-
Jackson's Birth
Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767, to Andrew and Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson, Scots-Irish colonists who emigrated from Ireland in 1765. Though his birthplace is presumed to have been at one of his uncles' houses in the Waxhaws region that straddles North Carolina and South Carolina, the exact location is unknown—Jackson's mother was making a trip across the Appalachian Mountains after burying her husband, who died three weeks before his son was born. -
Jackson Enlists in Revolutionary Army
The Declaration of Independence was signed when young Andrew was nine years old and at thirteen he joined the Continental Army as a courier. The Revolution took a toll on the Jackson family. All three boys saw active service. One of Andrew's older brothers, Hugh, died after the Battle of Stono Ferry, South Carolina in 1779, and two years later Andrew and his other brother Robert were taken prisoner for a few weeks in April 1781. -
Battle of Horseshoe Bend
On the morning of March 27, 1814, in what is now Tallapoosa County, General Andrew Jackson and an army consisting of Tennessee militia, United States regulars, and Cherokee and Lower Creek allies attacked Chief Menawa and his Upper Creek, or Red Stick, warriors fortified in the Horseshoe Bend of the Tallapoosa River. Facing overwhelming odds, the Red Sticks fought bravely yet ultimately lost the battle. More than 800 Upper Creek warriors died at Horseshoe Bend defending their homeland. - See mor -
Battle of New Orleans
The War officially ended on 1814 December 24 when the Treaty of Ghent was signed. The Battle of New Orleans was fought on 1815 January 8, because Colonel Andrew Jackson had yet to be informed of the Treaty. Nobody won the War; both sides just decided to end it. -
Election of 1824
The election of 1824 involved three major figures in American history, and was decided in the House of Representatives. One man won, one helped him win, and one stormed out of Washington denouncing the entire affair as “the corrupt bargain.” -
Election of 1828
Jackson's appeal to the "common folk" served him well and he handily won the popular vote and the electoral vote. It came at a price, however. His wife Rachel suffered a heart attack and died before the inauguration, and Jackson always blamed his political enemies for her death. -
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act became a law in 1830 and was signed by President Andrew Jackson. The law was passed because some states were greedy about getting land that belonged to the Indian tribes. The law did not make the Indians leave the land, but was supposed to offer them a trade of something for their lands. The lands that the government wanted were east of the Mississippi River and the Indians were supposed to move to lands that were west of the river. -
Bank War
The Bank War refers to the political struggle that developed over the issue of rechartering the Second Bank of the United States during the Andrew Jackson administration (1829–1837). Anti-Bank Jacksonian Democrats were mobilized in opposition to the national bank’s re-authorization on the grounds that the institution conferred economic privileges on financial elites, violating U.S. constitutional principles of social equality. -
Worcester v. Georgia
In the 1820s and 1830s Georgia conducted a relentless campaign to remove the Cherokees, who held territory within the borders of Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee at the time. In 1827 the Cherokees established a constitutional government. The Cherokees were not only restructuring their government but also declaring to the American public that they were a sovereign nation that could not be removed without their consent. -
Nullification Crisis
The Tariff of 1832, despite pleas from Southern representatives, failed to moderate the protective barriers erected in earlier legislation. The South Carolina passed an ordinance of nullification on November 24, 1832, and threatened to secede if the federal government attempted to collect those tariff duties.
