Andrew Jackson E-Book

50MINUTES

• Herausgeber: 50Minutes.com
• Kategorie: Sachliteratur, Reportagen, Biografien
• Serie: History
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 36

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

Keen to learn but short on time? Get to grips with the life and career of Andrew Jackson in next to no time with this concise guide.

50Minutes.com provides a clear and engaging analysis of the life, times and career of Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States. Described by the French historian Alexis de Tocqueville as “a man of violent disposition and mediocre ability” who wholly lacked “the necessary qualities to govern a free nation”, Jackson nonetheless enjoyed great popular support and still graces the American $20 bill. How can this startling discrepancy be explained? This guide provides a balanced evaluation of Jackson’s presidency, considering both his successes, such as his role in strengthening democracy and political participation in the USA, and his failings, namely his decision to dismantle the country’s national bank and his complicity in the appalling mistreatment of Native Americans in the Southern states.

In just 50 minutes you will:
• Learn about Jackson’s early life and his decisive role in the War of 1812 between Britain and the USA
• Understand his political beliefs, his main actions as president and their impact on American politics
• Discover the numerous criticisms that have been levelled at him by modern historians

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Leseprobe

Andrew Jackson

Key information

Born: 15 March 1767 in the Waxhaws region of South Carolina.Died: 8 June 1845 in Nashville, Tennessee.Political party: Democratic Party.Election dates:3 December 1828.5 December 1832.Time in office: eight years (1829-1837).Impact:Opposition to secession in South Carolina.Reimbursement of the federal debt.Strengthening of presidential power.Closure of the Second Bank of the United States.Forced resettlement of Native Americans to the West of the Mississippi River.Opening of government jobs to ordinary people.Affirmation of US power on the international stage.

Introduction

In his monumental work Democracy in America, first published in 1840, the French historian Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) delivered a scathing criticism of Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States:

“General Jackson, chosen by the Americans twice as head of their abilities, is a man of violent disposition and mediocre ability; nothing in the course of his career has ever proved that he had the necessary qualities to govern a free nation […]. So, who has placed him upon the President’s chair and still keeps him there?” (Democracy in America and Two Essays on America, p. 342)

But to what extent is this a fair assessment? It is true that there were few signs that this hot-tempered politician would ascend to the highest office in the country: his humble origins stood in sharp contrast to the social and cultural pedigree of his predecessors, who came from affluent East Coast families. However, he was elected twice by the American people. De Tocqueville attributes his electoral victories to his glorious defence of New Orleans against the British forces in 1815, but this is perhaps an overly simplistic evaluation: Jackson’s popularity did not emerge overnight or for one reason alone, and he possessed a number of positive qualities. He was a self-made man, a skilled jurist, a self-taught general and a gifted politician, and he strengthened the powers of the presidency, ensured that the young republic was respected abroad and stamped out secessionist movements at home. He represented a changing society, and a number of historians have referred to his presidency as the Jacksonian Era.

Nicknamed the American Lion by the British, Jackson owes his reputation largely to his desire to democratise political life in the USA, which made him one of the country’s most popular presidents.

Biography

Soldier at 13, orphan at 14

Jackson’s parents were Scots-Irish colonists who moved to South Carolina in 1765. Andrew was the couple’s third son and was born in 1767, shortly after the death of his father. His widowed mother then moved in with her sister and enrolled her sons at Presbyterian schools.

However, the most important formative experience for the young Andrew Jackson was not school, but war. He was eight years old when the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) between mainland Britain and its 13 American colonies broke out. Having been driven back in New England, the British tried to maintain control over their colonies in the South, but did not anticipate such tenacious resistance from the local patriots, who defeated the British troops at Hanging Rock on 1 August 1780. Jackson served in the battle as a courier on the American side, and was captured along with his brother Robert a year later. When he refused to polish a British officer’s boots, he was slashed across the face and hands with a sword, leaving him with permanent scars that were widely viewed as tangible proof of his courage and patriotism.

Engraving of Jackson being attacked with a sword by a British officer.

Although their mother Elizabeth managed to secure their release, it was too late for Robert, who fell seriously ill while in captivity and died shortly after his return. Six months later, Elizabeth contracted cholera in the port of Charleston and soon died, leaving Andrew an orphan at the age of 14. His difficult childhood imbued him with an unshakeable loyalty to the pioneers of the American frontier, a staunch faith in egalitarianism, an acute sense of honour, steadfast patriotism and a profound hatred of the British.

The American frontier