Andrew JacksonThe Seventh President of the United States

Joseph Chamul, Matthew Castro, Jairo Chen, Alec Diaz, and Nick Lira

Childhood

His father died before he was born. At age 13, Jackson joined a local militia and served as a courier during the Revolutionary War.  His mother died of cholera in 1779and in the same year both of his brothers

diedduring the Revolutionary War. Andrew Jackson grew up an orphan

from the age of 14.

Leading up to His Presidency…

Jackson had a variety of jobs leading up to his presidency including : Prosecutor (1787) Tennessee's first representative in the

U.S. House of Representative (1796) Senator (1797) Judge of the Tennessee Supreme Court

(1798) Owned a plantation  in Davidson County,

Tennessee, called the Hermitage (1804).

Military History

In the War of 1812 he led his troops to victory against the Creek Indians at Horseshoe Bend, killing some 800 warriors and procuring 20 million acres of land.  Later he led 5,000 soldiers to defeat 7,500

British in New Orleans, on January 8, 1815, and was named a national hero. 

During the First Seminole War, in 1817, Jackson and his troops captured Pensacola, Florida and overthrew West Florida Governor José Masot.

Running for President

In 1822, Jackson was re-elected to the Senate. State parties rallied for his nomination and in 1824,

he was nominated for the presidency. Although he was the most popular candidate, he lost

the election when the House of Representatives voted for his rival, John Adams.

Adams’ victory was because of an alleged deal to give Adams the election in exchange for Henry Clay's secretary of state seat. This became known as the Corrupt Bargain.

In response to the House's decision Jackson was re-nominated by the people in 1825. This caused the Democratic-Republican party to split into two.

Running for President (cont.)

Jackson won the presidential election of 1828 by a landslide.

His opponents nicknamed him "jackass," a nickname Jackson took a liking to. Eventually, he used the symbol of a donkey to represent himself . It would later become the emblem of the Democratic Party.

Presidency Jackson was well-known for his volatile

Temper and aggressiveness with Congress.

He strongly believed in giving electoral power to the people.

He created the spoils system, a system where the winning presidential candidate gives government jobs to his supporters.

Jackson became involved in a battle with the Second Bank of the United States, a theoretically private corporation that

actually served as a government-sponsored monopoly. Jackson charged the bank with disproportionate economic privilege.

Presidency (cont.)

In 1832, Jackson won his re-election campaign against Henry Clay.

In 1835, the United States became debt free (briefly) for the only time in history.

Jackson made some bad decisions during his presidency, including the relocation of the 15,000 Cherokee Indians with the Treaty of New Echota. 4,000 Native Americans died, resulting in the Trail of Tears.

Death A duel on May 30, 1806 against Charles

Dickinson was over some unflattering remarks made about Jackson's wife. In this duel Jackson was wounded. After he was hit, he took aim and fired at Dickinson. Jackson took aim and killed Dickinson. The bullet that wounded Jackson was lodged near his heart and could not be safely removed. He carried that bullet in his chest for the rest of his days.

-From the POTUS Library Jackson died from prolonged lead poisoning in

1845.

Citations

http://www.biography.com/people/andrew-jackson-9350991#personal-life

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/andrewjackson

http://millercenter.org/president/jackson

http://www.thehermitage.com/jackson-family/andrew-jackson

http://www.ipl.org/div/potus/ajackson.html