Andrew Jackson help shape America as we know it today. Some people consider Jackson as one of the greatest president ever, and some hold other views. Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767, in the Waxhaws region between North Carolina and South Carolina. Jackson began studying law in Salisbury, North Carolina, in his late teens. In 1787, he was admitted to the bar and became a lawyer in Jonesborough, an area that is now part of Tennessee. In 1796, Jackson was a member of the convention that established the Tennessee Constitution and, that same year, was elected Tennessee's first representative in the U.S. House of Representative. He was elected to the Senate the following year, but resigned after serving only eight months. In 1798, Jackson was elected a judge of the Tennessee Supreme Court, serving in that position until 1804.
Jackson was appointed commander of the Tennessee militia in 1801. During the War of 1812 he led his troops to victory against the Creek Indians at Horseshoe Bend, killing some 800 warriors and procuring 20 million acres of land in present-day Georgia and Alabama. After this military success, Jackson was appointed major general. After leading 5,000 soldiers in the defeat of 7,500 British in New Orleans, on January 8, 1815, Jackson was named a national hero. He received the thanks of Congress and a gold medal. He was also popular among his troops, who said that Jackson was "as tough as old hickory wood" on the battlefield, earning him the nickname "Old Hickory." In 1817, acting as commander of the army’s southern district, Jackson ordered an invasion of Florida. After his forces captured Spanish posts at St. Mark’s and Pensacola, he claimed the surrounding land for the United States. The Spanish government protested, and Jackson’s actions sparked a heated debate in Washington. Though many argued against Jackson, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams defended the general’s actions, and in the end they helped speed the American acquisition...