80 Fun Facts About Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was which number president of the United States?

He served two terms, from 1829 to 1837, and was the first president who had not come from Virginia or Massachusetts.

Which nickname did Jackson earn for marching his volunteers home from Natchez in 1813?

The other three were real nicknames too, belonging to Zachary Taylor, Winfield Scott and William Henry Harrison.

The Battle of New Orleans was fought fifteen days after a peace treaty was signed in which European city?

News of the signing had not yet crossed the Atlantic, and the treaty did not take effect until it was ratified in February 1815.

What was the name of Jackson's plantation home near Nashville, where he is buried?

He bought the property in 1804 after a near-bankruptcy forced him to sell a larger estate, and it grew to about 1,000 acres of cotton land.

The Waxhaws region, Jackson's 1767 birthplace, straddles the border of which two states?

His exact birthplace is unclear; Jackson said he was born at an uncle's plantation in Lancaster County, but both states still claim him.

Jackson's parents emigrated to America in 1765 from which province of Ireland?

His mother passed a fierce hatred of the British on to her sons, and all three boys served on the Patriot side in the Revolution.

Jackson's father died about how long before Andrew was born?

His father was just 29. The widow and her three sons moved in with her sister's family, the Crawfords.

As a British prisoner in 1781, Jackson was slashed with a sword after refusing to do what for an officer?

The blow left scars on his left hand and head that he carried for the rest of his life; his brother Robert refused too and was struck as well.

Which disease did Jackson and his brother Robert contract in the British prisoner-of-war camp at Camden?

Robert died two days after the brothers were released in a prisoner exchange; their mother nursed Andrew back to health.

Jackson was orphaned at what age when his mother died while nursing American prisoners in Charleston?

Her death hardened his lifelong hatred of what he associated with the British: aristocracy and political privilege.

Jackson's first duel, fought in 1788 against fellow lawyer Waightstill Avery, ended how?

Jackson had accused Avery of impugning his character; it was the first of several affairs of honor in his life.

What was the name of Andrew Jackson's wife, legally married in January 1794 after a scandal over her divorce?

The couple had lived together before the divorce was final, and the 'irregular' marriage was used against Jackson in the 1828 campaign.

From 1798 to 1804 Jackson sat as a judge on which bench?

He resigned the bench in 1804 after land speculation on promissory notes nearly bankrupted him.

Jackson's 1806 duel with Charles Dickinson, which killed Dickinson, began as a row over what?

Dickinson fired first and hit Jackson in the chest, but the bullet shattered against his breastbone; Jackson then took aim and killed him.

Which former vice president's 1805–06 scheme did Jackson briefly back before helping arrest the plotters?

The plotter had stayed with the Jacksons in 1805; when he was tried for treason in 1807, Jackson testified that James Wilkinson was the real culprit.

Jackson was shot in an 1813 Nashville tavern brawl with which future senator and his brother Jesse?

The wound nearly killed him, and he had not fully recovered when he was called out to fight the Creek War weeks later.

Which March 1814 battle on the Tallapoosa River broke the power of the Red Stick Creeks?

Jackson's 3,000 men, including Cherokee, Choctaw and allied Creek warriors, overwhelmed a fort of about 1,000 defenders.

The 1814 Treaty of Fort Jackson forced the Creek, allies included, to surrender roughly how much land?

The land makes up much of present-day Alabama and Georgia, and it was demanded even from Creek bands that had fought on Jackson's side.

To defend New Orleans in 1814, Jackson allied with which Barataria smuggler?

He also raised units of free and enslaved Black men and Creeks, paying non-white volunteers the same as whites, to reach about 5,000 men.

Roughly how many casualties did Jackson's army suffer at New Orleans in 1815, against over 2,000 British?

The British marched into a frontal assault on entrenched Americans and lost their commanding general in barely half an hour.

Which British general commanded the army of 10,000 at New Orleans and died in the assault?

He was Wellington's brother-in-law; many of his men were veterans of the Napoleonic Wars.

Under martial law in New Orleans after the battle, Jackson arrested which official for signing a habeas corpus writ?

He also jailed a state legislator who criticized him in print, and ordered all French citizens out of the city within three days.

What honor did Congress award Jackson in February 1815 for the New Orleans victory?

The victory also let the U.S. ignore a treaty article that would have returned the Creek lands taken at Fort Jackson.

In the 1818 First Seminole War, Jackson caused an international incident by executing two subjects of which country?

Robert Ambrister and Alexander Arbuthnot were tried briefly and hanged or shot for aiding the Seminoles; a congressional inquiry later exonerated Jackson.

Under which 1819 agreement did Spain cede the territory Jackson had invaded?

In exchange the United States assumed its citizens' claims against Spain and gave up its claim to Texas west of the Sabine River.

In 1821 Jackson served two months as the first territorial governor of which future state?

The post was compensation for Congress abolishing his generalship after the Panic of 1819; he went home in ill health.

Jackson, John Overton and a partner used land from the 1818 Chickasaw cession to found which city?

The cession itself became known as the Jackson Purchase and covers western Tennessee and Kentucky.

Whom did the House choose over Jackson for the presidency in 1824?

No candidate had the 131 electoral votes needed, so under the Twelfth Amendment the House picked from the top three finishers.

Which House Speaker's appointment as Secretary of State in 1825 drew cries of 'corrupt bargain'?

The Speaker had presided over the House vote and had thrown his support behind Jackson's rival, whom he considered the lesser disaster.

The coalition Jackson's supporters built after the 1824 election grew into which political organisation?

Its first national convention, in Baltimore in 1832, nominated Jackson's choice for vice president.

What share of the popular vote did Jackson win in his landslide 1828 victory?

The campaign was vicious: Jackson was accused of being the son of a prostitute and, accurately, of trafficking in enslaved people.

The 1828 'Coffin Handbills' attacked Jackson chiefly for what?

The pamphlets accused him of murdering 18 white men and even claimed he ate the bodies of Native Americans killed in battle.

Which niece of Jackson's late wife initially served as White House hostess?

She was married to Jackson's private secretary and nephew, and was estranged from the president for over a year during the Petticoat affair.

The crowd that overran the White House at Jackson's 1829 inaugural reception earned him what nickname?

He had invited the public in; well-wishers damaged the furnishings before order was restored.

Jackson was the first president-elect to take the oath of office where?

His embittered predecessor refused to attend the ceremony on March 4, 1829.

Jackson's 'rotation in office', replacing federal employees with loyal Democrats, became known as what?

He argued it curbed corruption by making officeholders answer to the popular will; critics saw plain patronage.

The 'Petticoat affair' that split Jackson's first cabinet centered on the wife of which cabinet member?

Cabinet wives, led by the vice president's wife, snubbed Margaret Eaton; in 1831 Jackson demanded nearly the whole cabinet's resignation.

What did opponents call the unofficial advisers Jackson relied on after his 1831 purge?

The head of the national bank is credited with the first known use, complaining that 'the kitchen' predominated over 'the Parlor'.

In which year did Jackson sign the Indian Removal Act?

During his administration he made about 70 treaties with tribes and removed some 70,000 people from east of the Mississippi.

Which chief justice ruled for the Cherokee in Worcester v. Georgia (1832), a ruling Jackson declined to enforce?

The line 'now let him enforce it' attributed to Jackson is probably apocryphal, but he made clear the federal government would not act.

The forced removal of the Cherokee that followed the 1836 Treaty of New Echota became known as what?

It was carried out under Jackson's successor, but the act and treaties that made it possible were Jackson's.

Which state passed an Ordinance of Nullification in November 1832, declaring federal tariffs void?

Jackson responded by sending warships to Charleston harbor and threatening to hang anyone who worked for nullification or secession.

Jackson's toast "Our federal Union: It must be preserved!" was delivered at a dinner celebrating whose birthday?

His vice president toasted back immediately: 'The Union: Next to our Liberty, the most dear!'

Which vice president resigned in December 1832 to fight Jackson over nullification from the Senate?

On his last day in office Jackson reportedly said one of his two regrets was that he had never hanged the man.

The 1833 Force Bill that Jackson insisted on signing authorized him to do what?

He signed it the same day as a compromise tariff; the state then repealed its ordinance but nullified the Force Bill in a final gesture.

Who was president of the Second Bank of the United States during Jackson's 'Bank War'?

By the 1832 election he had spent over $250,000 on pamphlets, lobbying and loans to editors and congressmen to defend the Bank.

What did critics nickname the friendly state lenders that got federal deposits Jackson pulled from the Bank in 1833?

Their number more than doubled during his administration, and their loose lending helped inflate the boom that burst in 1837.

In March 1834 the Senate took what unprecedented step against Jackson over the removal of the deposits?

A Democratic Senate expunged the resolution from the record in 1837, just after his term ended.

In January 1835 Jackson became the only president in U.S. history to do what?

It was done with tariff revenue and a land-sale boom; during his presidency 63 million acres of public land, roughly the size of Oklahoma, were sold.

What happened when Richard Lawrence tried to shoot Jackson outside the Capitol on January 30, 1835?

Jackson went after his attacker with his cane; it was the first attempt on a sitting president's life, and Lawrence was found insane.

What was the trade of Richard Lawrence, the man who tried to assassinate Jackson in 1835?

Historians suspect the lead and other toxins in his paints fed a mental illness in which he believed he was Richard III of England.

Jackson's 1836 Specie Circular required purchases of western public land to be paid for with what?

Meant to curb credit-fuelled speculation, it drained specie from eastern banks and helped bring on the Panic of 1837.

When did Jackson formally recognize the independent Republic of Texas?

He wanted annexation but feared Texas could not hold off Mexico and that its slavery would split the Democrats before the 1836 election.

Which two states were admitted to the Union during Jackson's presidency?

Both new states leaned Democratic and helped Jackson's chosen successor win in 1836.

Jackson's administration signed the first U.S. trade agreement with an Asian country. Which one?

It also made trade agreements with the British, Spain, Russia and the Ottoman Empire.

After Jackson threatened reprisals, France agreed to pay how much in old spoliation claims?

France had put its Caribbean fleet on a war footing and demanded an apology; Jackson refused to apologize but said he meant no insult.

Whom did Jackson appoint chief justice in 1836, later remembered for the Dred Scott decision?

The Senate had rejected the same man's nomination as an associate justice a year earlier; he served until 1864.

How many Supreme Court justices did Jackson appoint?

On his last day in office he also signed a Judiciary Act creating two more seats on the Court.

Which of Jackson's political allies succeeded him as president in 1837?

Jackson had made him Secretary of State, then vice president in 1832; he inherited the Panic of 1837 within weeks.

In 1844 Jackson persuaded which fellow Tennessean to seek the Democratic nomination over his own former VP?

The switch was over Texas annexation, which the former vice president opposed; the Tennessean won the nomination and beat the man Jackson had wanted to shoot for 20 years.

How old was Jackson when he died at his plantation on June 8, 1845?

He died of dropsy, tuberculosis and heart failure, telling those at his bedside he hoped to meet them all in Heaven, 'white and black'.

An unverified anecdote says Jackson's parrot Poll was removed from his funeral for doing what?

The bird was an African grey bought for his wife in 1827; the only eyewitness account was written down 76 years after the funeral.

Andrew Jackson Jr., raised by the Jacksons as their own child, was biologically whose son?

He was born a twin and taken to the Jacksons at three days old; his twin brother stayed with their birth parents.

Uniquely in U.S. history, two women were Jackson's unofficial first lady at once: his wife's niece and which relative?

The two women alternated and then shared the hostess role; the niece died of tuberculosis in 1836.

Which fraternal organisation did Jackson lead in Tennessee as Grand Master in 1822–23?

An Anti-Masonic Party ran a candidate in 1832 precisely because both major nominees were Masons.

Andrew Jackson formally joined which denomination in 1838, having waited so no one could call it political?

Both his mother and his wife had been devout members of the same church all their lives.

The carriage drive leading to Jackson's Nashville mansion is laid out in what unusual shape?

Lined with cedars and designed by the painter Ralph E. W. Earl, the shape made it easier to turn carriages in the narrow space.

How was Clark Mills's equestrian Jackson monument in Lafayette Square a national milestone?

It was also among the first equestrian statues anywhere to balance a rearing horse on its hind legs alone; copies stand in New Orleans and Nashville.

What was the name of the horse Jackson rode at the Battle of New Orleans?

Truxton was his famous racehorse and Sam Patch a later mount; the sculptor Clark Mills modelled his statue's horse on his own, Olympus.

Which abolitionist did the Treasury announce in 2016 would replace Jackson on the front of a U.S. banknote?

The plan stalled during the Trump administration and was resumed in 2021; Jackson's presence on paper money is ironic given his hatred of it.

What enormous 1837 gift from supporters did Jackson open to the public at the White House?

It was a deliberate attempt to outdo the 'mammoth cheese' presented to Jefferson in 1802.

Where did the 2021 C-SPAN survey of historians rank Jackson among U.S. presidents?

He was 13th in 2009 and 18th in 2017; political scientists have separately rated him one of the two or three most polarizing presidents.

Over his lifetime, roughly how many enslaved people did Jackson own in total?

He held nine in 1804, over 100 by 1820 and more than 150 at his death; his wealth as a cotton planter rested on their labor.

Which 1832 movement ran William Wirt against Jackson and Clay, opposing an order both belonged to?

Jackson still won by a landslide, taking 55 percent of the popular vote and 219 electoral votes.

Jackson vetoed an 1830 bill funding which Kentucky project as unconstitutional local spending?

The road ran through Henry Clay's Kentucky, and Clay hoped in vain the veto would cost Jackson votes on internal improvements.

In 1833 Robert B. Randolph struck Jackson in the face after being dismissed from which service?

Randolph had been sacked for embezzlement; Jackson declined to press charges, a rare show of restraint from him.

On his last day in office, Jackson said he regretted not shooting Henry Clay and not doing what to Calhoun?

He took slights personally and, once crossed, could become obsessed with crushing an opponent.

Which historian's 1945 book The Age of Jackson recast his legacy through the lens of the New Deal?

It framed Jackson's 'common man' as a working-class figure struggling against exploitation by business.

Which French observer depicted Jackson as the spokesman of the majority and their passions?

Later presidents from Lincoln to FDR borrowed from Jackson's legacy, and Lincoln cited his stance in the nullification crisis in 1861.

Jackson's tie vote for major general of the Tennessee militia in 1802 was broken by which governor?

His rival for the post, John Sevier, later insulted Rachel Jackson's honour, leading to a street shootout and an aborted duel.