Andrew Jackson

The seventh president, Andrew Jackson was born in Waxhaw, South Carolina, on March 15, 1767. Later known as "Old Hickory," he was captured during the Revolution at the age of 9 and orphaned at age 14.

• Jackson was admitted to the bar in 1787 and was appointed prosecuting attorney for the west district of North Carolina in 1788.
• Jackson was a delegate to the Tennessee constitutional convention in 1796, a U.S. representative from 1796 to 1797, a U.S. senator in 1797, a member of the Tennessee Supreme Court from 1798 to 1804, and a major general in the Tennessee militia.
• Because of political feuds and several duels, Jackson retired to his plantation, "The Hermitage," for six years.
• During the War of 1812, he was commissioned a major general in the U.S. Army and became a hero, defeating the British at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815.
• Jackson invaded Spanish-held Florida in 1818; following Florida's cession to the United States, he served as its territorial governor in 1821.
• Jackson returned to Tennessee, serving as U.S. senator from 1823 to 1825.
• Campaigning as "champion of the popular majority," Jackson was elected president in 1828 and served two terms.
• He died on June 8, 1845, in Nashville.