Library of Congress
- NAME – Andrew Jackson
- NICKNAME(S) – Old Hickory / The Duel Fighter / Hero of New Orleans / Old Rugged
- BIRTH / DEATH – March 15, 1767 Waxhaws, Carolinas / 1845 – Nashville
- FATHER – died before he was born
- MOTHER – housewife
- COLLEGE – none
- WIFE – Rachel
- KIDS – adopted one boy, raised others
- PETS – several horses / parrot (Poll)
- RELIGION – Presbyterian
- ANCESTRY – Scotch-Irish
- AGE – 61
FIRSTS:
– first man elected to the House of Representatives from Tennessee
– first President to ride on a train
– first President born west of the Appalachians
MA AND PA:
BACKGROUND:
– becomes a lawyer
– Congressman and Senator 1796-8
– Justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court 1798 – 1804
– 1815 Battle of New Orleans
– Governor of the Florida Territory
– U.S. Senator 1823-25
– President 1829-1837
FIRST LADY: Rachel’s father was a politician. She met future Presidents Washington and Jefferson through her father. She met Jackson at her father’s boarding house. She played the harpsichord. She smoked a pipe.
RETIREMENT: He retired to the Hermitage. In 1845, his health deteriorated. His last words were: “Be good children and we shall all meet in heaven.”
TRIVIA:
– enjoyed horse racing, cockfighting, and gambling on cards
– only President to have been a prisoner of war; as a teenager he was an orderly and messenger in the Revolutionary War; was captured by the British and beaten because he refused to shine the boots of a British officer; his brother was also captured and died of smallpox; his mother came and helped nurse the prisoners, she died of cholera, leaving him an orphan at age 14
– had a parrot that knew all kinds of curse words and had to be removed from the room when ladies were present; the bird created quite a stir at his funeral; Jackson also kept fighting roosters and participated in cockfighting, even when President
ANECDOTES
THE BULLET
In 1813, he took a bullet in the shoulder during a brawl with Thomas and Jesse Benton. A doctor suggested amputation, but Jackson said: “I’ll keep my arm.” It was felt safer to keep the bullet where it was. The bullet caused increasing pain for the next nineteen years. Over the years, Jackson and Thomas Benton became friends and political allies. Eventually a doctor told him he could remove the bullet and did so in a chair without anesthesia. The bullet popped onto the floor. Benton, who was in the room at the time, was offered the bullet, but he refused: “Jackson has acquired clear title to it in common law by twenty years of peaceable possession.”
– maroon 75
THE DICKINSON DUEL
Because of the unfortunate fact that technically Rachel was married to two men at the same time, enemies of Jackson sometimes voiced their disapproval of the scandalous woman. Andrew was very protective of his wife’s reputation and challenged several men to duels over her honor. One of those men was Charles Dickinson. Dickinson was a crack shot and had killed men in duels, so Jackson’s friends tried to dissuade him from challenging him. On the day of the duel, Jackson wore a loose coat. When the signal for the duel to commence was given, the overconfident Dickinson quickly fired, expecting that to be the end of it. He was shocked to see Jackson still standing. According to dueling rules, Jackson now had his chance and Dickinson had to stand and wait for it. Some might have purposely missed, but not Jackson. He took careful aim and shot Dickinson in the groin. It was a painful and mortal wound. At that point, Jackson collapsed. His friends, thinking he had fainted, ran up to find that he had been shot in the ribs. And yet, Old Hickory was able to stand and deliver the kill shot. Later, Jackson explained: “I intended to kill him. I would have stood up long enough to kill him even if he had put a bullet in my brain.”
– maroon 20
THE EATON AFFAIR
Jackson’s Secretary of War John Eaton fell in love with and married Peggy O’Toole. She was the daughter of a tavern-keeper, which made her immediately suspected of being of low character. Plus, she had been married to a sailor who had committed suicide when he was at sea. Was it something she had done? Like going to a hotel with John Eaton. Many thought so. Including many clergymen, society in general, and all the Cabinet members’ wives. The ladies would have nothing to do with the loose woman and ostracized her. The leader of the anti-Peggy group was Floride Calhoun, wife of Vice President John Calhoun. They called her “Pothouse Peg”. Jackson was surprised by this. When Eaton had asked his opinion on the marriage, he had assured John: “Your marrying her will disprove these charges, and restore Peggy’s good name.” It did not work out that way. So Jackson called a cabinet meeting to clear the air. Clearly his experience with his scandalous marriage to Rachel had struck a nerve. He started the meeting by making the dubious declaration that Peggy was “as chaste as a virgin”. This did not convince most of the cabinet as they probably decided offending the President was preferable to reining in their wives. It was a raucous get together and Jackson ended up removing several of the Cabinet. And it may have made Martin Van Buren the next President. Secretary of State Martin Van Buren, a widower, sided with Jackson and thus earned a lot of brownie points. When Calhoun resigned as Vice President because of bad blood with Jackson, Van Buren replaced him on the ticket for 1832 and went on to be elected in 1836. That’s what they called petticoat politics.
– Whitcomb 130-131
THAT TIME JACKSON ARMED HIS SLAVES
In 1811, Jackson was returning to Nashville from Natchez, Mississippi with 26 slaves. Traveling on the Natchez Trace, they reached an area where local law officials insisted on slaveowners showing proof of ownership if transporting slaves through the area. This was to crack down on whites aiding runaway slaves. He was stopped by a law official who demanded the papers on the slaves. Jackson suspected the man was interested in confiscating his property and then selling them or putting them to work on his own plantation. He did not have any proof, other than his word, and that should have been good enough for the official. His antagonist went off to get back-up and rounded up a posse of twenty armed men. Meanwhile, Jackson unchained his slaves and armed them with clubs and axes. He marched them by the intimidated whites, who did nothing. Later, Jackson put the slaves back in chains. After returning to his plantation (the Hermitage), he sold most of them.
– Shenkman 65-66
“I THOUGHT IT WAS ONE OR T’OTHER OF YE”
A few weeks after the passing of his beloved wife Rachel, Jackson was traveling and stopped in Cincinnati. He was greeted by a crowd of well-wishers. It was balm for his depressed soul, until he shook hands with a country bumpkin. The man asked him if he was President Jackson. He had heard that Jackson was dead. Jackson: “No, Providence has hitherto preserved my life.” Man: “And is your wife alive as well?” When Jackson said sadly no, the self-satisfied commoner responded: “Aye, I thought it was the one or t’other of ye.”
– Shenkman 66-67
THE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
On January 30, 1835 Jackson attended the funeral of Congressman Warren Davis of South Carolina. Upon exiting the Capitol building, he was approached by Richard Lawrence. Lawrence aimed two pistols at Jackson from about six feet away. Both pistols misfired, although later examination showed they had been loaded properly. A firearms expert calculated that the chance of both misfiring was about 1 in 125,000. Lawrence was found insane (he insisted he was the heir to the throne of England) and put in an insane asylum.
– Shenkman 67
GUESTS TO THE WHITE HOUSE
Jackson was the first common peoples’ President. Many of his fans came for his inauguration, in a mob. Back then there was no wall around the President’s residence. They pushed their way into the White House. Some climbed in through windows. They broke china. They stood on furniture in their muddy boots. They spit tobacco juice on the carpets. Jackson was in danger of being crushed so friends gathered around him and pushed their way out the back door. The servants got the crowd out of the White House by putting big bowls of punch on the lawn. When the bumpkins were lured outside the doors were closed and locked.
– Boller 66-67
BOYS WERE MADE TO FIGHT
When he was five, his mother caught him crying. She told him to stop it because only girls were made to cry. When Andrew asked what boys were made for, his mother said: “To fight.” Supposedly, he never cried again and he certainly became a fighter.
– Boller 71