Andrew+Jackson

//"There are no necessary evils in government. Its evils exist only in its abuses."// //-Andrew Jackson// =Background=

Andrew Jackson was born on March, 15, 1767, and died on June 8, 1845. He was raised by Presbyterian Scottish-Irish immigrants, but his real parents that gave birth to him are unknown. When he was only thirteen, he went to fight the American Revolutionary war. The cause of this was a sporadic education that he received. However when he was in battle, he and his brother, were captured by the British, and became prisoners of war. He endured near-starvation and scars, because he refused to do anything the British told him to do. One of his more famous disobediences was when he refused to clean the boots of a redcoat. The soldier in anger, slashed him multiple times, giving him scars, his intense hatred towards the British. His brother, Robert died of smallpox, while he was a prisoner. When Jackson was released, he was the only Jackson left. He blamed the fact upon the British because they all died from war related deaths. He decided to travel to Tennessee, to study law and become a lawyer. He was extremely good, and was appointed a U.S. Senator, but he turned down the position. Instead he became a judge on the Supreme Court of Tennessee. So far Jackson was the only president that was ever a prisoner of war.

Military Career
Jackson's military career started in 1801, he was a colonel of the Tennessee Militia. He waged a battle against the Creek indians to reclaim the land, that the indians stole. This probably fueled his hatred for Native Americans, and gave him the idea for the Indian Relocation Act. In the battle, Jackson defeated the "Red stick" Creek indians by massacring them in massive numbers. In the war of 1812 he was also a popular officer from his escapade in New Orleans. In this battle, he was advanced to Major General, and he directed 4,000 militiamen and 16 heavy cannons behind barriers of cotton bales. He opposed 10,000 British regulars marching across an open field, led by General Edward Pakenham. The battle was a huge American victory. Jackson's casualties were very few, 13 killed and 58 wounded or missing. However the British were horribly crippled, with over 2,000 casualties. Young Andrew Jackson attacked by a redcoat, when he refused to clean the soldier's boots =Return to main page.= =Return to important people page=