Andrew Jackson is arguably one the greatest of our forefathers; his actions had a profound effect on the landscape of American History as we know it. This strong and complex character is responsible for the shaping of the Democratic Party as what it is today. As America’s first “working class” president, he changed the presidency He faced adversity and challenges through his personal life and through his presidency, but preserved with his ‘tough as old hickory’ attitude. This attitude changed the way politics were viewed. His strong will and opinions on democracy, government interference, and stance during tough economic crisis gives us the man we see on our twenty dollar bill…Andrew Jackson.
Jackson was born March 15, 1767 in the Waxhaws area near the border of North and South Carolina. The first President to be born in a log cabin. Jackson’s spent his early childhood near the border of North and South Carolina, though it is unknown exactly which side of the state he was born. Jackson was the youngest of three sons. His Parents both of Scotch-Irish decent. Andrew was given his Fathers namesake; however he died just three weeks before his birth due to a logging accident. Jackson’s Mother Elizabeth “Betty” Hutchiunson Jackson, never remarried and was left to raise her three boys on her own. Elisabeth’s sister, who lived in South Carolina, took her in shortly after her husband’s death. And it was there where that the young Andrew lived up until the age of 13. It has been said that she was a strong and Independent woman.
At the age of 13 years old Jackson joined the Continental Army along with his two older brothers. He served the Continental Army as a courier. Serving during the Revolutionary War took a heavy toll on Jackson’s entire family. Hugh Jackson, Andrews’s older brother, died at the battle of Stono Ferry in South Carolina in 1779. In 1781 both Andrew and his brother Robert were taken prisoner for week. In one note worthy incident while Andrew was...