Fun Facts About "Old Hickory"

English: Andrew Jackson - 7 th President of the United States (1829–1837) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Our current esteemed President considers Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States, as a role model.  So much so that the President thought Jackson could have done something about stopping the Civil War if he was still in office.  And he very well might have if he weren't six feet under by the time the shots started firing in 1861.

We don't know how much of a student of history Donald Trump is, but there are a few things he should know about the man they used to call "Old Hickory".

• He was born on March 15, 1767 to parents Andrew Sr. and Elizabeth near the border of North and South Carolina.
• Joined the Revolutionary War at age 13 before being captured.
• Became an attorney, helped draft the Tennessee state constitution.
• Became national hero as a general during the War of 1812 when, with outnumbered American troops, defeated the British at New Orleans.  There he earned the nickname "Old Hickory".
•  Was briefly military governor of Florida before becoming a U.S. Senator from Tennessee.
• Owned up to 300 slaves at his Hermitage estate in Nashville, Tennessee.
• Lost contentious presidential election to John Quincy Adams in 1824, despite having won the most popular and electoral votes, but not enough for a majority.  The House of Representatives decides in favor of Adams.
• Defeated Adams in 1828.  He was President from 1829-37.
• His Inauguration devolved into a free-for-all after he invited supporters for a party at the White House, who then ransacked the place.
• Signed Indian Removal Act, which moved Native American tribes by force from their ancestral grounds to what is now Oklahoma.
• Faced down threat by South Carolina to secede from the Union due to a dispute over high tariffs on cotton, and economic policies that favored the northern states.
• Helped found the Democratic Party.
• Called for an end to the Electoral College.
• Became the only President to pay off the national debt.
• Introduced the spoils system, which gave government jobs to party members.
• Helped to shut down the Second Bank of the United States, moving the money to financial institutions run by cronies.
• Married Rachel Donelson Robards in 1791.  She died in 1828, shortly before Jackson took office.
• Died on June 8, 1845 at age 78.
• Jackson's face currently adorns the $20 bill, but is due to be relegated to the back when abolitionist Harriet Tubman takes her place on the front in 2020.

If you want to know more about Andrew Jackson, either go online or to your local library.  That goes for you, too, President Trump.