Andrew Jackson: the 7th President of the United States of America Essay

Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767, was the seventh President of the United States. Born in Tennessee, Andrew Jackson was a politician and general who beat the British at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815, and the Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. His enthusiastic followers created the more up-to-date Democratic Party, and the 1830-1850 periods later became known as the era of Jackson a democracy. During the American Revolutionary War, Jackson was teenager when he joined a local militia. His oldest brother, Hugh, died from heat exhaustion during the Battle of Stono Ferry. Jackson and Robert (his brother) were captured by the British and held as prisoners; they almost died in captivity. When Jackson refused to clean the boots of a British soldier, the soldier slashed at Andrew with a sword, leaving him with scars on his left hand and head, in a result to that he had an intense hatred for the British. While in prison, the brothers had got smallpox. Robert died a couple da ys after their mother allowed them to leave. After his mother was assured Andrew would recover, she volunteered to nurse POW (prisoners of war) on board two ships in Charleston, where there had been an outbreak of cholera. She died from the disease on November 1781, and was buried in an unmarked grave, leaving Jackson an orphan at the age of fourteen. Jackson’s entire immediate family–aside from his father, who had died earlier–died from hardships during the war, Jackson blamed the British. Jackson was nicknamed â€Å"Old Hickory† because of his toughness and aggressiveness that produced many of duels. He was a wealthy slave owner who appealed to the masses of Americans and fought against what he denounced as a closed undemocratic. He expanded the spoils system during his presidency to strengthen his political base, regardless of the cost of inefficiency. As president, he supported a small and limited federal government but strengthened the power of the presidency. He was supportive of state’s rights, but, during the Nullification Crisis, he declared that states do not have the right to nullify federal laws. Totally against the national bank, he vetoed the renewal of its charter and ensured its collapse. Whigs and moralists denounced his aggressive enforcement of the Indian Removal Act, which resulted in the forced the Native Americans to move west to present day Oklahoma. Jackson’s campaign was very much a personal one. Although neither candidate personally campaigned, their political followers organized many campaign events. Both candidates were rhetorically attacked in the press, which reached a low point when the press accused Jackson’s wife Rachel of bigamy. Though the accusation was true, as were most forgive the ones who attacked his wife. Rachel died suddenly on December 22, 1828, before his inauguration, and was buried on Christmas Eve. Personal attacks leveled against him during the campaign, it was based on events that occurred many years prior. Jackson said he would forgive those who insulted him, but he would never. When Jackson became President, he implemented the theory of rotation in office, declaring it â€Å"a leading principle in the republican creed.†He believed that rotation in office would prevent the development of a corrupt bureaucracy. To strengthen party loyalty, Jackson’s supporters wanted to give the posts to party members. In practice, this meant repl acing federal employees with friends or party loyalists. However, the effect was not as drastic as expected or portrayed. By the end of his term, Jackson dismissed less than twenty percent of the Federal employees at the start of it. While Jackson did not start the spoils system, he did indirectly encourage its growth for many years to come. Jackson is one of the couple presidents to go out of office way more popular than he was when he entered. â€Å"When he went into office he had no political opinions, only some popular notions.† He left his party strong, perfectly organized and enthusiastic on a platform of low expenditure, payment of the debt, no expenditure for public improvement or for glory or display in any form and low taxes. His name still remained a spell to conjure with, and the politicians sought to obtain the assistance of his approval for their schemes; but in general his last years were quiet and uneventful. He died at his residence, The Hermitage, near Nashville. Tennessee, on the 8th of June 1845.