Andrew Jackson

Jackson, Andrew 

Born Mar. 15, 1767, in Waxhaw; died June 8, 1845, at the Hermitage, in Nashville, Tenn. American military and political figure.

Jackson achieved fame during the War of 1812. In 1821 he became the governor of Florida, and in 1823 he was elected to the Senate. He was the president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. His political followers founded the Democratic Party of the United States which was a union of small farmers and rich plantation owners. Jackson advocated a democratization of the electoral system, a restriction of the power of the Bank of the United States, and a legalization of the activity of workers’ organizations. He sanctioned the preservation of Negro slavery, the extermination of the Indians, and the conquest of new territories. Jackson established the system of granting official posts to the supporters of the party that had won an election [spoils system].

REFERENCE

Schlesinger, A. The Age of Jackson. Boston, 1946.