Notes

Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American statesman who served as the seventh President of the United States from 1829 to 1837. He was born near the end of the colonial era, somewhere near the then-unmarked border between North and South Carolina, into a recently immigrated Scots-Irish farming family of relatively modest means. During the American Revolutionary War, Jackson, whose family supported the revolutionary cause, acted as a courier. At age 13, he was captured and mistreated by his British captors. He later became a lawyer. He was also elected to Congress office, first to the U.S. House of Representatives and twice to the U.S. Senate.

In 1801, Jackson was appointed colonel in the Tennessee militia, which became his political as well as military base. He owned hundreds of slaves who worked on the Hermitage Plantation. In 1806, he killed a man in a duel over a matter of honor regarding his wife Rachel. He gained national fame through his role in the War of 1812, most famously where he won a decisive victory over the main British invasion army at the Battle of New Orleans, albeit some weeks after the Treaty of Ghent had already been signed (unbeknownst to the combatants).[1] In response to conflict with the Seminole in Spanish Florida, he invaded the territory in 1818. This led directly to the First Seminole War and the Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819, which formally transferred Florida from Spain to the United States.

After winning election to the Senate, Jackson decided to run for president in 1824. Although he won more electoral votes and more of the popular votes than any of the other three major candidates, he lost in the House of Representatives to John Quincy Adams, supposedly by a "corrupt bargain" between Adams and Speaker of the House Henry Clay, who was also a candidate. Jackson's supporters then founded what became the Democratic Party. He ran again in 1828 against Adams. Building on his base in the West and with new support from Virginia and New York, he won by a landslide. He blamed the death of his wife, Rachel, which occurred just after the election, on the Adams campaigners, who called her a "bigamist".

As president, Jackson faced a threat of secession by South Carolina over the "Tariff of Abominations", which Congress had enacted under Adams. In contrast to several of his immediate successors, he denied the right of a state to secede from the union or to nullify federal law. The Nullification Crisis was defused when the tariff was amended and Jackson threatened the use of military force if South Carolina (or any other state) attempted to secede.

In anticipation of the 1832 election, Congress, led by Clay, attempted to reauthorize the Second Bank of the United States four years before the expiration of its charter. In keeping with his platform of economic decentralization, Jackson vetoed the renewal of its charter, thereby seemingly putting his chances for reelection in jeopardy. However, by portraying himself as the defender of the common person against wealthy bankers, he was able to defeat Clay in the election that year. He thoroughly dismantled the bank by the time its charter expired in 1836. His struggles with Congress were personified in his personal rivalry with Clay, whom Jackson deeply disliked and who led the opposition of the emerging Whig Party. Jackson's presidency marked the beginning of the ascendancy of the "spoils system" in American politics. He is also known for having signed the Indian Removal Act, which relocated a number of native tribes in the South to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma).

Jackson supported his vice president Martin Van Bren's successful presidential campaign in 1836. He worked to bolster the Democratic Party and helped his friend James K. Polk win the 1844 presidential election.

years, Jackson continued to serve as Major General over much of the south-east, with a salary of $2,400 a year and $1,652 in expenses. His staff lived with him, including Sam Houston, the future hero of Texas, and John Eaton (to be heard from later).

The main military activity at that time was the driving of Indians out of lands which white Americans were pouring into, or were about to pour into. Sometimes there was the justification of Indian raids and massacres; sometimes not.

One such affair, the First Seminole War, resulted in U.S. acquisition of Florida.

Spain was fighting a losing battle against revolutions in South America. Florida was mostly a vast swampland, and, being separated from the rest of the Spanish territory, it just caused a dispersal of military manpower. Added to the U.S. however, it would make borders tidier and more defensible, largely preventing, for example, the sort of north-south pincer movement the British tried in 1814.

Also the Seminole Indians straddled the Florida-Georgia border, and they could and did make crossbred raids, retreating to the other side when pursued. Another reason Spanish Florida was seen as a danger by the U.S. was that it contained a fort, inhabited by escaped slaves who, it was felt, encouraged other slaves to run away to its safety. The fort was blown up in 1816, killing 270.

In late 1817, in response to the burning of an Indian village on U.S. territory, Seminoles massacred virtually all on board a transport. (4 men out of 40 escaped, one woman out of seven was spared, and the 4 children on board were all killed).

It appears, in hindsight, that President Monroe (1817-25) somewhat expected Jackson to occupy Florida, and gave him ambiguous signals to that effect - the sort of signals that executives sometimes give their charges when they don't want to be blamed for an action.

Jackson, went into Florida with a couple of thousand men and occupied the fort at St. Marks, in the East, and the fortified town of Pensacola, the center of Spanish rule in Florida. He also had two British subjects (allies of the Indians) hanged.

The Spanish minister demanded evacuation and "suitable punishment" for Jackson. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams' reply berated the Spanish for not restraining the Indians, and included the following: "Spain must immediately [decide] either to place a force in Florida adequate at once to the protection of her territory, ... or cede to the United States a province, of which she retains nothing but the nominal possession, but which is, in fact, ... a post of annoyance to them." This in effect said "Keep the inhabitants of Florida in line, or we'll do it for you."

Behind the scenes, Secretary of War John C. CalhounSecretary of the Treasury William H. Crawford, and Representative Henry Clay of Kentucky were perturbed. Calhoun was angry over Jackson's communications with the President, bypassing him. All three men had presidential ambitions, and Jackson's popularity threatened their hopes. Adams, however, backed Jackson up.

Since Jackson was eventually sustained, he attributed it somewhat to his Secretary of War, Calhoun. Jackson had to put up with being called before Congress and berated - particularly by Henry Clay (whom Jackson was coming to hate). Four resolutions to censure Jackson failed, however.

Adams negotiated a treaty buying Florida for five million dollars, and also giving the U.S. a very wide corridor in the West to the Pacific.

Jackson then received the military governorship of Florida while it was being integrated as a U.S. territory. He did a good job, while there, of shaping new institutions compatible with integration in the U.S. He did however, as in New Orleans, use some heavy-handed tactics at times
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the next few years, Jackson continued to serve as Major General over much of the south-east, with a salary of $2,400 a year and $1,652 in expenses. His staff lived with him, including Sam Houston, the future hero of Texas, and John Eaton (to be heard from later).

The main military activity at that time was the driving of Indians out of lands which white Americans were pouring into, or were about to pour into. Sometimes there was the justification of Indian raids and massacres; sometimes not.

One such affair, the First Seminole War, resulted in U.S. acquisition of Florida.

Spain was fighting a losing battle against revolutions in South America. Florida was mostly a vast swampland, and, being separated from the rest of the Spanish territory, it just caused a dispersal of military manpower. Added to the U.S. however, it would make borders tidier and more defensible, largely preventing, for example, the sort of north-south pincer movement the British tried in 1814.

Also the Seminole Indians straddled the Florida-Georgia border, and they could and did make crossbred raids, retreating to the other side when pursued. Another reason Spanish Florida was seen as a danger by the U.S. was that it contained a fort, inhabited by escaped slaves who, it was felt, encouraged other slaves to run away to its safety. The fort was blown up in 1816, killing 270.

In late 1817, in response to the burning of an Indian village on U.S. territory, Seminoles massacred virtually all on board a transport. (4 men out of 40 escaped, one woman out of seven was spared, and the 4 children on board were all killed).

It appears, in hindsight, that President Monroe (1817-25) somewhat expected Jackson to occupy Florida, and gave him ambiguous signals to that effect - the sort of signals that executives sometimes give their charges when they don't want to be blamed for an action.

Jackson, went into Florida with a couple of thousand men and occupied the fort at St. Marks, in the East, and the fortified town of Pensacola, the center of Spanish rule in Florida. He also had two British subjects (allies of the Indians) hanged.

The Spanish minister demanded evacuation and "suitable punishment" for Jackson. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams' reply berated the Spanish for not restraining the Indians, and included the following: "Spain must immediately [decide] either to place a force in Florida adequate at once to the protection of her territory, ... or cede to the United States a province, of which she retains nothing but the nominal possession, but which is, in fact, ... a post of annoyance to them." This in effect said "Keep the inhabitants of Florida in line, or we'll do it for you."

Behind the scenes, Secretary of War John C. CalhounSecretary of the Treasury William H. Crawford, and Representative Henry Clay of Kentucky were perturbed. Calhoun was angry over Jackson's communications with the President, bypassing him. All three men had presidential ambitions, and Jackson's popularity threatened their hopes. Adams, however, backed Jackson up.

Since Jackson was eventually sustained, he attributed it somewhat to his Secretary of War, Calhoun. Jackson had to put up with being called before Congress and berated - particularly by Henry Clay (whom Jackson was coming to hate). Four resolutions to censure Jackson failed, however.

Adams negotiated a treaty buying Florida for five million dollars, and also giving the U.S. a very wide corridor in the West to the Pacific.

Jackson then received the military governorship of Florida while it was being integrated as a U.S. territory. He did a good job, while there, of shaping new institutions compatible with integration in the U.S. He did however, as in New Orleans, use some heavy-handed tactics at times

Biographies >
Andrew Jackson 1767-1845 A brief biography >
Introduction: An Atrocious Saint In A Bewildering Era
A Life of Andrew Jackson
Tennessee Statehood; Congressman Jackson (1796-1798)
Jackson as Judge and General; More East-West Feuding (1798-1804)
Beginnings of Jackson's Career as General (1805-1813)
The Creek War 1813-1814
A National Hero - The Battle of New Orleans, Winter 1814-15
Eviction of Indians and Taking of Florida
Retirement 1821-1822
Road to the Presidency - Part 1 (1822-24)
Road to the Presidency - Part II, The Jackson Coalition 1825-1828
The 1828 Presidential Election
The People's Inaugural: January - March 1829
Turmoil in the Jackson Cabinet
Jackson and Congress
Background of the "Bank Wars"
Henry Clay and the "Bank Wars"
The 1832 Election
Tariffs and Nullification - Again
The End of the Bank War
Jacksonian Foreign Relations; Whig Obstructionism in the French Crisis
Conclusions
The Jackson Era
Jackson's duel with Charles Dickinson
Sources