Andrew Jackson (750 words)

Andrew JacksonAndrew Jackson (1767-1845 )
I feel much alarmed at the prospect of seeing General Jackson President.
He is one the most unfit men I know of for such a place.

Thomas Jefferson to Daniel Webster, 1824
No State Term Party Vice Presidents
7th Tennessee 1829-1837 Democratic John C. Calhoun 1829-1832
Martin Van Buren 1833-1837
Inaugural Addressess
1st 1829 2nd 1833
Annual Messages to Congress
1829 1833
1830 1834
1831 1835
1832 1836
White House Biography
http://www.grolier.com/presidents/ea/bios/07pjack.htmlhttp://www.grolier.com/presidents/ea/bios/07pjack.html
http://www.ipl.org/ref/POTUS/ajackson.htmlhttp://www.ipl.org/ref/POTUS/ajackson.html
Hyperlinked Biography
Portrait
The Hermitage
Origin of Democratic Donkey
Visiting Jackson’s Grave
Search Alta Vista
Where is there a chief magistrate of whom so much evil has been predicted,
and from whom so much good has come?
Thomas H. Benton – Speech in the Senate January 12, 1837
Comments, criticisms, corrections or kudos welcome . . . .
Andrew Jackson had a fierce will and sometimes savage temper, both illustrated in the following, in which some background is provided as it illustrates the society Jackson lived in:
In 1805 a friend of Jackson’s deprecated the manner in which Captain Joseph Ervin had handled a bet with Jackson over a horse race. Ervin’s son-in-law, Charles Dickinson became enraged and started quarrelling with Jackson’s friend which lead to Jackson becoming involved. Dickinson wrote to Jackson calling him a coward and an equivicator. The affair continued, with more insults and misunderstandings, until Dickinson published a statement in the Nashville Review in May 1806, calling Jackson a worthless scoundrel, … a poltroon and a coward.
Jackson challenged Dickinson to a duel very much according to the customs of the time in the south. Dickinson, known as one of the best shots in Tennessee if not the best, had choice of weapons and chose pistols.
Dickinson fired the first shot, which broke two of Jackson’s ribs and lodged two inches from his heart. Dickinson then had to stand at the mark as Jackson, clutching his chest, aimed slowly and shot him fatally.
Though acceptable by the code of the times, many people considered it a cold-blooded killing. I presume the rules of engagement were for each man to draw and fire at the same time, upon hearing the signal, but if one fired, there was no second round until the other man fired. The implication is that magnanimity would have required Jackson to fire into the air rather than taking a slow deliberate aim at 24 feet.
Jackson’s wound never healed properly and abcesses formed around the bullet, causing pain and some debilitation for Jackson’s remaining 39 years.
Bibliography
Selected Bibliography
1. Basset, John S. The Life of Andrew Jackson. 2 vols. NY: , 1938
2. Cave, Alfred A. Jacksonian Democracy and the Historians. Gainesville, Fla: , 1964
3. Cole, Donald B. The Presidency of Andrew Jackson Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1993
4. Curtis, James C. Andrew Jackson and the Search for Vindication. Boston: Little, Brown, 1976
5. Gammon, Samuel Rhea, Jr. The Presidential Campaign of 1832 Baltimore: John Hopkins Press, 1922
6. Heiskell, Samuel G. Andrew Jackson and Early Tennesse History. Nashville: Ambrose, 1920
7. Hugins, Walter Jacksonian Democracy and Working Class. Stanford: , 1960
8. James, Marquis Andrew Jackson. 2 vols. Indianapolis: , 1937
9. James, Marquis The Life of Andrew Jackson. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1938
10. Jenkins, John S Life and Public Services of Gen. Andrew Jackson. Philadelphia: Porter ; Coates, 1880
11. Latner, Richard B. The Presidency of Andrew Jackson: White House Politics 1829-1837. Athens, Ga: U of Ga, 1979
12. Marquis, James Andrew Jackson: Portrait of A President. NY: , 1937
13. Parton, James Life of Andrew Jackson. 3 vols. NY: , 1961
14. Remini, Robert V. The Election of Andrew Jackson. NY: Lippincott, 1963
15. Remini, Robert V. Andrew Jackson. NY: Harper ; Row, 1966
16. Remini, Robert V. Andrew Jackson and the Bank War. NY: Norton, 1967
17. Remini, Robert V. Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Empire 1767-1821. NY: Harper ; Row, 1977
18. Remini, Robert V. Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Freedom 1822-1832. NY: Harper ; Row, 1981
19. Remini, Robert V. Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Democracy 1833-1845. NY: Harper ; Row, 1984
20. Remini, Robert V. Andrew Jackson: A Bibliography. Westport, CT: Meckler, 1991
21. Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr. The Age of Jackson. Boston: Little, Brown, 1946
22. Sumner, William Graham Andrew Jackson. Boston: , 1882
23. Van Duesen, Glendon G. The Jacksonian Era 1828-1848. NY: , 1959
24. Ward, John William Andrew Jackson: Symbol for an Age. NY: Oxford, 1955
History Essays