Andrew Jackson is one of the most celebrated and controversial presidents in the history of the United States. He was a strong leader, but might have been too stubborn. Did he do more harm then good? We’ll have to look at his story in order to find out.
Jackson was born on March 15, 1767, in the border between North and South Carolina. At age thirteen, Jackson joined the colonies to fight the British in the Revolutionary War. There is a famous story where Jackson was captured by the British. An officer ordered Jackson to clean his shoes, but Jackson refused. The angry officer slashed Jackson with his sword, scarring Jackson’s face and left hand. This incident along with the loss of his family during the war caused Jackson to hate the British forever. Kind of like Batman (a little bit).
(A young Jackson stands up to the British officer.)
Jackson had his chance to get revenge when he fought in the War of 1812. He was the major general of the Tennessee militia. Jackson successfully defeated the “Red Stick” Creek Indians in 1814 at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. Jackson had all the Indians killed except for the chief Red Eagle. Red Eagle was a mixed-race man of “white and red”. It might appear that Jackson was being racist, but there is another more logical explanation. He kept Red Eagle alive because he thought “Red Eagle” was a cool name. Jackson received the nick name “Old Hickory” after the tree. A hickory tree is known for its tough wood and big nuts. No, “Old Hickory” was NOT Jackson’s porn name. Get your mind out of the gutter. Jackson got the nickname “Old Hickory” after he demonstrated his tough personality when he commanded his troops to victory at the Battle of New Orleans. The War of 1812 made Jackson a hero like Superman. However, Jackson had also shown his darker side in New Orleans.
(Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans)
Jackson declared martial law in the city of New Orleans. He arrested people which included a Louisiana legislator and a U.S. District Court Judge that question his morality. They criticized Jackson for holding a British militia, even tough at that point the British had surrendered and the war was over. Jackson ended up executing the militia. Hewas about as friendly as the general from James Cameron’s, Avatar.
Jackson showed his tough attitude again in the First Seminole War. Jackson fought the Creek Indians and the Seminoles by seizing Florida. He kicked out the Spanish governor, executed two British officers that had assisted the Indians, and burned down villages. He may have gone too far. Despite the fact he almost caused an international incident, Jackson was still seen as a hero.
Jackson was a presidential candidate in the election of 1824, but lost. He ran again in 1828 and won. If you have made the joke that the reason the symbol of the Democratic party is a donkey because Democrats are a bunch of jackasses then you were right. Jackson’s opponents labeled him as a jackass. Jackson took pride in the name and made it his symbol. Jackson was also reelected in 1832. Jackson did a lot during his eight years as president.
Jackson had a philosophy referred to now as Jacksonian democracy. Philosophical ideals included everyone had the right to vote (and by “everyone” I mean all WHITE men). Jackson believed in Manifest Destiny; the idea that Americans would control the West. He developed the controversial Spoils System. A system where he appointed his supporters in important positions. Nothing cries “democracy” more than a man that gives all the power to his friends, so he can get what he wants and block out his opponents.
It’s a good thing for Wall Street bankers that Jackson isn’t alive today because he would have them executed. Jackson hated the national bank and destroyed it because of its wealth and influence over politicians. However, doing this did lead to economic troubles in the Panic of 1837. Fortunately, for Jackson, he was not the president anymore when it hit, so it was not his problem.
(Jackson fights of the national bank(depicted as a serpent).)
The Nullification Crisis is another controversy in the Jackson presidency. South Carolina blamed the high tariffs for their struggles. The Tariff Act of 1828 was put in place, so products would be manufactured in America rather than be imported from Europe. However, the high tariffs made it seem the Northern businesses were profiting off the misery of southern farmers. Jackson passed the Tariff Act of 1832 to reduce the tariffs, but South Carolina was still not satisfied. So, the state decided it did not want to follow the rules of the tariff acts. Two bills were passed to settle this dispute. One of them was a compromise that satisfied South Carolina. However, the one that might have been more effective was the Force Bill, which stated Jackson can use the military to attack South Carolina. So either South Carolina could agree or burn down in flames.
The most infamous moment of the Jackson presidency was the Trail of Tears. Native Americans were constantly in the way of the whites. It must have been really annoying for the whites to takeover the natives’ land when they kept fighting back. There was two solutions. They could move the natives or they could exterminate them all. Jackson decided to move the natives and make their journey so hellish, the natives would wish the whites had just chosen to exterminate them. Jackson was good at compromising. In 1831, Jackson began to move several Native American tribes from the Deep South. Those that moved westward faced a perilous journey of bad weather and starvation. More than 45,000 Native Americans were relocated and over 4,000 were killed.
Jackson was clearly a very harsh man, but he was not as hated as you might think. He was shot at only once. On January 20, 1835, Richard Lawerence fired two shots at Jackson, but his gun misfired both times. People believed Jackson was so bad ass he scared the bullets back into the pistol. The man blamed Jackson for the loss of his job and he even referred to himself as Richard III. He was deemed insane and suicidal, because you have to be both of those things if you try to go against Jackson.
(An artist’s depiction of the attempted assassination.)
After his presidency, Jackson retired and relaxed until his death on June 8, 1845. It should be noted that on the last day of his presidency, Jackson last statement was not an apology for some of the mistakes he had made. He said, his only regret was that he “had been unable to shoot Henry Clay or to hang John C. Calhoun.”
What can we learn from Jackson? Jackson did have good intentions by wanting to make the American democracy accessible to everyone (and by “everyone” I mean white men). He knew politicians were corrupt by money and power. However, he never realized that the power of the presidency had gotten to his head. It was his way or the highway(or the way to the West if we are referring to the Trail of Tears). His arrogance and stubbornness did do some harm the country economically and people. However, at the same time he was a representation of the American hero. Sort of like a democratic Ronald Reagan.
This has been the fourth installment of the Interesting Biographies series. Follow my blog for more posts like this in the future. Also look at some of my previous biographies. Leave a comment if there is someone you want me to do a humorous biography on.
Blake Bradford 