Life of Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was the 7th president of the U.S.A. Did you know he was the first president to have an attempted assassination? He was born of immigrants and had a tough childhood. This made him more inclined to join the militia. All of this made him a strong president.

Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767. He was born in the Waxhaw region on the border between North and South Carolina. Both North and South Carolina claim he was born in their state. He was the first President to be born in a log cabin.

Andrew Jackson’s parents, Andrew and Elizabeth, were Ireland immigrants. They had three sons, Hugh, Robert, and Andrew. Andrew’s dad died shortly before he was born.

Andrew Jackson lived in his aunt’s house with his mother and his brothers. He began school at the age of six. He had a bad temper and liked pranks and fighting.

In 1780, America was fighting the British in the Revolutionary War. At the age of 13, he joined the militia with his older brother Robert. They were captured by the British and when a British officer asked Andrew to shine his shoes, he refused. The officer slashed his hand to the bone and slashed his face, leaving two devastating scars. In the prison cell, Andrew and Robert caught smallpox. Soon after their release, their mom came and took them home, and two days after they got home, Robert died. Andrew was very sick for many weeks. When he was 14, his mom died of cholera. He was left an orphan with no mom, no dad and no brothers.

Andrew Jackson studied to become a lawyer and then he moved to Tennessee, where he bought a lot of property and about 150 slaves. He married Rachael Robards. They never had any children, but they served as guardians for several orphans who kept Rachael company when Andrew was away.

Andrew had a fiery temper. He would challenge to a duel anyone who disrespected his honor, like Charles Dickinson, who called him “a worthless scoundrel, a paltroon and a coward.” When Dickinson fired and hit him in the chest, narrowly missing his heart, Jackson stood back up despite the serious injury and fired and struck his foe dead. He carried that bullet along with a subsequent bullet from another duel in his body for the rest of his life.

Andrew Jackson was an Indian fighter. Native Americans in Tennessee were attacking white settlers, including women and children. Andrew went to go and fight them. The people helping him fight said that he was good in battle.

Andrew was a Major General in the militia for more than a decade. During this time as part of his military career he fought Native Americans. When he was carrying injured men on his horse, buying supplies out of his own pocket and keeping their spirits up he got his got his nickname “Old Hickory” for being tough.

Andrew Jackson was elected President in 1828 and took office in 1829. He was a Democrat. He with the 7th President of the United States. He thought he was the voice of the common man. He asked to be called General, not Mr. President. He was a gambler who brought his own race horses to the White House. He was considered to have created a more powerful Presidency by taking away power from Congress. He served two terms as President.

He was the first President to have an attempted assassination. On January 30, 1835, he was leaving the U.S. Capitol when a house painter named Richard Lawrence fired a pistol at the President. When the gun misfired, he took out a second gun, squeezed the trigger and the gun misfired again. The super-mad Jackson ran after Lawrence and beat him with his cane. The chance that both guns would misfire was 125,000 to 1, so he was super lucky.

While Jackson was President, he used his power to overpower the court. For example, when the court ruled that the Cherokee Indians could stay living in Georgia, Andrew sent soldiers anyway and enforced the Indian Removal Act. He made them move in the dead of winter. Thousands died, and this was called the Trail of Tears.

Andrew Jackson died on June 8, 1845. He had been sick for many years and eventually he died. He was buried next to his beloved wife at their home in Tennessee.

Most people know Andrew Jackson as a tough, fiery tempered person. He was one of the nation’s strongest presidents. He made a more powerful presidency by enforcing his will over the economy and the court.

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