According to HistoryNet.com (HN), "Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States. He was a first-generation American, the son of Irish immigrants. He worked hard to advance socially and politically. His actions during the War of 1812—especially his overwhelming victory against British troops at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815—and the Creek War made him a national hero. He is sometimes considered the first modern president, expanding the role from mere executive to active representative of the people, but his Indian removal policies and unwillingness to consider any opinions but his own tarnished his reputation."
As HN continues to document, "Jackson was born near the border of North and South Carolina on March 15, 1767, to Elizabeth Jackson three weeks after the death of his father, Andrew. Two years earlier, the Jacksons had emigrated from northern Ireland with Andrew’s older brothers, Hugh and Robert, to the Waxhaw settlement. Jackson grew up in the settlement, surrounded by a large extended family.
"In 1778 the Revolutionary War came to the Carolinas. Jackson and his brothers volunteered to fight the British, but only Andrew would survive the war. (He was barely in his teens when he enlisted and probably served as a courier.) Hugh died of heatstroke following the Battle of Stone Ferry in 1779. In 1781, Jackson and Robert were captured. During that captivity, a British officer struck him with a sword for refusing to polish the officer’s boots, leaving Andrew with a scar on his face and one hand and a hatred for the British; he would carry all three for the rest of his life," HN reports.
As HistoryNet.com concludes, "Both Andrew and Robert contracted smallpox. Elizabeth negotiated for their freedom, but Robert would die of the disease on April 27, 1781. After Andrew recovered, Elizabeth went to Charleston to nurse sick and wounded soldiers, where she contracted cholera and died on November 2, 1781—Jackson was just 14. He lived briefly with extended family in Waxhaw, then went to Charleston to finish his schooling. He became known for his daring, his playfulness, and his hot-headed temper."
To read more about Andrew Jackson, click here.
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