Andrew Jackson: 7th President: Hot Temper & Tough as Old Hickory

He was brave. His first job was working as a courier during the Revolutionary War. He later played a prominent role in the War of 1812.

debaird, via Wikimedia Commons

Andrew Jackson, nicknamed Old Hickory due to his tough demeanor, was our seventh President. He was well-respected as a man, despite being a slave owner with a hot temper. He treated his slaves very well, so much so that one of them chose to live with Jackson even after he became free and was later buried on the land.

In Jackson's political career, he was a man who had a hard beginning yet was determined to excel. He was orphaned as a young child and chose to value the family he had. Due to being orphaned, he was not well-educated as a youth yet sought education as an adult. He was a man who proved that it's not life's circumstances that make you who you are; it is the choices.

He had a fiery temper, but was well respected by his peers.

Thomas Sully, via Wikimedia Commons

On March 15, 1767, Jackson was born in Waxhaw Settlement on the North Carolina and South Carolina border. He lacked formal education until he reached his teens, when he began studying law extensively. His wife, Rachel Donelson Robards, was abandoned by her first husband. Jackson asked her to move in with him and eventually married her in August of 1794, soon after her divorce was final.

During his political career, many would point out this adulterous relationship since they did live with one another while she was still married. Despite the drama, their marriage was a very loving and devoted one. They had only one child, which they adopted. He was their nephew, and they adopted him soon after birth, naming him Andrew Jackson Jr. They were a very close-knit family. Jackson Jr and his wife Sarah kept Jackson company in his declining years, along with their children.

His adulterous relationship was not the only personal fault people found. He was known for his hot temper and getting into brawls. During one of these heated fights, Charles Dickenson, an American attorney, spoke disrespectfully about Jackson's wife, Rachel. Feeling that he needed to defend her honor, he became exceedingly angry, fighting with Dickensen. As a result of the fight, Dickenson died.

A depiction of President Andrew Jackson.

His hot temper and stubborn personality did not bring out all bad things, for it has helped him excel in his work life. During the Revolutionary War, he started his first job as a courier for the local militia. He was thirteen years old, and his father and oldest brother had already passed away. While working as a courier, the British captured him and his middle brother Robert. While imprisoned, he refused to polish a British man's boots, which resulted in receiving a scar on his hand and forehead. Once he was released, his brother Robert died shortly after that. Less than a year later, his mother also died, leaving him an orphan.

Despite his rocky education in his early youth, he studied law for two years as a teen. His first professional job was as a lawyer. Through his training, he became a very successful, influential lawyer. Since he did not come from a distinguished family as many lawyers from his time did, he needed to become noticed on his own merit.

Shortly after Tennessee became a state, he became the first man to take a spot on the House of Representatives for the state of Tennessee. Later, he became a Senator, then resigned after only a year to serve as a judge on the Tennessee Supreme Court.

Born

March 15, 1767 - Waxhaw between the Carolinas

President Number

7th

Party

Democratic

Military Service

Tennessee Militia United States Army (colonel and major)

Wars Served

American Revolutionary War • Battle of Hobkirk's Hill Creek War • Battle of Talladega • Battles of Emuckfaw and Enotachopo Creek • Battle of Horseshoe Bend War of 1812 • Battle of Pensacola • Battle of New Orleans First Seminole War Conquest of Florida • Battle of Fort Negro • Siege of Fort Barrancas

Age at Beginning of Presidency

62 years old

Term of Office

March 4, 1829 - March 3, 1837

How Long President

8 years

Vice-President

John C. Calhoun (1829–1832) None (1832–1833) Martin Van Buren (1833–1837)

Age and Year of Death

June 8, 1845 (aged 78)

In 1801, he became a colonel. A year later, he was promoted to a major general. He continued to be in the military for many years serving as a major general.

During the War of 1812, Andrew Jackson became a national hero when he and his men defeated the British in New Orleans. During this time, he received his nickname Old Hickory due to his fierce, stern presence. Although he was popular with his troops, he was hard on them. They often referred to him as "tough as Old Hickory." It may have been this determination that allowed him to have success in the War of 1812.

He continued to serve in the military until he ran in the Election of 1824, which he lost to John Quincy Adams due to Henry Clay's support of Adams. That did not stop him from trying again.

Andrew Jackson worked hard to become President, losing his first race to John Quincy Adams. His second race was a success; he won by a landslide and became a much more popular President than his predecessor.

One of his most valuable creations to American society was that he created the Democratic Party, which still exists today. Two parties formed as a result of his Presidency: the Republican-Democratic Party or Democratic Party and the Whigs or National Republicans that opposed him.

As President, he had an interesting way of handling Congress. Instead of deferring to Congress, he used his presidential power of veto when making policies and his party leadership to maintain control, which caused critics to dislike him intensely. Some cartoonists portrayed him as King Andrew to express their strong disapproval of how he led — being referred to as King Andrew was a slap in the face to Jackson since he strongly opposed the British monarchy.

One of his greatest battles was with the Second Bank of America, which acted as a government-sponsored Monopoly. Both Jackson and the Bank threw their power against one another. He said, "The bank is trying to kill me, but I will kill it!" He then vetoed a re-charter bill challenging the bank, saying they had the undue economic privilege. This act caused a growth in popularity for Jackson, which ultimately allowed him to receive 52 percent of the electoral votes in his next election -- the election of 1832.

He died in the garden on his estate on June 8, 1845, in Nashville, Tennessee. He left behind a great legacy of hard work and dedication. Before dying, he spent many years with his son and family.

1. George Washington

16. Abraham Lincoln

31. Herbert Hoover

2. John Adams

17. Andrew Johnson

32. Franklin D. Roosevelt

3. Thomas Jefferson

18. Ulysses S. Grant

33. Harry S. Truman

4. James Madison

19. Rutherford B. Hayes

34. Dwight D. Eisenhower

5. James Monroe

20. James Garfield

35. John F. Kennedy

6. John Quincy Adams

21. Chester A. Arthur

36. Lyndon B. Johnson

7. Andrew Jackson

22. Grover Cleveland

37. Richard M. Nixon

8. Martin Van Buren

23. Benjamin Harrison

38. Gerald R. Ford

9. William Henry Harrison

24. Grover Cleveland

39. James Carter

10. John Tyler

25. William McKinley

40. Ronald Reagan

11. James K. Polk

26. Theodore Roosevelt

41. George H. W. Bush

12. Zachary Taylor

27. William Howard Taft

42. William J. Clinton

13. Millard Fillmore

28. Woodrow Wilson

43. George W. Bush

14. Franklin Pierce

29. Warren G. Harding

44. Barack Obama

15. James Buchanan

30. Calvin Coolidge

45. Donald Trump

© 2012 Angela Michelle Schultz

C Barnes Nordstrom on March 04, 2020:

Are you related to Jackson? How do you explain and justify your greatly selective biography of Jackson? How generous of him to be a good master to his slaves. His rabid and committed support of slavery is not a good thing. He also signed the Indian Removal Act, to forcibly relocate members of the Native American tribes in the South to Indian Territory. The relocation process deprived them of their land and property, and resulted in death and disease. .4,000 out of 18,000 Cherokee died on the "Trail of Tears" His intense opposition to any positive action against slavery had him call on Congress to prohibit the circulation of anti-slavery pamphlets through the post office "incendiary publications intended to instigate the slaves to insurrection."

It says a great deal about the man Jackson was that Trump considers him a personal hero.

DrHoward on November 03, 2019:

He was no weeping weak willows Dem liberals like we see today. We needed him at that juncture if our history. He was as hard as rock not hickory! He won key wars. God bless America!

Elle Boyd Brocker on June 01, 2019:

This article says absolutely nothing about Andrew Jakson’s atrocities against the Native people of America, who tried to defend their land against violent and greedy white men and were consequently ridiculed and dehumanized.

Angela Michelle Schultz (author) from United States on April 02, 2012:

riaframboise, I was actually thinking the same thing about the Democratic Party. :)

Angela Michelle Schultz (author) from United States on April 02, 2012:

Pannonica, you are right, murderer was too harsh, I will correct that. Thank you for your comment.

rlaframboise from 1776 on April 02, 2012:

Amazing hub and I love your president series. If only the Democratic Party of today was built of the same character as Andrew Jackson instead of being rich elites who pretend to care about the poor! Anyway, politics aside great hub buddy!

Pannonica on April 02, 2012:

Hi Angela. Thank you for writing a hub about one of my favorite Presidents, although I wouldn't quite call him a murderer. Jackson and Dickinson were involved in a duel (which was common in those days) Both men took a bullet, Jackson lived, Dickinson didn't.

It is nice to see a piece about the 1st 'Common Man' who became President, and the 1st Democrat.

Thoroughly enjoyed hub, thank you.