Andrew Jackson

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There are many things that set Andrew Jackson apart from other presidents. His policies and personality set him apart from most. Although he was the seventh president, he was the first in many ways. Jackson was the first president to be born in a log cabin, and he was the first president to ride on a railroad train. Along with that, he was the only president to serve in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
Andrew Jackson was also the first to have a vice-president (John C. Calhoun) resign, he was the first to marry a divorcee, he was the first to be nominated at a national convention, the first to use an informal “Kitchen Cabinet” of advisors, and he was the first president to use the “pocket veto” to kill a congressional bill. While these things are truly incomparable, they are not all that set Andrew Jackson apart from other presidents. Throughout this paper, many more accomplishments in Andrew Jackson’s life will be discussed.
Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767, in the Waxhaw settlement on the western frontier of South Carolina. He was born into a poor family. Jackson was the third child of Scotch-Irish parents. His father, who was also named Andrew, died in a logging accident just a few days before the birth of his third son and future president. After her husband’s death, Jackson’s mother, Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson, raised her three sons at the home of one of her sisters.
At age 13, Andrew Jackson joined the Continental Army as a courier. The Revolution proved to be a tough time for the Jackson family. Hugh, one of Andrew’s older brothers, died after the battle of Stono Ferry, South Carolina, in 1779. Two years later, Andrew and his other brother, Robert, were taken prisoner for a few weeks. Both Andrew and Robert contracted smallpox during their imprisonment, and Robert died just days after they were released. Later that same year, Andrew’s mother went to Charleston to nurse the American prisoners of war. Not long after she arrived, Elizabeth became ill with what was either smallpox or cholera and died.
Andrew became an orphan at the age of fourteen, and he went to live with his uncle, a wealthy slave and land owner. When he was seventeen, he moved to Salisbury, North Carolina to study law and was later admitt...

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... Andrew Jackson remained a power in politics after his retirement. He helped to secure the presidency for Martin Van Buren, his successor, and in 1840, he helped in Van Buren’s failed campaign for re-election. He also labored for the annexation of Texas and stayed close to future president James Polk, who had been one of Jackson’s greatest supporters in Congress as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. In his last years, Andrew Jackson’s health declined greatly, and he passed away at the Hermitage on June 8, 1845.
Throughout his life, Andrew Jackson had many significant accomplishments, both good and bad. He was a loyal friend and a fierce enemy. He was truly unique, and while he was the seventh president, he was the first president to do many things. Jackson had his share of good times and bad times, but in the end, he proved to be a remarkably amazing man.

Bibliography
The Internet. http://www.whitehouse.gov

Encarta Encyclopedia. “Jackson, Andrew.” 1999.

Encyclopedia Brittanica. “Jackson, Andrew.” 1995.

The Internet Public Library. http://www.ipl.org

The Internet. http://www.askjeeves.com. “Andrew Jackson.”

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