Andrew Jackson: Old Hickory

Andrew Jackson was known as “Old Hickory”. He was given this nickname because he was considered “as rough as the bark on a hickory tree.” He was born on March 15, 1761 in what is present day North and South Carolina. He was born to a widowed mother who had emigrated from Ireland two year prior. During his youth he attended several different academies in the Carolinas. When he was 13 he served as an Orderly during the American Revolution. Jackson and his brother were captured following a battle. At the prison camp a British officer ordered Jackson to clean his boots, when Jackson refused he was slashed with a sword, leaving a prominent scar on his forehead and left hand. By the time the war had ended, Andrew Jackson was the only remaining member of his family.

This rough, adventurous upbringing is what molded Andrew Jackson into the aggressive leader that he was. This upbringing also led to him having a violent temper and a need for intense loyalty from his friends. After the war, Jackson studied law at an office in Salisbury, North Carolina. A short time after earning his law license, he moved to what is present day Nashville, Tennessee. There he became a very prominent lawyer. He then

He later became judge of the Superior Court of Tennessee, but he resigned soon after to devote himself to his plantation. By the time the War of 1812 had broken out, Jackson has attained the position of Major General in the Tennessee militia. It was after a battle versus Creek Indians in present day Alabama that he was given his nickname “Old Hickory”. Jackson became a national hero when successfully defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans. The British suffered over two thousand casualties while a ragtag group of American militia only suffered only 71 casualties. It was at the Battle of New Orleans that gained the media attention that eventually led to his