July 4th Special: Andrew Jackson Part 2

Last post, I explained Andrew Jackson's rough and tough side, and how his tendencies towards violence can be found back to his childhood. Now for Part Two of the Jackson July 4th special at Mugshots.

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Andrew Jackson first ran for president in 1824 on the Democratic-Republican ticket, against Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams. Jackson ran as a “man of the people”, as he was himself a “common” man, who worked hard to make a name for himself and to get to the place he was; on the other hand, Adams was a man of an aristocratic background, and who hardly understood the plight of those who have never been well-to-do.

Jackson was also known as “Old Hickory”, as he also had a reputation of being tough. He gained the most popular votes (not the majority of them), but as anyone familiar with the American political system can tell you, the popular vote doesn’t count anyway except to select the state electors who are most likely to vote for whatever majority chose them, and the electors can vote for whomever they wish. In the end, Adams won the Electoral College, and thusly the presidency. Jackson called this a “corrupt bargain”, for Clay opted to support Adams, the latter then appointing his supporter as Secretary of State.

Victory for our hero would come four years later, in the election of 1828 – an election also known for having the most mud slung between the two major candidates. As the candidate for the newly-formed Democratic party, created by Martin Van Buren, Jackson ran against Republican incumbent John Quincy Adams. One major bit of Anti-Jacksonian propaganda was actually against his wife: Rachel Jackson was thought to have also been a bigamist, a person married to two people at once.

Rachel Jackson had been unhappily married when she had met Ol’ Hickory; her husband filed for a divorce, and when it was thought the divorce had gone through, Rachel married Andrew. In actuality, the divorced was not yet finalized, and the second marriage was void. After the divorce had definitely gone through, however, Rachel and Andrew remarried. What’s also interesting to note is that the Jacksons raised an orphaned Native American boy, even with AJ’s reputation of fighting Indians.

In the election of 1828, Jackson won over the Electoral College, becoming the “people’s president.” Unfortunately, just a few months after his victory, Rachel Jackson died; Andrew Jackson blamed her death on all his opponents who insulted her character.

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That's all for tonight, but tomorrow the irony of Jackson being on the twenty-dollar bill will be explained, as well as other policies that defined his presidency. If you have any questions, comments, etc., feel free to comment this post or e-mail me at metal_enthalpy@yahoo.com. Also e-mail me any mugshots you may have (coffee mugs, please).

July 4th Special: Andrew Jackson Part 1

This July 4^th, the Mugshot Blog would like to honour a great American hero. This president is perhaps among the first Americans to initiate a culture, or at least image, of violence for the United States. He also served in three wars, possibly even postponing a fourth for another thirty years. The first “common man’s” candidate since Jefferson, first Democrat, the first to severely cane someone, and the last to oppose a National Bank yet still have his face on federal notes, the seventh president of the United States of America is one of the nation’s most colourful characters in history. Indeed, Andrew Jackson had a life full of adventure, and what better way to start his story than at its beginning?

Andrew Jackson was the third and final son of Andrew (who died three week’s before our hero’s birth) and Elizabeth Jackson. He was born March 15^th, 1767, though it’s unclear as to whether he was born in North or South Carolina. When he was about fourteen, he served in the Revolutionary War, and was captured by the British. He was released, and after the war he became orphaned, as all of his immediate family died from war-related problems.

Later, Jackson went into law school, and practiced cases on the frontier. He even became a planter, having a plantation manned by as many as 40 slaves in Tennessee. Jackson was also involved in many duels, yet only killed one person in one: Charles Dickinson. The story goes that Jackson allowed Dickinson to shoot first; our hero was shot extremely close to his heart, but he was able to shoot back, killing the opponent.

Jackson had a reputation as an Indian fighter, first earned in the War of 1812. In the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, Jackson and his men fought and won over the Red Stick Creeks. He later led his men into an outstanding victory over the British in the Battle of New Orleans: Jackson’s group of 5,000 only sustained 13 casualties, while the British forces of 7,500 had 2,000 of their men killed. Jackson also garnered his reputation of Indian fighting in the First Seminole War, where he fought back the Seminole Indians south from Georgia to Florida, even onward, going into Spanish territory and causing a bit of an international dilemma to be resolved by then-president Monroe.

Jackson was no easy-going commander, either: Jackson’s men at New Orleans had only enlisted for a certain amount of time. When that time was up, and food was low, they were more than ready to leave. Jackson, however, would hear none of it; one of the men, possibly even a few, decided to leave, but Jackson shot them, demonstrating that none of his men should cross him. Of course, after that moment, his men were a lot more obedient.

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Jackson's story is a bit long, so I'll have to break this into parts, another segment added for each day of this 4th of July weekend. Have a great holiday, everyone, and be sure to come back tomorrow for some more Jacksonian action!

If there are any errors, or if you have any questions, don't be shy, and feel free to comment or e-mail me at metal_enthalpy@yahoo.com.