Andrew Jackson

b. Mar 15 1767 d. Jun 8 1845

Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States. A polarizing figure who dominated the Second Party System in the 1820s and 1830s, as president he dismantled the Second Bank of the United States and initiated forced relocation and resettlement of Native American tribes from the Southeast to west of the Mississippi River with the Indian Removal Act. His enthusiastic followers created the modern Democratic Party. More

Jackson was nicknamed Old Hickory because of his toughness and aggressive personality; he fought in duels, some fatal to his opponents. He was a wealthy slaveholder. He fought politically against what he denounced as a closed, undemocratic aristocracy, adding to his appeal to common citizens. He expanded the spoils system during his presidency to strengthen his political base.

Elected president in 1828, Jackson supported a small and limited federal government. He strengthened the power of the presidency, which he saw as spokesman for the entire population, as opposed to Congressmen from a specific small district. He was supportive of states' rights, but during the Nullification Crisis, declared that states do not have the right to nullify federal laws. Strongly against the Second Bank of the United States, he vetoed the renewal of its charter and ensured its collapse. Whigs and moralists denounced his aggressive enforcement of the Indian Removal Act, which resulted in the forced relocation of thousands of Native Americans to Indian Territory. Historians acknowledge his protection of popular democracy and individual liberty for American citizens, but criticize his support for slavery and his role in Indian removal.

Andrew Jackson timeline