Today we celebrated our seventh president, Andrew Jackson. Now, this guy... just, wow. A different kind of guy than had been president before, but really, a guy as hot-headed and crazy as him would never want to be elected. But he was certainly someone you wouldn't want to piss off. Asa loves the guy.
Peyton actually had lots of knowledge of Andrew Jackson, thanks to our timeline, and thanks to our trip to the Hermitage.
We started out our day with Andrew Jackson owl mail.
And after lunch we got to our toy timeline. This is Andrew (not that Andrew) and Elizabeth Jackson. They were raised in Ireland, married there, and had their first two sons (Hugh and Robert) there. Were they redheads? I have no idea. BUT, Andrew Jackson (the president) was before it all turned grey and white, so I felt it was fitting.
The Jacksons immigrated from Ireland and ended up somewhere along the border of North or South Carolina (there's some debate exactly where). Elizabeth was pregnant with her third boy when Andrew was killed in an accident.
And so, our 7th president, named after his father, never met his namesake. And nobody would actually ever know where he was born. (He tried to claim he was from South Carolina when he was president, but it was probably just a ploy to garner some support, historians actually think it's more likely he was born in North Carolina-- but both states claim to be his birthplace).
During the Revolutionary War, Andrew's older brother, Hugh, died of heat exhaustion. He wasn't even cool enough to die in some big battle or something. Nope, the heat killed him. So, it was just Elizabeth, Robert, and Andrew.
During the Revolutionary War, Andrew (only 13/14 at the time) and Robert became couriers. They were captured by the Red Coats, though. They were held captive and treated horribly. Andrew refused to do what they said, even refusing to shine their boots. It earned him a scar on his face he would have for the rest of his life. They were released, but after trudging home without shoes in mud, rain, and freezing conditions (Andrew even with small pox), Robert died.
It was just Andrew and his mom. But, after he was nursed back to health, Elizabeth developed cholera and died. Andrew was alone, an orphan(little orphan Andy... sorry, I couldn't resist, he was even a redhead!) Anyway, He got a job scrubbing floors at a law firm. But, he was also a troublemaker. He'd steal outhouses (that's right, our future present stole other people's crappers in the middle of the night! Who even thinks to do that?) Oh, and he stole street signs in the middle of the night. He gambled away his inheritance betting on cock fighting and horse racing. (This all makes me picture him in an old dirty shed with an outhouse in one corner, a giant Stop Sign on the wall, and a bunch of chickens running around)
He moved to Tennessee, and even though he had basically no formal schooling he taught himself law (mostly land contracts and things). Jackson wasn't the smartest guy. In fact, he was a terrible speller (he spelled Euorpe, Urop). But he also said something to the effect of 'it's a poor mind who can't think of at least two ways to spell a word'. He was an adequate lawyer, but nothing too impressive. (Remember these were the days when you basically had to be like 'hey, I studied law out of this random book, can I please get a piece of paper that says it's totally legal for me to practice law'.) But he ended up helping found the city of Memphis and the state of Tennessee. Because of this, he was elected to the brand spanking new Tennessee House of Representatives, and Andrew Jackson the politician was born.
Then, Andrew met Rachel. And Rachel was EVERYTHING to him. Really, when you go to the Hermitage, it's 'Rachel this... and Rachel that'. But, here's the thing, (Scandal alert!) Rachel was married (to a total abusive jerk face, but married just the same). So, Rachel left her husband, which was a big enough deal back then. Her husband was all 'yea, we're totally divorced'. And Rachel went off and married her knight in shining armor, Andrew. (I can relate, Rachel.. Good call for sure!)
Except wait! That jerkface husband, well, shocker.. he couldn't be trusted. And he didn't ACTUALLY file the paperwork. So, when Rachel married Andrew she was still married. Andrew and Rachel of course fixed all this, and got married again. But, people were really nasty to poor Rachel, who really did nothing wrong. She was sure her first marriage was over, she didn't know. It didn't stop people from calling her a cheater, and an adulteress. Poor Rachel. And Andrew, of course would defend her at every chance he possibly could.
Case and point: This guy, Charles Dickinson, an expert dueler (seen here as Woody, because who better to depict a good old fashioned duel than a cowboy?) wrote some nasty stuff about Rachel and challenged Andrew to a duel. Now, Andrew was no rookie on the dueling circuit; the guy was kind of a legend himself, so of course he agreed.
He even told Dickinson he could go ahead and shoot first. (So, yes, Andrew was also certifiably crazy, because who's like, yea go ahead and fire that gun at me first, no problemo.) Dickinson didn't miss and shot Andrew right in the chest. This should have been the end of the duel. But, Dickinson wasn't fighting any normal human being, he was fighting crazy, firery, violent, do-not-cross-if-you-want-to-live, Andrew. So, Andrew fired his gun and shot Charles dead. Which, gave him a sense of pride, a title of cold-blooded murderer by Disckinson supporters, and a bullet lodged in his chest for the rest of his life.
But fighting in like a hundred duels, didn't do it for Andrew. He wanted more killing! So, during the War of 1812 (Which you'll learn more about tomorrow since it's James Madison's birthday), Andrew took his army he was now in charge of down to New Orleans to Battle the British (which he was more than happy to do, since he totally blamed the British for his family all dying). And he kicked British ass. Everyone was all 'holy crap! You really killed them!" (And he did, with a much smaller army too!) But in actuality, it didn't even matter. The War was over, word just hadn't gotten to New Orleans yet. (How bout send an email or something, come on!)
Jackson earned himself the nickname 'Old Hickory' (because he was as steady as a hickory tree), more fitting would probably be 'Old Crazy Ass Jackson', but I guess it didn't have the same ring to it. Anyway, Jackson was pretty full of himself after that battle. People often said it took him longer to tell his story of the Battle of New Orleans than it took to fight it.
And fighting the British wasn't good enough, dude went to Florida (unauthorized) just to continuing his killing spree of Native Americans. (Which he somehow made better by calling himself their 'White Father' and adopting two Indian children -- both of which died in childhood). Speaking of kids, Andrew and Rachel never had any of their own kids, but they did adopt Rachel's nephew (who they named Andrew Jackson, Jr.) Anyway, when he came back, he was pretty popular among the common man, which is odd anyone gains popularity by going on killing sprees. But, it was the 1800's, so whatever floats your boat, I suppose.
Rachel warned him not to let his political career go to his head, not to be a power hungry elitist jerk like everyone else. And, he did his best to listen to Rachel, but he was also Andrew Jackson. And Andrew Jackson didn't give a crap. So, he ran for President against John Quincy Adams. It was close, really close. Jackson won the popular vote, but without an electoral college winner, the decision went to the House of Representatives. And who was there? None other than Henry Clay. (As the boys said, will this guy just not go away?). And JQA is all 'Hey Henry, totally vote me in and I'll give you whatever you want'. And Henry is all 'Heck yea!'. And Andrew goes back to Tennessee. He doesn't forgive, and he doesn't forget.
So four years later when the 'common man', aka Andrew's people, can vote (previously it was only the rich land owners who got to vote), he wipes the floor with JQA. Perhaps Adams should have been less concerned with swimming naked in the Potomac and more concerned with his Presidency). But the campaign was not without it's casualties. This campaign got Nasty (with a capital N, you see that?) and Rachel got thrown under the bus like never before. Poor girl just cannot live down that first marriage. (I feel ya, Rachel!) And even once Jackson is elected, Rachel totally stresses over moving to D.C. and being under the microscope. A couple of weeks after the election, Rachel has a heart attack and dies. Who does Andrew blame all of this on? Certainly not poor eating habits and bad genetics. No, he blames it on John Quincy Adams. That asshole. (I'm sure he said that too, Jackson had an affinity for bad words. He even taught his pet parrot to say them, and the bird had to be removed from Jackson's funeral because it wouldn't stop squawking obscenities, how awesome is that?) Rachel was buried in her garden at the Hermitage. (I've totally been there!)
And Andrew went off to be the first president inaugurated on the east steps of the Capitol. He was terribly depressed about Rachel, but that certainly didn't stop him and his supporters from partying middle/lower class style. (He was the first non rich, aristocrat guy elected, the 'Common Man' REJOICED!) They practically trampled Jackson trying to shake his hand, they were all invited into the White House and trashed the place. Seriously, the party got so wild Jackson snuck out a window and spent the night in a tavern. And thousands of dollars in White House china was destroyed. Oh, and his VP, this guy John C. Calhoun. They weren't really friends though, and Calhoun went against Jackson and that was that. Calhoun 'resigned' and Jackson would say he had two regrets when leaving office: Not killing both Henry Clay and John Calhoun. For real, who SAYS that kind of stuff? Andrew Jackson, that's who.
Ok, so the big thing during his first term was his 'spoils system', where he kicked people out of office and appointed whoever the hell he wanted. (Remember William Henry Harrison? The Whigs? All that business?) Besides that, there was the Nullification dealio. If you don't know that, google it. But, in a nutshell, Jackson made these taxes on imports, South Carolinians thought it was unfair, they wanted to Nullify the law (which is what Calhoun supported, getting him kicked out-- err, resigned-- from office), and Jackson was like 'Do you even know who I am?! I'm the god damn president!' and sent troops down to South Carolina. Who, backed down. Because, I'd rather pay taxes than get shot at, too.
Probably for fear of being shot to death, everyone goes right ahead and elects Jackson for a second term. This time with his new VP, Martin Van Ruin (er.. Buren, sorry!) There's the whole issue of the Second National Bank of the United States being renewed for another twenty years. Congress passed the bill, but because he doesn't like federally run banks (and thinks they fund his opposition), Jackson vetoes the bill. Because, hey, who needs a bank? Instead he decides we should all use local banks. And these banks go ahead and print money, because hey, free money. Which is all fine and good, for a hot minute. Until, inflation, and all that. This would eventually lead to the Panic of 1837, which ended up screwing Martin Van Buren. Jackson didn't care though, he was out of office by then.
Another teeny tiny thing that he set the stage for, the Trail of Tears. He comes up with the whole Indian Removal Act. Which you all know, is exactly like it sounds. The Native Americans decide they'll go ahead and take this up with the Supreme Court, who side WITH them. But, Jackson, being Jackson is all 'Yea, cool, but lets see them enforce that'. What a smug jerk.
But the common man really did like Andrew Jackson. Well, most of them anyway. Jackson nearly became the first president to be assassinated when a disgruntled painter tried to shoot him point blank. But, his gun misfired. Naturally he pulled out another gun, and THAT GUN MISFIRED. Jackson wasn't having it. He just beat the dude within an inch of his life WITH HIS CANE. Seriously, this guy is not to be messed with. (By the way, the chances of both guns-- which fired just fine later-- misfiring was about 1 in 125,000)
When Jackson left office, Van Buren took over. But, as you can guess, that didn't go so well for good old Martin. You'll have to wait until December to hear his story, though.
And Jackson returned home to the Hermitage. He died at age 78, his parrot cussed at his funeral, and he was buried in the garden next to Rachel.
Ironic he's on the $20 since he despised paper money, but there he is. Other fun facts:
The only time the National Debt was paid off was when Jackson was President.
He was the first president to have running water in the white house.
People called him a Volcano for how easily he'd lose his temper.
And
He vetoed more bills than any president before him.
The boys made their usual birthday cards.
And we had some fun little science experiments with money (to go along with the whole hatred of paper money and banks). The boys lifted dollar bills with magnets.
And we cleaned some pennies, putting them in different solutions.
I had actually found a birthday cake recipe for Andrew Jackson that Rachel made, and Asa made it.
Our hashtag was directed at John Calhoun and Henry Clay, noting Andrew Jackson's two regrets in life.
Andrew Jackson was a fan of French food, so Asa brought back this recipe he made last year during the Olympics.
And while his cake frosting skills could use some work..
his actual baking skills are spot on.
This blackberry cake was kind of amazing. And by kind of, I mean really.
That's it, hope you enjoyed your history lesson for today!
Next Up: Happy Birthday to President number FOUR!
No comments:
Post a Comment