Jackson, Andrew (1767–1845) American
general, seventh president of the United States
Andrew Jackson was born on 15 March 1767 in what
was called the Waxhaw Settlement at the borders of
the Carolinas, now part of Tennessee, although he con-
sidered himself a South Carolinian all his life. Little is
known of Jackson’s early life. In 1780, when he was 13
years old, his schooling was interrupted when the British
invaded the western Carolinas. He was captured some-
time the next year and, despite being only 14, taken as
a prisoner of war. When he refused to shine the boots of
a British officer, Jackson was struck across the face with
a sword, leaving a deep scar that remained for the rest
of his life. In addition to this, Jackson’s own mother
and two brothers died as a result of British actions, and
it was because of this that he hated the British until his
death.
After being released, in 1784 Jackson began to
study law, and he was admitted to the North Carolina
state bar in 1787. The following year, he was sent to
the Cumberland region, now in Tennessee, to serve as
prosecuting attorney for the western district of North
Carolina. Based in Nashville, Jackson showed fairness in
trying cases and collecting debts, and he formed strong
bonds, both financial and political, with many of the
landowners in the area, making him one of the more
important figures in what is now Tennessee. It was at
this time that he met and married Mrs. Rachel Robards,
the wife of an army officer who later learned that she
had failed to get a proper divorce from her first husband
before her marriage to Jackson. This was subsequently
used by Jackson’s political opponents against him, and
he later fought a duel with a man who had insulted his
wife.
As Tennessee grew both financially and politically,
Jackson was in a good position to become a leader in the
territory destined to became a new state. While working
as an attorney, he also speculated in land, raised horses,
farmed cotton, and bought and sold slaves. Gradually he
became a wealthy man, and he built a large mansion that
he named the Hermitage, near Nashville. He also be-
came involved in the territory’s politics, being appointed
its solicitor in 1791. In 1796, when Tennessee was ad-
mitted to the Union and a convention met to draft a new
state constitution, Jackson served as a delegate. He was
subsequently elected as Tennessee’s first representative to
the U.S. House of Representatives on 5 December 1796,
serving in the Fourth and Fifth Congresses; however, he
left office on 4 March 1797. Historians note Jackson’s
key moment in the House was his speech denouncing
outgoing president George Washington for the latter’s
support of the controversial Jay Treaty. He also voted
against a House measure sending thanks to the president
for his farewell address to the nation.