Andrew Jackson

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Andrew Jackson

Introduction:

"Every good citizen makes his county's honor his own, and cherishes it not only as precious but sacred. He is willing to risk his life in its defense and its conscious that he gains protections while he gives it." This quote by Andrew Jackson reflects his views as a president, military leader, and American citizen. He was the seventh president of the United States. He was born on March 15,1767 in North Carolina and died on June 8,1845 in Nashville, Tennessee. Over his life, he had many accomplishment; his biggest was becoming president. He was strong military leader and a rousing politician. He held many different political positions before his presidency. However, this is not where his story begins. It begins in a small cabin in a settlement named the Waxhaws.

Childhood:

Andrew Jackson was born in a log cabin in the Waxhaws in North Carolina. His father died before Jackson was born leaving his mother, Elizabeth "Betty" Hutchison Jackson, with two older sons, Hugh and Robert Jackson, and newborn Andrew. She raised them by herself under her sister's roof. Little is known about his childhood, but his education was very minuet for he only attended a small back-woods school. Young Jackson enlisted in the Continental Army at nine years old during the American Revolution. His oldest brother, Hugh, was killed at the Battle of Saratoga and two years after his brother's death, he and his other brother Robert were taken prisoner after the battle of Hanging Rock. They were taken to a British prison named Camden. Here, Jackson and his brother suffered from starvation and Jackson suffered serious brutality. In one instance, Jackson suffered a serious sword cut on the arm for refusing to clean a British offic...

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...y was a very important one. He saw through many negotiations and was the only president to pay off the national debt. His interactions between the United States and other countries paved the way for treaties and many of the peace acts with other countries that we still have today. He felt that having a solid foreign policy would benefit the United States in the end, but he did not like the idea of alliances with other countries. He once said, "The moment we engage in confederations or alliances with any nations, we may from that time, date the downfall of out republic." By saying this, he believed that by meddling in other country affairs, we would be tied to them if a crisis ever arose; and this is certainly, what happened in the World Wars. Jackson was a president of common sense and that is probably why he is one of the greatest presidents the country has ever had.

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