SOUTH CAROLINA HALL OF FAME
Teacher Guide
Andrew Jackson
South Carolina Social Studies Standards
Andrew Jackson
The New Nation-A New Nation and State
The Civil War-Forces of Unity and Division
Topics include - War of 1812, Old Hickory, Battle of New Orleans, Popular vote/populist
president, Industrial revolution, tariffs/nullification, John C. Calhoun, Indian Removal Act,
Cherokee Trail of Tears
Standard 4-5: The student will demonstrate an understanding of westward expansion of the
United States and its impact on the institution of slavery.
4-5.4 - Summarize how territorial expansion related land policies, and specific legislation
affected Native Americans, including the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and the Indian Removal
Act of 1830.
Standard 8-3: The student will demonstrate an understanding of South Carolina's role in the
development of the new national government.
8-3.4 - Analyze the position of South Carolina on the issues that divided the nation in the early
1800s, including the assumption of state debts, the creation of a national bank, the protective
tariff and the role of the United States in the European conflict between France and England
and in the War of 1812.
Standard 8-4: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the multiple events that led
to the Civil War.
8-4.3 - Analyze key issues that led to South Carolina's secession from the Union, including the
nullification controversy and John C. Calhoun, the extension of slavery and the compromises
over westward expansion, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Dred Scott decision, and the election
of 1860.
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S.C. Hall of Fame Biography
Andrew Jackson
Born in the Waxhaws area of South Carolina, Jackson was
instilled with the fiery determination of his Scots-Irish parents
and as a young revolutionary was wounded and imprisoned
before his fourteenth birthday. He preferred soldiering to
politics despite serving in both the United States House of
Representatives and the United States Senate from Tennessee.
At the outbreak of the War of 1812, Jackson was elected as a
major general. His string of victories was capped by the defeat
of the British at the Battle of New Orleans. Jackson was elected
President of the United States in 1828 and reelected in 1832.
The Jacksonian era was marked by nationalism, the rise of
common democracy, the spoils system and the birth of the
Democratic Party.
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Transcript
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was born near Waxhaws Creek in Lancaster County, South Carolina, on March
15th, 1767. His parents had immigrated to the New World from Northern Ireland.
Andrew Jackson always thought and believed and said that he was born in South Carolina.
The American Revolution came to the region in 1780 at the Battle of Waxhaws, or Buford’s
Massacre, fought about 16 miles from Jackson’s home.
Andrew, barely a teenager, got his first taste of military action at the Battle of Hanging Rock.
That particular battle became important to Andrew Jackson because he was allowed to go with
the soldiers, and he held their horses while the battle went on beyond him. So he was within
earshot of hearing what was going on in the battle, and he could see the wounded coming back
out. And it was during this time Andrew Jackson really developed his love of the military which
would continue to follow him through the rest of his life.
None of Jackson’s family survived the war.
In peacetime, Jackson earned a law degree and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he
married, started a plantation, and dabbled in politics.
He was elected Major General of the Tennessee Militia, which was activated in the War of
1812. Jackson’s men called their leader “Old Hickory” because of his discipline and toughness.
Jackson was a resourceful and very determined commander throughout the war. He garnered
the loyalty of a substantial majority of his troops, and probably the absolute hatred of others—
he was very hard on his men. He wasn’t an easy general to fight for, but those who stuck it out
ended up with a great deal of respect and affection for him.
Jackson was first sent to quell an Indian rebellion in Alabama, then went on to become the hero
of the Battle of New Orleans.
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The ironic thing is that neither Jackson nor his British counterpart knew that a peace treaty had
already been signed over in Belgium. News of Jackson’s victory and the news of the peace
treaty arrived in Washington, D.C. about the same time. And as a result, Jackson was toasted as
the savior of the nation and the man who guaranteed the rising glory of the republic.
Jackson rode this wave of popularity to be elected seventh President of the United States in
1828, and served two terms.
States were just beginning to allow the people to vote on Presidential candidates rather than
just have their legislature choose. So it was possible for a candidate to just catch fire at the
grass roots level, and that’s what happened to Jackson.
Andrew Jackson believed government should serve the “will of the people.” He also believed
that to carry out the will of the people you needed a strong President. His administration made
great strides carrying the young nation forward economically.
In the decade before Andrew Jackson took office, the real enduring political controversy
throughout the United States was how much the government should intervene to help change
the economy in a more commercial or industrial direction. These were years of the early
Industrial Revolution. The factories wanted tariff protection. As transportation became more
advanced, the railroad came along—the railroads wanted to organize themselves as
corporations. There were banks. All these things required government intervention to get
them going.
When rival and fellow South Carolinian John C. Calhoun threatened “nullification” of the tariff,
Jackson did not hesitate to threaten his former home state with military force.
Jackson was a person of extraordinary strong personality. He almost never thought he was
wrong. He certainly was not a “small d” democrat, in that he thought he should always consult
the majority and do what they wanted. He thought he was the majority, in some sense. But he
enjoyed such popularity, it’s kind of easy to see.
But “Jacksonian democracy” did nothing to improve the standing of minorities such as
American Indians.
From the very beginning of his administration Jackson was determined to remove all the
Indians to west of the Mississippi. The most famous example is the expulsion of the Cherokees,
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and the Cherokees were basically rounded up at gunpoint and sent out to Oklahoma. There
wasn’t enough food, blankets, medical supplies, and things of that nature to take care of people
in the winter. And about ¼ of the Cherokees died on the way.
Jackson also failed to confront the issue that would eventually drive a wedge through the
Union—slavery.
Sentiment for gradual emancipation was already out there. And in 1831, you began to get the
appearance of true anti-slavery “radical” sentiment.
There were people who thought that slavery was fundamentally hostile to American free
institutions and that we ought to find some way to do away with it.
In retirement, Andrew Jackson returned to his plantation in Nashville, “The Hermitage,” where
he died June 8th, 1845.
He represented the movement of political power and economic activities to the west. He
represented the rise of a self-made man, of a commoner, to wealth and prominence—probably
the first kind of “rags to riches” story in American history.
He was the last President elected who was born in the colonial period. So he understood
where America came from—its very beginning—and where it was headed.
Jackson’s permanent accomplishment was to enshrine the so-called “will of the people” as the
ultimate arbiter in American government and American society. When the principles of
Jacksonian democracy are fully implemented and fairly enforced, most Americans are fully in
favor of them and understand that they’re indispensable.
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Credits
South Carolina Social Studies Standard Correlations were provided by Lisa Ray
The purpose of the South Carolina Hall of Fame is to recognize and honor both contemporary
and past citizens who have made outstanding contributions to South Carolina's heritage and
progress.
Funding for Knowitall.org was provided by the S. C. General Assembly through the K-12
Technology Initiative.
Visit scetv.org/education for more educational resources.
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