Andrew Jackson, the Upholder of the Union
[1767-1845]
[Illustration: Andrew Jackson.]
Only four years after the Clermont made its successful trip up the
Hudson, the first steamboat on the Ohio was launched at Pittsburg. This
boat was the forerunner of numerous steam-driven craft which swarmed the
extensive network of rivers west of the Alleghany Mountains. A fresh
impulse was given to westward migration, for settlers could now easily
and cheaply reach the fertile lands of the Mississippi Valley, and,
having raised an abundant crop, could successfully send the surplus to
the Eastern markets. Under conditions so favorable the West grew in
population with marvellous rapidity.
Wealth went hand in hand with the increase of population, and greatly
strengthened the influence of the people of the West in the affairs of
the country. By 1829, one of their number became the sixth President of
the United States. This was Andrew Jackson, of Tennessee.
Andrew Jackson was born in Union County, N. C., in 1767, of poor
parents, who about two years before had come from Ireland. In a little
clearing in the woods, they had built a rude log hut and settled down to
hard work.
But Andrew's father soon died, and his mother went with her children to
live in her brother's home, where she spun flax to earn money. She was
very fond of little Andrew and hoped some day to make a minister of him.
With this in view she sent him to school where he learned reading,
writing, and a little ciphering. But he cared so little for study that
he made small advancement, and in fact never learned to spell well nor
to write the English language with ease or even correctness.
He found great pleasure in hunting and in rough-and-tumble sports,
excelling in running, jumping, and wrestling. Although not robust, he
was wiry and energetic, and when a stronger boy threw him to the ground,
he was so agile that he always managed to regain his feet.
[Illustration: Andrew Jackson's Cradle.]
As a school-boy Andrew was a bare-footed, freckle-faced lad, with
slender frame, bright blue eyes, and reddish colored hair. Full of life
and fun, he became known as "Mischievous Andy." Andy was brave and ready
to champion the weaker and smaller boys, but sometimes he became
overbearing and at other times his quick temper got him into trouble.
One day his companions, wishing to play a practical joke upon him,
secretly overloaded a gun, and dared Andy to shoot it. The fearless
little fellow, seizing the gun, shot it off, and was kicked violently
upon his back. But quickly jumping up, his eyes blazing with anger, he
shouted, "If any of you boys laugh, I'll kill him." The boys did not
laugh.
[Illustration: A Spinning Wheel.]
While he was yet a lad the Revolution broke out, and there was severe
fighting between the Americans and the British near his home. His love
of action, which up to that time had expressed itself in out-of-door
sports, now took a more serious turn. War became a passion with him, and
from this time he could not visit the local blacksmith's shop without
hammering into shape some form of weapon. Once while fiercely cutting
weeds with a scythe he was heard repeating these words: "Oh, if I were a
man, how I would sweep down the British with my grass blade!"
In the course of a few years young "Andy" had real British soldiers to
fight; for he was only thirteen when he was made a prisoner of war. One
day soon after his capture, a British officer ordered him to clean his
muddy boots. The fiery youth flashed back: "Sir, I am not your slave. I
am your prisoner, and as such I refuse to do the work of a slave."
Incensed at this reply, the brutal officer struck the boy a cruel blow
with his sword. Andrew saved himself from the brunt of the blow, but
received two severe wounds, the scars and the bitter memory of which he
carried through life.
These indignities were but a beginning. He was transferred to the prison
pen about Camden jail, some forty miles away, where without shelter and
almost without food, he suffered from heartless exposure. In a weak and
half-starved condition, his wounds yet unhealed, he fell a victim to
small-pox. Hearing of his wretched plight, Andrew's mother secured his
release and took him home with her. Andrew struggled for months with a
severe illness. Before he had entirely recovered, his mother died
leaving him quite alone in the world.
But these hardships passed, and some years later Andrew decided to
become a lawyer. After studying law for a while, at twenty-one he
crossed the mountains with an emigrant party into the backwoods region
of Tennessee. Now grown to manhood, he was six feet and one inch tall,
slender, straight, and graceful, with a long slim face and thick hair
falling over a forehead beneath which looked out piercing blue eyes.
When he reached Nashville, the destination of his party, his experience
was, in a large measure, the same as that of Daniel Boone in the wilds
of Kentucky. When the women of the settlement went out to pick berries,
and when the men hoed corn in the clearings, some of the settlers, gun
in hand, with watchful eyes stood guard against attack from stealthy
Indians.
To the dangers belonging to backwoods life, Jackson was greatly exposed.
The court-houses in which, as public prosecutor, he had to try cases,
were in some instances hundreds of miles apart. In going from one to
another he journeyed alone, and sometimes had to remain alone in the
woods for twenty nights in succession. In periods of unusual danger, he
dared not light a fire or even shoot a deer for fear of Indians.
But in the midst of all these dangers he escaped harm, and by his energy
and business ability achieved success as a lawyer. In time he acquired
the means to become a large land-owner. After his marriage he built a
house which he called The Hermitage, on a plantation of 1,100 acres,
about eleven miles from Nashville.
Here Jackson lived with his wife, whom he loved with a deep and abiding
affection. They kept open house for visitors, and entertained large
numbers of guests at a time, treating rich and poor with like
hospitality. His warm heart and generous nature were especially shown in
his own household, where he was kind to all, including his slaves.
Having no children he adopted two, one of whom was an Indian baby-boy
who had lost his mother. Of these children, Jackson was very fond.
Indeed, childlike simplicity was always one of his striking traits. Not
even when he became a noted man did he give up smoking his corn-cob
pipe. But we must not think of him as a faultless man, for besides being
often rough in manner and speech he had a violent temper which got him
into many serious troubles; among them were some foolish duels.
[Illustration: Map Illustrating Two of Andrew Jackson's Campaigns.]
After one of his duels, with a ball in his shoulder and his left arm in
a sling, he went to lead an army of 2,500 men in an attack upon the
Creek Indians, who had risen against the whites in Alabama. These
Indians had captured Fort Mimms, which was in Southern Alabama, about
forty miles north of Mobile, and had massacred 500 men, women, and
children seeking shelter there. Although Jackson was weak from a long
illness, he marched with vigor against the Creeks. In the campaign he
endured much hardship, increased by the difficulty of feeding his 2,500
men in a wild country, where they almost starved for lack of food.
Under such conditions Jackson had to exercise much firmness and tact to
keep his army from deserting and returning home. The following incident
is told to show in what way he won the confidence and love of his men:
"A soldier, gaunt and woe-begone, approached the general one morning,
while he was sitting under a tree eating, and begged for some food, as
he was nearly starving. 'It has always been a rule with me,' replied
Jackson, 'never to turn away a hungry man when it was in my power to
relieve him, and I will most cheerfully divide with you what I have.'
Putting his hand into his pocket, he drew forth a few acorns, saying:
'This is the best and only fare that I have.'" But in spite of all his
drawbacks, Jackson conquered the Creeks, and thus broke for all time the
power of the Indians south of the Ohio River.
Not long afterward he was sent at the head of an army, with the rank of
major-general, to defend New Orleans against an attack of the British
who hoped to get control of the lower Mississippi and all the southern
part of what was then known as the Louisiana Territory. When Jackson
went down to New Orleans he was in such extremely poor health that he
was hardly able to sit on his horse. Nevertheless he worked night and
day with unflagging energy, arming his men and encouraging them to meet
the over-confident British foe.
The British army consisted of 12,000 veterans fresh from victories over
the great Napoleon. Naturally enough they despised the American
backwoodsmen. Their confidence seemed reasonable, for they numbered
twice as many as the Americans.
On January 8, 1815, the British made a vigorous assault on the American
lines. But they were mowed down with such terrible slaughter that at the
end of twenty-five minutes, they were forced to retreat with a loss of
2,600 men in killed and wounded. The Americans lost only twenty-one. The
resolute courage and unwearied action of "Old Hickory," as Jackson was
fondly called by his men, had won a signal victory. Through his military
reputation Jackson soon became very popular. His honesty and patriotism
took a strong hold on the people, and in due time he was elected
President of the United States.
A man of passionate feeling, he loved his friends and hated his enemies
with equal intensity. Moreover, he did not seem to think that a man
could disagree with him, especially in political matters, and still be
his friend. So when he became President he at once began to turn out of
office those who held government positions, and put into their places
men of his own political party who had helped to bring about his
election. Thus was introduced into our national civil service the
"spoils system."
We can readily imagine that such a man, so warm-hearted, and yet so
intolerant, would make many friends and many enemies. But no one doubted
his sincerity, especially in matters pertaining to the welfare of his
country. His absolute fairness and his high sense of duty are well
illustrated by his dealings with the Nullification Act. By reason of a
high tariff, passed for the protection of manufacturers in the North,
South Carolina declared that she would not allow any such law to be
enforced in that State. This declaration was called the Nullification
Act.
[Illustration: JACKSON AT THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS.]
Jackson himself did not favor a high tariff, but he was firm in his
purpose that whatever law Congress passed should be enforced in every
State in the Union. When, therefore, he heard of the action of South
Carolina, he rose to the full height of his executive authority. The
news came to him as he was quietly smoking his corn-cob pipe. In a flash
of anger he cried aloud, "The Union! It must and shall be preserved!
Send for General Scott!" Troops were speedily sent to compel obedience,
and South Carolina withdrew her opposition.
In 1837, at the end of his term of office as President of the United
States, he went to his old home, The Hermitage, where he once more took
up the life of a hospitable planter. He was now nearly seventy years
old, and a constant sufferer from disease. With his usual stubborn will,
however, he battled for several years longer. He died in 1845, at the
age of seventy-eight, one of the most striking figures in American
history. His prompt and decisive action in compelling South Carolina to
obey the tariff laws did much to strengthen the Union, for it prepared
the nation to ward off the greater danger of secession, in which South
Carolina took the lead, twenty-eight years later.
REVIEW OUTLINE
RAPID GROWTH AND INFLUENCE OF THE WEST.
ANDREW JACKSON'S EARLY HOME A RUDE LOG HUT.
"MISCHIEVOUS ANDY" AT SCHOOL.
"ANDY" AND THE BRITISH OFFICER.
JACKSON'S PERSONAL APPEARANCE.
LIFE AT NASHVILLE; BACKWOODS DANGERS.
HOME LIFE AT THE HERMITAGE.
JACKSON CONQUERS THE CREEK INDIANS.
HE WINS THE CONFIDENCE OF HIS MEN.
HE DEFEATS THE BRITISH AT NEW ORLEANS.
JACKSON AND THE UNION.
TO THE PUPIL
1. Explain the rapid growth of the West.
2. Give an account of Jackson's experience in the Revolution.
3. What sort of a man was he in his home life?
4. What and where was The Hermitage?
5. What were his most prominent traits of character?
6. Tell about the Battle of New Orleans.
7. What did Jackson do for the Union?