Andrew Jackson From War Hero to President of the United States

Andrew Jackson was a regular southern man from Tennessee man that came to fame for his accomplishments on the battlefield during the War of1812 and the Battle of New Orleans. Jackson would later ride this fame all the way to becoming the seventh president of the United States from 1829-1837. Read here to learn about Andrew Jackson from war hero to president of the United States.

Andrew Jackson came to be well known in March of 1814 when the Tennessee planter led his troops in the War of 1812 against the Creek Indians at what became known as the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. The Creeks were defeated and forced to give up most of their lands to the United States forces.

Andrew Jackson became really famous when he led forces combined of militia, Native Americans, pirates and others against an invading force of British soldiers led by General Sir Edward Packenham as they attempted to invade New Orleans. Neither Jackson nor Packenham was aware the Treaty of Ghent had already signed officially ending the War of 1812 earlier in December. Packenham’s forces attacked Jackson’s on January 8, 1815. Jackson’s forces gunned down the invading redcoat army from behind their fortifications of bales of cotton. It was huge victory for Andrew Jackson’s troops as about 700 British soldiers were killed in about and hour. This victory made Andrew Jackson a hero and helped to solidify the United States position in the United States.

Andrew Jackson was not a politician but a well known war hero and one of four candidates in the election of 1824. Jackson claimed to speak for Americans who felt they had been left out of politics at the time. He was more of the common man’s candidate. At the time, many Americans felt that politics in Washington were controlled only by the wealthy elite and that they had no say in political matters. Jackson received the largest number of popular votes of any of the candidates. In second place was John Quincy Adams, son of former President John Adams. The constitution states that if no candidate receives a majority (over 50%) that the House of Representatives will decide the winner. Henry Clay who received the third highest number of popular votes is believed to have then struck a deal with John Quincy Adams. Clay convinced his supporters in congress to vote for Adams. They did and Adams was able to defeat Jackson for president. The newly elected Adams soon appointed Henry Clay as his Secretary of State. This position was seen at the time as a stepping stone to the presidency as many presidents had held this job in the past. The supporters of Andrew Jackson were outraged over the events and called the deal between Clay and Adams the “corrupt bargain.” Nothing could be done about is though and Adams was president

The presidential election of 1828 featured Andrew Jackson running against the incumbent, John Quincy Adams. The single party from the previous election was the Republican Party. By this time, the party had split into the Democratic-Republicans and the National-Republicans. The Democrats favored Jackson and the National Republicans favored Adams. It was a bitter campaign that saw the two sides attacking each other with insults and even complete lies. This became known as mudslinging. This election also saw the arrival of campaign slogans, buttons, and rallies to encourage enthusiasm for the candidates. Andrew Jackson ended up winning the election in a landslide or overwhelming majority with 56% of the popular vote. The famed hero from the Battle of New Orleans had now become the President of the United States. Many poor Americans now felt they had a president that they could relate to and Jackson would indeed have an impact on how things were done in Washington D.C. for his two presidential terms.