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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 Enlists in Revolutionary Army
At age 13, he joined a local militia and served as a courier during the Revolutionary War. Jackson was appointed commander of the Tennessee militia in 1801. -
Battle of Horseshoe Bend
During the War of 1812 he led his troops to victory against the Creek Indians at Horseshoe Bend, killing some 800 warriors and procuring 20 million acres of land in present-day Georgia and Alabama. After this military success, Jackson was appointed major general. -
Battle of New Orleans
This was credited with being the last battle of the War of 1812. After leading 5,000 soldiers in the defeat of 7,500 British in New Orleans, on January 8, 1815, Jackson was dubbed a national hero. He received the thanks of Congress and a gold medal. He was also popular among his troops, who said that Jackson was "as tough as old hickory wood" on the battlefield, earning him the nickname "Old Hickory." -
Election of 1824
In 1822, Jackson was re-elected to the U.S. Senate, and in 1824, state factions rallied around him and a Pennsylvania convention nominated him for the U.S. presidency. Though Jackson was the most popular candidate, he lost the election when the House of Representatives chose his opponent, John Quincy Adams. The decision, an alleged deal to give Adams the election in exchange for Henry Clay's secretary of state seat, became known as the Corrupt Bargain. The negative reaction to the House's decisi -
Election of 1828
Jackson won the presidential election of 1828 by a landslide, with John C. Calhoun as his vice-presidential running mate. Jackson's opponents nicknamed him "jackass," a moniker that Jackson took a liking to—so much that he decided to use the symbol of a donkey to represent himself. Though the use of that symbol died out, it would later become the emblem of the new Democratic Party. -
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was signed into law by Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830, authorizing the president to grant unsettled lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for Indian lands within existing state borders. A few tribes went peacefully, but many resisted the relocation policy. During the fall and winter of 1838 and 1839, the Cherokees were forcibly moved west by the United States government. Approximately 4,000 Cherokees died on this forced march, which became known as the "Trail of Tears. -
Worcester v. Georgia
Worcester v. Georgia, 31 U.S. (6 Pet.) 515 (1832), was a case in which the United States Supreme Court vacated the conviction of Samuel Worcester and held that the Georgia criminal statute that prohibited non-Native Americans from being present on Native American lands without a license from the state was unconstitutional.
The opinion is most famous for its dicta, which laid out the relationship between tribes and the state and federal governments, stating that the federal government was the so -
Nullification Crisis
The Nullification Crisis was a sectional crisis during the presidency of Andrew Jackson created by South Carolina's 1832 Ordinance of Nullification. This ordinance declared by the power of the State that the federal Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 were unconstitutional and therefore null and void within the sovereign boundaries of South Carolina. The controversial and highly protective Tariff of 1828 (known to its detractors as the "Tariff of Abominations") was enacted into law during the presidency of -
Bank War
Perhaps his greatest feat as president, Jackson became involved in a battle with the Second Bank of the United States, a theoretically private corporation that actually served as a government-sponsored monopoly. Jackson openly displayed his hostility toward the bank, vetoing its re-charter bill and charging it with disproportionate economic privilege. The American public supported his views on the issue, and in 1832, Jackson won his re-election campaign against Henry Clay; he won his second term
