Andrew Jackson wasn't always popular, he had to work his way up from the bottom to get to where he is now. He began by going to war like his two brothers, which led to him being captured. He suffered heavy persecution with the loss of his family, then reformed his way of life and straightened his path to eventually become President of the United States. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay With the loss of his family and the victory against the English for independence, Jackson had strong hopes for the United States. As Jackson began to revamp his way of life, he “sought a legal career, most often obtained in his day by apprenticing to a lawyer” (Ripper, 2008). Jackson was eventually admitted to law school and later became a lawyer in the future Tennessee. As “Sean Wilentz said, 'Jackson came into the world a complete nobody'” (Ripper, 2008). The first major event in his life was a court case against Waightstill Avery, who publicly disparaged him in court. Being as young as he was, he recklessly challenged him to a duel which resulted in both men shooting directly into the air, both men walking away with their honor and their lives. How he handled this situation gave us an idea of how he would handle future ones and, as Ripper said, “he would fight rather than lose face” (Ripper, 2008). He later ended up falling in love with Rachel Donelson Robards who was already married, but her current marriage was already weak. He filed for divorce which was not completely successful and “They failed to realize that the divorce had only been initiated, not finalized, and this technical error would haunt their marriage and Jackson's political future” (Ripper, 2008). Over the next few years, Jackson obtained positions in the United States Congress as a senator and simultaneously as a superior court judge. Jackson had another major duel in 1806 that nearly ended his life. He had an argument with Charles Dickenson which was originally over a debt owed to Jackson by Dickenson's father. He was also publicly shamed because he shot twice in a row without letting Charles have the same opportunity. Another thing that led to Jackson's bad reputation is his involvement with Aaron Burr, "Burr remained for a time with the Jacksons in 1806, spreading his charms like poison into the ears of those foolish enough to listen" (Ripper, 2008). Burr was eventually discovered and hanged for treason while Jackson appealed to John Marshall's Supreme Court and walked away without trial. He later began to regain his reputation during the War of 1812. He was in command of a state militia, but his most senior officer was a spy for Spain. Not knowing this, "he obeyed, even though the weather was bad, only to be informed upon arrival that his army was not needed... During the miserable journey, Jackson was nicknamed "Old Hickory" in honor of the hardest tree in the region" (Ripper, 2008). With this success, his reputation continued to grow. He made many contributions during the war, eventually leading a small army and winning many battles against the Native Americans and opposing powers. The Battle of Horseshoe Bend was won thanks to Jackson and for this reason he was promoted to major general: "This victory allowed Jackson to dictate the terms, even to the many hundreds of Creeks who had fought as his allies" (Ripper, 2008). He was able to negotiate for land from the Native Americans, which basically ended the war and gave him his middle name "Sharp".?”.
tags