Andrew Jackson: Dueler in Chief
President from: March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1837
Age at inauguration: 61
Political Party: Democratic-Republican, Jacksonian, Democratic (not the current day party)
What I read:
American Lion by Jon Meacham
Age at death: 78
Cause of Death: Chronic dropsy and heart failure. He died at home in bed, surrounded by family.
Health & Appearance: Jackson stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed between 130 and 140 pounds. He had intense blue eyes and his red hair was wild (like his short temper) but was gray by the time he was elected president. As a Revolutionary War, POW he contracted a near-fatal case of smallpox and was attacked by a British officer which left him with scars on his left hand and head. Jackson suffered from frequent headaches, abdominal pains, and a chronic cough caused by a musket ball in his lung that was never removed.
Pre-Presidency: He was far more intelligent than people give him credit. He had very little formal education but was a constant reader in a wide range of subjects. He and his wife, Rachel, adopted their nephew Andrew Jackson Jr. and surprisingly, two orphaned Native American boys, Theodore (described as “Indian”) and Lyncoya (Creek Nation). They also acted as guardians to four more nephews and after a family friend’s death, they took in four more orphans. If you’re counting, that’s eleven kids in total. Jackson’s wife died just as he was elected president and he never remarried. When he took the Presidency, he invited his nephew’s wife Emily to act as host of White House social events.
As General under President Madison, he fought, and eventually beat, the Seminole in Florida who put up a very strong resistance. He crushed the British at The Battle of New Orleans, which rocketed him to fame. New Orleans and the Seminole War made Jackson the frontrunner for the Democratic nominee for President.
Controversy: His early presidency was dominated by a fight over the virtue of one of his cabinet secretary’s wives. This eventually led to him dismissing his whole cabinet because they talked shit about her. (FYI the rumors turned out to be true). Jackson’s misjudgment of the situation was probably because people said the same about his wife as he was running for president.
Jackson is frequently labeled as the worst President for Native affairs because of the Indian Removal Act, which from 1830-1840 forcibly removed over 45,000 Native Americans from land in the east to west of the Mississippi. It was brutal and wrong. However, Washington was horrible too—just ask the Iroquois. And let’s not forget Jefferson’s “Native welfare” policies that forced dependence on the government for sustenance, which continues to negatively affect subsequent generations to this day. Sadly, Jackson is one of a long line of men who contributed to the appalling abuse and destruction of First Nation peoples.
Major accomplishment/leadership: He was the first "populist" president. Jacksonian Democracy moved power from the elites to the people (more accurately, the common White man). A first in American politics. By 1850, all of the voting requirements for land ownership and paying taxes had been dropped and suffrage was “universal,” meaning all White men could vote—women and people of color were not included or considered.
Jackson was the first president to deal with succession threats when South Carolinian leaders believed that they did not have to follow federal laws they didn’t like. His strong hand and threat of military action held the union together for the time being.
Under Jackson, the federal government increased its power over the states and he reduced government corruption.
He hated the U.S. bank and won the fight to not re-charter it, but this caused new problems because government money was decentralized into many banks. This made paying bills, depositing taxes, and other governmental transactions very challenging.
His trade policies with Britain opened up the West Indies to U.S. trade, which increased our domestic production stability. During his second term he signed a law to create and fund the United States Exploring Expedition, which was of major importance to the growth of science, especially in the field of oceanography.
Are you kidding me?
Most of us have only ever known the twenty dollar bill with his face on it--it's been there since 1928. But prior to that, he's been on the $5, $10, and $10,000 bills.
He was the first President to be assaulted while in office (he was slapped), as well as the first who had an assassination attempt. The would-be assassin pointed a pistol at Jackson, but it misfired. The man was later deemed to be insane.
Jackson taught his parrot to curse and it had to be removed from his funeral for swearing at the guests.
What I learned:
After reading these first seven presidents, it's astounding our nation ever made it at all. Most of them have battled depression, some have had really poor physical health, and Jackson seems to have spent his life looking for a fight--not just political, but an actual "would you care to step outside" fight. I'm also seeing a pattern where the presidency pendulum appears to have swung from one extreme to the other since the very beginning, which has tested us personally and politically on more than one occasion.
PRECEDED BY: John Quincy Adams
SUCCEEDED BY: Martin Van Buren
he/him. Screenwriter. Actor. Producer. History fiend.