what was andrew jackson life like before he became a lawyer in 1787

by Miss Mattie Robel IV 7 min read

How old was Andrew Jackson when he became a lawyer?

Raised by his uncles, Jackson began studying law in Salisbury, North Carolina, in his late teens. He was admitted to the bar in 1787, and soon after, the 21-year-old Jackson was appointed prosecuting attorney in the western district of North Carolina, an area that is now part of Tennessee.

What did Andrew Jackson do in his early life?

Andrew Jackson’s Early Life. Jackson read law in his late teens and earned admission to the North Carolina bar in 1787. He soon moved west of the Appalachians to the region that would soon become the state of Tennessee, and began working as a prosecuting attorney in the settlement that became Nashville.

What was the relationship between Andrew Jackson and his wife?

Emily was married to Andrew Jackson Donelson, who acted as Jackson's private secretary and in 1856 ran for vice president on the American Party ticket. The relationship between the president and Emily became strained during the Petticoat affair, and the two became estranged for over a year.

What did Andrew Jackson do in the House of Representatives?

From December 6, 1796 to March 3, 1797, Jackson serves in the U.S. House of Representatives, which convenes in Philadelphia. He serves on committee to examine methods for determining post offices and post roads, as a member of Ways and Means, and in other functions.

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What was the early life of Andrew Jackson?

Birthplace and Early Life Jackson's father, for whom he was named, died shortly before he was born. Raised by his widowed mother in the Waxhaws settlement located near the North Carolina and South Carolina border, Jackson grew up with a large extended family that were also Scots-Irish immigrant farmers.

What did Andrew Jackson do before he was elected?

Before being elected to the presidency, Jackson gained fame as a general in the United States Army and served in both houses of the U.S. Congress. An expansionist president, Jackson sought to advance the rights of the "common man" against a "corrupt aristocracy" and to preserve the Union.

How was Andrew Jackson's life different than other presidents before him?

Unlike other famously strong Presidents, Jackson defined himself not by enacting a legislative program but by thwarting one. In eight years, Congress passed only one major law, the Indian Removal Act of 1830, at his behest. During this time Jackson vetoed twelve bills, more than his six predecessors combined.

How was Andrew Jackson able to become a lawyer?

Raised by his uncles, Jackson began studying law in Salisbury, North Carolina, in his late teens. He was admitted to the bar in 1787, and soon after, the 21-year-old Jackson was appointed prosecuting attorney in the western district of North Carolina, an area that is now part of Tennessee.

What was Andrew Jackson's first job?

Jackson read law in his late teens and earned admission to the North Carolina bar in 1787. He soon moved west of the Appalachians to the region that would soon become the state of Tennessee and began working as a prosecuting attorney in the settlement that became Nashville.

What did Andrew Jackson do in his first term?

Andrew Jackson was the first to be elected president by appealing to the mass of voters rather than the party elite. He established the principle that states may not disregard federal law. However, he also signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which led to the Trail of Tears.

What are 3 interesting facts about Andrew Jackson?

Here are 10 facts about Jackson you may not know:He was a Revolutionary War prisoner of war. ... Jackson, like Lincoln, was a self-taught frontier lawyer. ... He served in Congress at a young age. ... Jackson made his money in the cotton business and owned slaves. ... Jackson was also a self-taught military leader.More items...•

Why is Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill?

Andrew Jackson first appeared on the $20 bill in 1928. Although 1928 coincides with the 100th anniversary of Jackson's election as president, it is not clear why the portrait on the bill was switched from Grover Cleveland to Jackson. (Cleveland's portrait was moved to the new $1000 bill the same year).

Was Andrew Jackson a good lawyer?

Jackson was a great man. Western men should understand him. And he was an excellent lawyer, whatever men may think of his spelling.

Did Andrew Jackson become a teacher?

Early Youth (age 15-21) Jackson, living with neighbors and relatives, managed to finish school, then teach for a year or two. At 17 he set out to become a lawyer, acting as clerk for a lawyer in Salisbury, North Carolina, in return for access to his books (the usual "course of study" in those days).

When did Andrew Jackson pass the bar exam?

After the American Revolution, Jackson now a teenage orphan and hardened war veteran set out to study law. He passed the Bar in 1787 at the age of twenty. He began his law career as a public prosecutor in the frontier town of Nashville, which at the time was still a part of North Carolina.

Overview

Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, general, and statesman who served as the 7th president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, Jackson gained fame as a general in the United States Army and served in both houses of the U.S. Congress. An expansionist president, Jackson sought to advance the rights of the "common man" against a "corrupt aristocracy" and to preserve the Un…

Early life and education

Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767, in the Waxhaws region of the Carolinas. His parents were Scots-Irish colonists Andrew Jackson and his wife Elizabeth Hutchinson, Presbyterians who had emigrated from Ulster, Ireland, two years earlier. Jackson's father was born in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, around 1738. Jackson's parental ancestors crossed into Northern Ireland from Scotland after the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
When they migrated to North America in 1765, Jackson's parents brought two children with them from Ireland, H…

Revolutionary War service

During the Revolutionary War, Jackson's eldest brother, Hugh, died from heat exhaustion after the Battle of Stono Ferry on June 20, 1779. Anti-British sentiment intensified following the Waxhaws Massacre on May 29, 1780. Jackson's mother encouraged him and his elder brother Robert to attend the local militia drills. Soon, they began to help the militia as couriers. They served under Colonel William Richardson Davie at the Battle of Hanging Rock on August 6. Andre…

Early career

After the Revolutionary War, Jackson received a sporadic education in a local Waxhaw school. On bad terms with much of his extended family, he boarded with several different people. In 1781, he worked for a time as a saddle-maker, and eventually taught school. He apparently prospered in neither profession. In 1784, he left the Waxhaws region for Salisbury, North Carolina, where he studied law under attorney Spruce Macay. With the help of various lawyers, he was able to learn enough to qualify for the bar. In September 1787, Jackson was admitted to the Nort…

Planting career and controversy

In addition to his legal and political career, Jackson prospered as a planter and merchant. He built a home and the first general store in Gallatin, Tennessee, in 1803. The next year, he acquired The Hermitage, a 640-acre (259 ha) plantation in Davidson County, near Nashville. He later added 360 acres (146 ha) to the plantation, which eventually totaled 1,050 acres (425 ha). The primary crop was cotton. Like most successful American planters at the time, Jackson's pl…

Military career

Leading up to 1812, the United States found itself increasingly drawn into international conflict. Formal hostilities with Spain or France never materialized, but tensions with Britain increased for a number of reasons. Among these was the desire of many Americans for more land, particularly British Canada and Florida, the latter still controlled by Spain, Britain's European ally. On June 18, 1812, Congress officially declared war on the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, begi…

Presidential aspirations

In the spring of 1822, Jackson suffered a physical breakdown. His body had two bullets lodged in it, and he had grown exhausted from years of hard military campaigning. He regularly coughed up blood, and his entire body shook. Jackson feared that he was on the brink of death. After several months of rest, he recovered. During his convalescence, Jackson's thoughts increasingly turned to national affairs. He obsessed over rampant corruption in the Monroe ad…

Presidency (1829–1837)

Jackson's name has been associated with Jacksonian democracy or the shift and expansion of democracy with the passing of some political power from established elites to ordinary voters based in political parties. "The Age of Jackson" shaped the national agenda and American politics. Jackson's philosophy as president was similar to that of Jefferson, advocating republican values held by the Revolutionary generation. Jackson took a moral tone, with the bel…

Early Life of Andrew Jackson

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Andrew 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 famil…
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Law Career

  • At 17, Jackson decided to become a lawyer after briefly teaching school and moved to Salisbury, North Carolina. He apprenticed with prominent lawyers for three years and in 1787 received his license to practice law in several backcountry counties. To supplement his income as a lawyer, he also worked in general stores in the small towns he lived in....
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Marriage and Family

  • At one frontier fort, he met Rachel Donelson Robards, a woman in a troubled marriage. After hearing that her husband had been granted permission to divorce her, Jackson went to her in Natchez, where her mother had sent her, and may have married her there although there is no record of the marriage. When they returned to Nashville in 1791, they discovered the divorce had not occurred. In 1792, Rachel’s husband sued for divorce on grounds of …
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Andrew Jackson’s Early Political Career

  • Throughout the 1790s, Jackson helped lay the foundation for the State of Tennessee, becoming Attorney General district around Nashville in 1791. He served as a delegate to the Tennessee Constitutional Convention and in 1796 traveled to Philadelphia to lobby Congress for statehood. He became Tennessee’s first member of the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from 1796 to 1797, and was selected to be its U.S. Senator, serving 1797–1798. Due …
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Jackson’s Military Career

  • When the War of 1812 began in June 1812, Jackson offered his services to President James Madison but was rebuffed for six months due to his reputation for rashness and his association with Aaron Burr. In December, he was finally commissioned a major general and ordered to lead 1,500 troops south to Natchez with the intent to go on to defend New Orleans. In March 1813, the War Department believed the threat to New Orleans had passed a…
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The Presidency

  • Upon his return to Tennessee from Florida, powerful friends nominated Jackson for the U.S. presidency in 1822—although the election would not be for another two years—and elected him the U.S. Senate again. Jackson was able to garner support that would help him go far in the 1824 election, although he lost to John Quincy Adams. Undeterred, Jackson resigned from the Senate in October 1825 and spent the next three years campaig…
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Andrew Jackson and The Nullification Crisis

  • Jackson presided over the nation’s first secession crisis. South Carolina declared the right to nullify federal tariff legislation because it hurt the state’s financial interests and threatened to secede in November 1832 following Jackson’s reelection. In December 1832, Jackson introduced a Force Bill to Congress that would allow him to send federal troops to South Carolina to enforce laws and prevent secession. The bill was delayed long enough f…
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Jackson’s Later Life

  • In March 1837 following the inauguration of Martin Van Buren, who had been Jackson’s vice president in his second term, Jackson returned to his plantation, The Hermitage, outside Nashville, now worked by about 150 slaves and run with the help of his adopted son, Andrew Jackson, Jr. Although he retired from public life, he remained politically influential. He used his influence to help Texas enter the Union in 1845 and help his protĂ©gĂ©, …
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