[Sidenote: =Jackson a Scotch-Irishman=]
=125. How a Poor Boy Began to Rise.= Andrew Jackson was born of
Scotch-Irish parents who had emigrated from Ireland to South Carolina.
His father died and his mother moved to North Carolina to be among her
own people. Here, a few days after his father's death, in the same year
in which England passed the Tea Act (1767), Andrew was born.
[Sidenote: =Learns from the woods=]
Schools were few and poor. In fact, Andrew was too poor himself to do
anything but work. He learned far more from the pine woods in which he
played than from books. At nine he was a tall, slender, freckle-faced
lad, fond of sports, and full of fun and mischief. But woe to the boy
that made "Andy" angry!
[Sidenote: =Learns to hate the British=]
When thirteen, he learned what war meant, for it was in the days of
the Revolution when Colonel Tarleton came along and killed more than
a hundred and wounded one hundred fifty of Jackson's neighbors and
friends. Among the killed was one of the boy's own brothers. Andrew
never forgave the British.
[Illustration: JACKSON REFUSES TO SHINE THE OFFICER'S BOOTS]
[Sidenote: =A prisoner of war=]
[Sidenote: =Loses his mother=]
At fourteen he was taken prisoner by the British. "Boy," shouted an
officer, "clean these boots!" "I will not," replied Jackson. "I am a
prisoner of war, and claim to be treated as such." The officer drew his
sword and struck Jackson a blow upon the head, and another upon the
hand. These blows left scars which Jackson carried to his grave. He was
taken a prisoner to Camden, where smallpox killed his remaining brother
and left Andrew poor and sickly looking. His mother had come to Camden
to nurse her sons. A little later she lost her life in caring for
American prisoners on British ships in Charleston Harbor, so Jackson
was now an orphan of the Revolution.
[Illustration: THE HERMITAGE NEAR NASHVILLE
_This historic house, the home of Andrew Jackson, is now owned by the
state of Tennessee_]
[Sidenote: =A lawyer before twenty=]
After the Revolutionary times had gone by, Jackson studied law and at
the age of twenty was admitted to practice in the courts of the state.
[Sidenote: =Follows the settlers over the mountains=]
But stories of the beautiful country that were coming over the
mountains from Tennessee, stirred his blood. He longed to go, and in
company with nearly a hundred men, women, and children, Jackson set out
for the goodly land.
They crossed the mountains into east Tennessee, where was the town of
Jonesboro, not far from where Governor Sevier lived.
[Sidenote: =Outwits the Indians=]
Jackson and the others rested awhile before taking up their march
to Nashville. From Jonesboro to Nashville they had to look out for
Indians. Only once were they troubled. One night, when men, women, and
children were resting in their rude tents, Jackson sat at the foot
of a tree smoking his corncob pipe. He heard "owls" hooting near by.
These were Indian signals. "A little too natural," thought Jackson. He
aroused the people, and silently they marched away. Another party,
coming an hour or two later, stopped in the same place, and were
massacred by Indians.
[Sidenote: =Practicing law on the frontier=]
Arriving in Nashville, Jackson began the practice of law. To reach the
court, he sometimes had to ride miles and miles, day after day, through
thick forests where the Indians might lie in wait.
When Tennessee was made a territory, Jackson became district attorney.
He had many "ups and downs" with the bad men of the frontier. Jackson
himself had a bad temper, and woe to the man who made him angry. He
either got a sound thrashing or had to fight a duel.
[Sidenote: =In Congress=]
When Tennessee became a state, Jackson was elected to Congress. A year
or so afterward (1797) he was appointed a United States senator to fill
a vacancy. But such a position did not give him excitement enough, so
he resigned the next year and returned to Nashville. He was a frontier
judge for a time, then he became a man of business.
[Sidenote: =A call to arms=]
=126. How Jackson Won a Great Victory.= When the War of 1812 broke
out there was a call to arms! The British will capture New Orleans!
Twenty-five hundred frontiersmen rallied to Jackson's call. He was just
the man to lead them. They decided to go to New Orleans by water.
Down the Cumberland to the Ohio in boats! Down the Ohio to the
Mississippi, and down the Mississippi to Natchez! Here they stopped,
only to learn that there were no British near.
[Sidenote: =How he won the name "Old Hickory"=]
The twenty-five hundred men marched the long, dreary way home. Jackson
was the toughest one among them. He could march farther and last
longer without food than any of them. The soldiers nicknamed him "Old
Hickory."
Once more he was at home, where he now was a great man among his
friends. About this time Jackson had a fierce fight with Thomas H.
Benton and received a pistol shot in the shoulder. Before he was again
well the people who suffered from the Fort Mims massacre were calling
loudly for help. Tecumseh had stirred up the Creeks to murder five
hundred men, women, and children at this fort in Alabama.
[Sidenote: =Another call to arms=]
[Sidenote: =Jackson and the hungry soldier=]
Twenty-five hundred men answered Jackson's call. They marched south
through a barren country. Food was scarce. His army, almost starved,
threatened to go home. A half-starved soldier saw Jackson sitting under
a tree and asked him for something to eat. Looking up, Jackson said:
"It has always been a rule with me never to turn away a hungry man. I
will cheerfully divide with you." Then he drew from his pocket a few
acorns, saying: "This is the best and only fare I have."
[Illustration: JACKSON SHARES HIS ACORNS WITH THE HUNGRY SOLDIER]
But Jackson soon received reënforcements, and then, in spite of all
these drawbacks, he broke the power of the Creeks in the great battle
of Horseshoe Bend on the Tallapoosa River in Alabama. After that the
Indians were only too glad to cease fighting and sue for peace.
[Illustration: A BREASTWORK OF COTTON BALES]
[Sidenote: =A third call to arms=]
Jackson was hardly home again before President Madison made him a
major-general, and sent him with an army to guard New Orleans from the
British.
After attacking and capturing Pensacola, a Spanish fort which the
English occupied, he hurried his army on to New Orleans. Nothing had
been done to defend the city. Jackson immediately declared martial law.
He threw himself with all the energy he had into getting New Orleans
ready, for the British troops were already landing.
[Sidenote: =The two armies=]
The British general had twelve thousand veterans, fresh from their
victory over the great Napoleon. Jackson had only half as many men. But
nearly every man was a sharpshooter. They were riflemen from the wilds
of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi, and every man was burning with
an ardent desire to fight and defeat the redcoats.
[Illustration: A LITTLE BREASTWORK OF SUGAR BARRELS]
Jackson had not long to wait. On came the British in solid column,
with flags flying and drums beating. The fog was breaking away. Behind
the breastworks stood the Americans with cannon loaded to the muzzle
and with deadly rifles primed for the fight.
[Illustration: THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS
_Won by Jackson after peace was made, this battle helped to make him
president and to change history_]
[Sidenote: =The beginning of the battle=]
The cannon were the first to fire, but the redcoats closed up their
shattered ranks, and moved on. Those lines of red! How splendid and
terrible they looked! The Americans gave three cheers. "Fire!" rang out
along the line. The breastworks were instantly a sheet of fire. Along
the whole line it blazed and rolled. No human being could face that
fire. The British soldiers broke and fled.
[Sidenote: =The battle in earnest=]
[Sidenote: =The victory after the treaty=]
Once more they rallied, led by General Pakenham, a relative of the
great Duke of Wellington. But who could withstand that fire? Pakenham
was slain, and again his troops fled. The battle was over. The
British had lost two thousand six hundred men and the Americans only
twenty-one! This victory was won after peace had been made between
England and America. A ship was then hurrying to America with the glad
news.
[Sidenote: =Jackson a hero=]
Everywhere the people rejoiced greatly over the victory of New Orleans.
Jackson was a great hero, and wherever he went crowds followed him, and
cried out, "Long live the victor of New Orleans!"
For several years Jackson remained at the head of the army in the
South. The Seminole War was fought, and those Indians were compelled to
make peace.
[Illustration: ANDREW JACKSON
_From a painting by Thomas Sully which hangs in the rooms of the
Historical Society of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia_]
[Sidenote: =Elected president=]
=127. The People's President.= The people of the United States elected
Jackson president in 1828, and reëlected him in 1832 by a greater
majority than before, showing that he was very popular.
[Sidenote: =Quarrels with the bank=]
[Sidenote: =Great men oppose Jackson=]
President Jackson had a quarrel with the men who were managing the
United States Bank. This bank kept the money for the government. He
ordered that the money of the government be taken out of this bank and
put in different State Banks which were called "pet" banks. In the
Senate of the United States at this time were three men of giant-like
ability--Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John C. Calhoun. They joined
together to oppose President Jackson in his fight against the United
States Bank. These men made many long and very bitter speeches against
the president.
The Senate finally passed a resolution blaming President Jackson for
taking the money away from the United States Bank. President Jackson
was furious. He wrote a protest and sent it to the Senate. The people
in the states took sides, and the excitement spread to all parts of the
country.
[Sidenote: =Jackson and Benton friends=]
In the Senate was another great man, Thomas H. Benton of Missouri.
Although Jackson and Benton had once fought a terrible duel in
Nashville, they now were good friends. Benton attacked Clay, Webster,
and Calhoun in powerful speeches and defended President Jackson in
every way he could. At last, after several years, he succeeded in
getting the Senate to expunge, or take away, from their records the
resolution blaming President Jackson.
There was great rejoicing among Jackson's friends, and Senator Benton
was the hero of the day. President Jackson gave a great dinner party in
Washington in Benton's honor.
[Illustration: THE SCENE OF JACKSON'S CAMPAIGNS]
[Sidenote: =Nullification=]
For a long time South Carolina and other southern states had been
complaining about the high tariff which Congress had passed. In 1832
South Carolina declared in a state convention that her people should
not pay the tariff any longer. She resolved to fight rather than obey
the law and pay the tariff. This act of the convention was called
nullification.
[Sidenote: =President Jackson's proclamation=]
President Jackson was very angry when he heard of this act of South
Carolina. He told General Scott to take soldiers and war vessels to
Charleston, and enforce the law at all hazards. The president published
a letter to the people of South Carolina, warning them not to nullify a
law of Congress.
[Sidenote: =Jackson a Union man=]
These acts made President Jackson very popular at the North, where the
people all believed the president had saved the Union from breaking up.
In 1837 his second term as president expired and he retired from public
life after having seen his good friend, Martin Van Buren of New York,
made president.
[Sidenote: =Death at the Hermitage=]
Jackson returned to Tennessee, greatly beloved by the people. There, in
his home, called the Hermitage, he spent the rest of his life. He died
in 1845, at the age of seventy-eight.
[Illustration: THE TOMB OF ANDREW JACKSON]