Andrew jackson biography information sheets

Andrew Jackson, 1767-1845

Seventh President, 1829-1837

Personal Information

Jackson was born in the then remote Waxhaws region of the Carolinas, on March 15, 1767. His parents were Scots-Irish immigrants, and his father died just three weeks shy of Jackson’s birth.

One of three children (all boys), Jackson grew up in near-poverty and received very little schooling as a child. His older brother Hugh died of heat stroke during the Battle of Stono Ferry—a battle against the British, near Charleston, SC, during the American Revolution in 1779. Andrew, then thirteen years old, joined the local militia as a patriot courier.

At fifteen years of age, Jackson and his other brother, Robert, were captured by the British in 1781. Jackson’s face was slashed by a British officer’s sword when he refused to polish his boots while in imprisoned, leaving lasting scars. While in confinement, the two brothers contracted smallpox, from which Robert would die just a few days after being released.

Soon after the death of his brother, Jackson’s mother died of cholera and Jackson was orphaned at the age of 14. The deaths of his family members led to his lifelong distrust of Britain.

In 1791, Jackson married Rachel Donelson Robards (1767-1828). He was her second husband; she divorced her first husband, Lewis Robards.

In 1802 Jackson was appointed as major general of the Tennessee militia, and would later lead troops in the War of 1812.

Jackson led his troops to victory in the Battle of Horseshow Bend in March of 1814, which decimated the Red Sticks, a faction of the Creek Indians, and lead to the US obtaining 20 million acres of land in what is now Georgia and Alabama. Jackson would then be promoted to major general. 

Although the War of 1812 had officially ended, the British later attempted to separate the Louisiana Territory from the rest of the US. “Mad Dog Jackson,” as he was known during his military career, led his soldiers to victory against the British in the

Andrew Jackson [March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845] was the seventh president of the United States. A landowner and a prominent lawyer, he was a war hero during the War 0f 1812, known to be the founder of the Democratic Party, put an end to the Second Bank of the United States and a strong champion for individual liberty. But his stellar reputation was marred with his connection to the forced the migration of Native Americans resulting to the deaths of thousands. On a whole, Andrew Jackson is ranked by scholars and historians as the ninth most successful president of the United States. Below are some great facts on President Andrew Jackson or alternatively download our comprehensive worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Andrew Jackson Basic Facts

• Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767, three weeks after his father’s sudden death at the young age of 29.
• He grew up in poverty in the wilderness of Waxhaws.
• He had an older brother who died in the Battle of Stono Ferry in 1779. His name was Hugh.
• He joined the Continental Army at the age of 13 during the American Revolution. A little later, he got captured by the British with his brother Robert. Both of them contracted smallpox while in prison. They were released through an arrangement made by their mother but Robert died shortly after as he never recovered from the disease. Jackson’s mother also died from the cholera she contracted while caring for the injured and sick soldiers of the war leaving him an orphan at th

Let’s know more about Andrew Jackson!

From 1829 until 1837, Andrew Jackson served as the seventh President of the United States (US). He sought to advance the ‘common man’ rights against a ‘corrupted aristocracy’. His term was better known as Jacksonian Democracy, alluding to the entire range of democratic reforms that accompanied his triumph in office. Despite being an authentic democratic movement, Jacksonian Democracy was an ambiguous concept that only represented the white man and not a specific class or region, appearing as a political impulse tied to slavery, the subjugation of Indigenous peoples, and the celebration of white supremacy.

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION

• Andrew Jackson was born on 15 March 1767 in the Waxhaws region in Carolinas. His parents were Andrew Jackson and Elizabeth Hutchinson, from Ulster, Ireland. Jackson had two siblings: Hugh Jackson, born in 1763, and Robert Jackson, born in 1764. Jackson’s father died aged 29 in a logging accident in February 1767, three weeks before Jackson was born. 
• Following her husband’s death, Elizabeth and her three sons relocated to the home of her sister and brother-in-law, Jane and James Crawford. 
• According to some historians, Jackson’s birthplace was unknown. Jackson later asserted that he was born on the Crawford estate in Lancaster County, South Carolina, although second-hand evidence suggests that he might have been born at the home of a relative in North Carolina.
• Elizabeth hoped Jackson would become a priest when he was young, so she hired a local clergyman to educate Jackson. He learnt to read, write and work with numbers and was exposed to Greek and Latin literature. As a child, Jackson was considered too strong-willed and hot-tempered for a ministry.

JACKSON DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR

• The American Revolutionary War, also known as the Revolutionary War, was the military conflict of the American Revolution in which Americ