Life of Andrew Jackson

Early Life

• Jackson was born in 1767 to a poor family living on the northern border of South Carolina

• During the Revolutionary War, Jackson and his brother fought with the American irregulars, as they were too young for the regular army

• After being admitted to the bar in 1787, Jackson became a public prosecutor and built his legal practice in Nashville, which was then a part of North Carolina

Political Rise• In 1795 Jackson was a

delegate to the Tennessee state constitutional convention

• He was one of Tennessee's first congressmen before becoming a senator

• In 1802 he became the major general in charge of the state militia

Creek Wars

• In 1813, the US army became involved in a tribal dispute over assimilation in the Creek Confederacy

• As a general in this war, Jackson was first noticed as a military hero

• In 1814 the war ended with the Treaty of Fort Jackson, in which the Creeks were forced to give up half of their lands, totaling 22 million acres

Presidential Election• Jackson ran for

president in 1824, losing to John Quincy Adams

• He won the election of 1828 against Adams, and was reelected in 1832

Spoils System

• During his campaign Jackson accused the Adams administration of fraud and corruption

• Once elected he enacted large purges of high ranking government officials

• The replacements for these offices were given out as rewards for political services and favors to friends

• This became known as the “spoils system,” based on the idea of spoils of war

Indian Removal• The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was specifically requested by

Jackson and mandated the removal of the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Cherokee tribes to western territories

• 1n 1831, after the Cherokee protested the legality of the bill, the Supreme Court ruled that the tribes were independent of federal authority

• Ignoring this ruling, and with Jackson’s support, the state of Georgia began creating removal treaties with various factions of the tribes

• The treaties, which promised payment for eastern lands and safe transportation, were compromised by federal cost saving efforts that prevented federal protection and led to the hiring of corrupt contractors

The Bank• The Bank of the United States was a semi-public

organization that managed federal finances and issued currency

• When congress renewed the charter of the Second Bank of the United States in 1832, Jackson vetoed the bill

• His veto message attacked the foreign ownership of bank stock and the privileges by private ownership of stock in an organization chartered by Congress

Nullification Crisis

• In 1833 South Carolina declared a federal tariff unconstitutional and decided to block the collections of federal customs revenues in the state’s ports

• Jackson responded by encouraging Congress to reduce the tariff and writing a proclamation against nullification

• Henry Clay, an opponent of Jackson’s, joined with John Calhoun to write and pass a bill that gradually reduced the tariff

Life After the Presidency

• After his presidency Jackson retired to his Nashville, TN home, The Hermitage

• He was consulted by John Tyler, and supported an annexation of Texas

• He died at his home in 1845

Works Cited

• "Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights." The Creek War, 1813-1814. Rutgers, n.d. Web. 28 June 2015.

• "Miller Center." American President: Andrew Jackson: A Life in Brief. University of Virginia, n.d. Web. 28 June 2015.

• "War Hero | General Andrew Jackson in the War of 1812." The Hermitage. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 June 2015.