bugg Jr., James L. ed. Jacksonian Democracy: Myth or Reality?. (1962) debates among historians online edition
• Cave, Alfred A. Jacksonian Democracy and the Historians, U, of Florida Press, 1970
• Sellers, Jr. Charles Grier. "Andrew Jackson versus the Historians," The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. 44, No. 4. (Mar., 1958), pp. 615-634. in JSTOR
• Taylor, George Rogers, ed. Jackson Versus Biddle: The Struggle over the Second Bank of the United States (1949), excerpts from primary and secondary sources online edition
• Ward, John William. Andrew Jackson, Symbol for an Age (1962) how writers saw him online edition

See also[edit]

• Gallery of American Heroes

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Works by Andrew Jackson - text and free audio - LibriVox
• A Review of "In Defense of Andrew Jackson", by James Heiser of The New American
• Six reasons to leave Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill, by Philip Leigh, September 26, 2019.

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