Andrew Jackson
1829 - 1837
Seventh President
Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767 in Waxhaws, South Carolina. The Waxhaw settlement is very close to North Carolina. So historian aren't completely sure he wasn't born in North Carolina. He is the only President that the state of his birth is in question.
He was born before the United States was a nation. He was born to immigrant parents. Jackson was the only first generation American to become President.
President Jackson was one of six Presidents born in a log cabin.
Historian can't agree if he was born in North or South Carolina.
Andrew Jackson was a Presbyterian.
At the age of 13, he joined the Army to fight in the Revolutionary War.
President Jackson was the only President who served in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
Tragedy struck the Jackson household just before he was to leave for Washington, DC to be sworn in as President. Shortly after 9:00 PM on Monday, December 22, 1828 Jackson's wife Rachel died. She had been sick for only five days. She died of a heart attack.
He was a lawyer by trade.
Andrew Jackson was the first President to ride on a railroad train. He rode on a Baltimore and Ohio train from Ellicott's Mill, MD to Baltimore. (John Quincy had also taken that train, but not while he was President.)
At one time he owned slaves.
Statue of Andrew Jackson
The issues of the day were taxes and slavery.
President Jackson was one of three presidents to have adopted children.
Andrew Jackson was involved in many duels. In 1806, in a duel against Charles Dickinson over some unflattering remarks made about Jackson's wife, Jackson was wounded. He then fired, killing 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 life.
For a number of years he carried two bullets in his body.
In 1828, Jackson made one of the first campaign tours. He traveled to New Orleans to campaign for president.
John Calhoun - Andrew Jackson's VP, resigned in 1832 to accept election to the Senate. He was one of two Vice Presidents to resign. (See Ford). From (1832-1833) Andrew Jackson didn't have a Vice President.
When John Quincy Adams lost to Andrew Jackson in the election of 1828, the town of Adams, New Hampshire, changed its name to Jackson. The town had been named in 1800 to honor the election of John Adams.
Andrew Jackson bought 20 spittoons for the East Room for $12.50 each. Some said it was a great waste of government money while others said it would save the White House carpets.
Andrew Jackson advisors were known as the "Kitchen Cabinet."
He raised 11 children, none of them his own.
Andrew had a pet parrot named Poll. The parrot screamed curse words at his funeral.
Andrew Jackson was the first president to ride on a railroad train. The train ride lasted for 12 miles.
On May 6, 1883 while on a steamboat trip to Fredericksburg, Virginia a former navy officer attacked President Jackson. He didn't have a weapon but did draw blood during his attack. It was the first time an American President had been assaulted or involved in an assassination attempt.
During his term some Native Americans were moved from Florida to reservations in Oklahoma. This was a harsh move for those tribes.
His picture is on the $20 bill.
Andrew Jackson was also the first President to almost be murdered. While he was at a funeral, Richard Lawrence took out a pistol and shot at him at point-blank range. The gun misfired. He took out another one, and it too misfired. Jackson then tackled the man to the ground.
Andrew Jackson died on June 8, 1845. He was 78.
Quotes from Andrew Jackson
"You are a den of vipers and thieves. I intend to rout you out, and the eternal God, I will rout you out." Words to a delegation of bankers, 1832.
Andrew Jackson promised his niece, Sarah Childress, “Daughter, I will put you in the White House if it cost me my life.” He did. She married James K. Polk.
|