Andrew Jackson, Rise to Power - Research Paper Example

Andrew Jackson, Rise to Power Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United s of America and served two terms in office. He came from humble beginnings and was the first president to be elected by popular vote. His personal life was marred by tragedy in several instances but Jackson managed to overcome several obstacles to become president. This paper will describe Jackson’s early life and his journey towards the presidency as well as briefly providing a description of his life after being elected president. Jackson was born on the 15th of March, 1767 in the Waxhaw area between the North and South Carolina border. He was born in to a community of immigrants consisting mainly of Scottish and Irish people. Jackson’s father passed away before his birth forcing his mother to move Jackson and his two brothers, Robert and Hugh in with some relatives (Baililes, n.d). The area Jackson lived in did not provide many opportunities for getting an education. Jackson received an elementary education but little formal education after this for a number of years. His education was broken up by the invasion of the Carolinas by the British during the Revolutionary way (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010; Baililes, n.d). In essence, living in this area during the war changed Jackson’s life and ended his childhood. His entire immediate family was killed as a consequence of this war. Jackson’s eldest brother, Robert died of heatstroke after enlisting in a patriot regiment. Jackson and his younger brother, Robert who were too young at the time to enlist as formal soldiers, fought with the American irregulars (Baililes, n.d). In 1971, both Jackson and his elder brother were captured by the British and were imprisoned (Baililes, n.d). Just after his imprisonment, Jackson was asked to shine the boots of a British officer and refused. He was struck on his face with a sabre by the officer because of this. He carried a deep-rooted hatred for the British as a direct result of this incident (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010; Baililes, n.d). While imprisoned, both Jackson and his brother Robert contracted smallpox. Shortly after both the brothers were released, Robert died of this disease. Jackson’s mother too, contracted smallpox while attempting to help some relatives who were imprisoned on a British ship and died shortly after (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010). By the tender age of fifteen, Jackson was already an orphan and a war veteran. He moved from place to place and was a teacher for a while (Baililes, n.d). In his late teens, he studied law (The White House, n.d) and was accepted into the bar in North Carolina in 1787 (Baililes, n.d). In 1788, Jackson was offered a job as prosecuting attorney in the Western district of North Carolina, the region which was soon to become Nashville, Tennessee and he accepted this offer (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010). He did extremely well for himself after this building a well-established legal practice for himself and even accumulated enough revenue to buy some land and slaves and partake in trading operations (Baililes, n.d). Upon arrival in Nashville, Jackson was a boarder at the house of one of Nashville’s founding fathers, John Donelson. It was there that he met and fell in love with Rachel Donelson Robards, his daughter (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010). Rachel was separated from her husband, Lewis Robards, when she met Jackson. In 1791, Rachel and Jackson moved in together and lived as man and wife. They had a formal marriage celebration in 1794 following Rachel’s divorce. Jackson and his wife were entirely devoted to one another remained deeply in love throughout their lives (Baililes, n.d). Jackson and his wife had no biological children but they did adopt a son at birth, Andrew Jackson Donelson from Rachel’s brother Severn Donelson (Baililes, n.d). As a person, there are numerous accounts of Jackson being an extremely aggressive with a volatile temper. He was involved in several duels including one with Charles Dickinson. Jackson was shot by Dickinson and had the bullet Dickinson fired at him lodged in his chest for life In addition, he was involved in several street fights and brawls Baililes, n.d). Jackson had an undeniable strong character which was probably the primary reason for his success in politics. In 1795, he was appointed as a delegate to the state constitutional convention in Tennessee which put together a new constitution for Tennessee (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010). That was followed by Jackson becoming the first congressman in Tennessee and then a senator in quick succession. Jackson opted to leave his job in the Senate after just one year and instead took a job as a judge in Tennessee’s superior court (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010). in the year 1802, Jackson stood for election as major general in command of the state militia. He ran against Governor John Sevier, a veteran of the revolution but managed to beat him in the election. Due to the aggressive nature of Jackson, and Sevier’s bitterness at losing, a duel ensued after the election. (Baililes, n.d). In 1804, Jackson left his job as a judge and instead threw himself into the role of being militia commander and also businesses that he had undertaken. He and Rachel invested in a cotton plantation just outside of Nashville called ‘The Hermitage’ and this is where he and Rachel called home for the rest of their lives (Baililes, n.d). It appeared at this time that Jackson’s political career was over. He did however, become increasingly agitated as President’s Jefferson and Madison sought to hold the British accountable for violations in America. In 1812, the United States finally went to war with the British. Jackson led two thousand troops to Natchez to defend New Orleans but was then dismissed by the War Department. His troops were dismissed without pay but Jackson managed to hold all of them together and he even shared the men’s privatisations. It was this that earned him the nickname ‘Old Hickory’ by which he was known till his death (Baililes, n.d). When Jackson and his militia were again given an order in the field, it was to fight the allies of the British, the Creek Indians (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010). These Creek Indians had murdered over four hundred whites (Baililes, n.d) and Jackson led an operation spanning four months that defeated the Creek Indians. The final battle was the ‘Battle of Tohopeka’ in Alabama and Jackson was seen to be the hero of the West after this battle (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010). In the ensuing years, Jackson managed to broker several treaties in which not only the Creeks but also the Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Cherokees gave up several millions of acres of land (Baililes, n.d). In mid 1814, Jackson decided to move his militia to the south. He did this without any orders and his real aim was to pave the path for the US occupation of Florida, which was at time under Spanish ownership. Span and the British were allies and as far as Jackson was concerned, this made this move justifiable. Jackson managed to occupy the city and then lead his militia New Orleans where the well-known ‘Battle of New Orleans’ took place. Jackson’s troops managed to defeat the British in early 1815 and the news of what Jackson had accomplished reached Washington at a low point. A few days later the ‘treaty of Ghent’ was signed and these two events brought a collective sigh of relief to the American people and made Jackson quite the hero in the eyes of the people in most of the country (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010),second only to George Washington (Baililes, n.d). When the war with the British finally ended, Jackson was appointed commander of the Southern District. He took u this position but managed to delegate his tasks in the field to people under him and instead chose to retire to his home. Jackson was forced back into active duty at the end of 1817 as there was seen to be much unrest along the border. Jackson chose to order an invasion of Florida and a few other equally bold moves. Cabinet crisis was what resulted in Washington by Jackson appeared to have found an ally in the form of John Quincy Adams (the Secretary of State) at the time that defended him and the acquisition of Florida was actually done quicker (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010). It was in the years following the acquisition of Florida that Jackson’s political life started to take off again. He had a group of staunch supporters in the form of friends in Nashville, Tennessee who encouraged him to run for President. However, Jackson lost the 1824 election. He ran against four other men who had much more experience in politics than did he. They were Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, Secretary of the Treasury William Harris, Secretary of War John C. Calhoun and Henry Clay. The returns indicated that Jackson carried a majority winning eleven of the twenty four states; he received 43% of the popular votes and 99 electoral votes. This was less than a majority and at that point the choice between the top three contenders fell to the House of Representatives. Clay, who was by then out of the running, announced his backing for Adams and the duo managed to get the votes of thirteen states. Clay was named the Secretary of State by Adams and unfortunately for Jackson, he was out of the running. He was convinced that a ‘corrupt bargain’ had left him out of the office and began to prepare himself for a rematch in the next election (Baililes, n.d). The campaign and election of 1828 was marred by the slander and insults that were traded between Jackson and Adams. Jackson was painted as a villain and Jackson responded with some vile insults of his own (Baililes, n.d). In addition, while Rachel and Jackson had been married along time at that point, they were pointed out to be adulterers as Rachel’s divorce was not final when Jackson and she initially started living as man and wife (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010). Despite all slander, Jackson was elected President by popular vote and took office in 1829 (Baililes, n.d; Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010). Unfortunately for Jackson, tragedy decided to touch his life once again at this point. His wife Rachel passed away just after he was elected and it was widely believed that was due to the slander that was spread about her in the presidential campaign. She had attempted to avoid the public eye throughout the campaign but the slander upset her very much (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010). The election of 1828 was definitely a momentous occasion in US history. Jackson was the first president who was elected by popular vote, he was the first president to have risen up from poverty and he had no set plan for the country when he became president. In making decisions while in office, Jackson largely relied on his group of friends who had supported him and helped him get elected. They were nicknamed his ‘kitchen cabinet’ (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010). In addition to relying on his ‘kitchen cabinet’, Jackson also set out to seek revenge on his opponents though he claimed to be initiating reform. Another thing on Jackson’s agenda was the removal of Indians, mainly from the southwest (Baililes, n.d). Several papers written about Jackson’s time as president all detail the ill treatment of Indians by Jackson. Jackson believed that the whites were superior to Indians and that subordinating them was the only means of control. Jackson personally went and met with the five major Indian tribes Seminole, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek, and Choctaw even after becoming president to talk to the tribal chiefs. It appears that during these meetings, Jackson displayed a dictatorship role and made the Indians seem like wards of the US (Black, 2005). In several cases, the use of excessive force was used to remove Indians. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 did not sanction what Jackson set out to do. This Act dealt with voluntary removal of the Indians. It is doubtful whether Jackson could have achieved his aims of removing Indians had he stayed within the legislative boundaries (Cave, n.d). In fact, when gold was discovered on land occupied by the Cherokees, the Cherokees proceeded to appeal to the Supreme Court to allow them to stay on this land. The Supreme Court ruled in their favour but this did not stop their removal from this land. The disregard Jackson had for the Supreme Court was definitely a black mark on his record (Baililes, n.d). Jackson was not in the best of health when he was elected to his first term of office and it was unexpected that he ran for a second term. He did, however win a second term in office and was widely popular (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010). Both of Jackson’s in office were characterised mainly by the birth of a modern democracy that was born in his time. In addition, he brought with him to the President’s House, several characteristics that future presidents all strived to have which included a connection with the general masses of people, time served in the military and a devotion to democracy. Upon his election, Jackson was a single aspirant of the President’s job, upon his departure, he left an extremely well put together Democratic Party (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010). Jackson retired from public life after his second term was over and spent the last eight years of his life at the Hermitage (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010). Jackson’s health was declining but he found it impossible to let go of the political life completely. His successor Martin Van Buren was a close friend of his and he actively advised him during his term as President. However, in 1845, on the 4th of June, Jackson finally gave into illness and passed away. He was surrounded by his friends and family at the time of his passing at the Hermitage and was buried in the garden next to Rachel (Baililes, n.d). To sum up, Jackson’s presidency left a substantial mark on US politics that still carries through today. Jackson’s legacy was definitely in the formation of the Democratic Party. In addition, he was possibly the first president who was elected by the masses of people and attempted to serve the masses of people. He spoke directly to them and was fiercely patriotic. His years of military service were also seen as an asset as were his humble beginnings. Presidents from that day forward have attempted to emulate these characteristics which are deemed desirable to Presidency. Due to his fierce patriotism, Jackson is also well known for mistreatment of the Indians and for being largely responsible for ordering removal of several tribes from their homes. It was not just the Indians that Jackson thought were subordinates, he held a major dislike for the British too. Jackson had an extremely difficult childhood with all of his immediate family dying as a result of the British invasion and this led to him hating the British his entire life. His deep-rooted hatred for the British was possibly the driving force behind many decisions that he made while he was with the militia and they did however, help him gain approval with the people and propel him to becoming President. Jackson was undoubtedly a difficult person as was seen by the many fights and brawls that he got in to. Unfortunately for Jackson, it seemed that tragedy never really left his life as his beloved wife Rachel passed away almost immediately after he was elected to office. Jackson never remarried and was forced to enter office a widower. He mourned Rachel’s death till the end of his own life. It was his adopted son and wife who kept him company in his last years at his home just outside of Nashville until his eventual death of old age. Works Cited Baililes, G.L. American President. An Online Reference. Miller Centre of Public Affairs.( n.d). Web.01 Dec 2010 < http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/jackson>. Black, J.E. Authoritarian Fatherhood: Andrew Jacksons Early Familial Lectures to Americas Red Children. Journal of Family History, 30 (2005): 247-264. Cave, A.A. Abuse of Power: Andrew Jackson and the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The Historian. (n.d).: 1330-1353. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Andrew Jackson. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online.Web. (2010). 01 Dec. 2010 . n.p. Andrew Jackson. The White House. (n.d). Web. 01 Dec 2010. . Read More