and named him Andrew Jackson, Jr.
In 1796 Jackson helped write the
constitution for the new state of
Tennessee. The state’s voters elected
him as their first representative to the
U.S. House of Representatives. In
1797–98 he served as a U.S. senator.
Jackson then became a judge for the
highest court in Tennessee.
Military Career
In 1802 Jackson became major general
of the Tennessee militia. During the War
of 1812 with Great Britain Jackson
fought the Creek Indians, who were
British allies. He defeated them in the
battle of Horseshoe Bend, in Alabama.
Jackson later forced the British to leave
New Orleans, Louisiana. He became a
national hero.
The state Capitol in Jackson, Mississippi, is
nestled between high-rise buildings.
Neither Jackson
nor the
British knew
that the War
of 1812 was
officially over
when they
fought the
battle of New
Orleans.
Andrew Jackson was the seventh
president of the United States.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Jackson, Andrew 5
After the war Jackson went to the
Alabama-Georgia region. He was supposed
to defend settlers against attacks
by Seminole Indians from Florida. In
1818, without orders, he led his troops
to Florida, which belonged to Spain.
The next year, Spain agreed to give up
Florida.
Presidential Elections
In 1823 Jackson returned to the Senate.
The next year he ran against three other
candidates for president. Jackson won
the highest number of votes but not a
majority. The decision went to the
House of Representatives, which chose
John Quincy Adams.
Jackson ran for the presidency again in
1828. His war record and background
attracted voters. They saw him as a man
of the people, not a rich politician from
the East.With the support of the western
states, Jackson defeated President
Adams. Jackson’s supporters formed the
new Democratic Party, which helped
him win a second term in 1832.
Presidency
Jackson relied on the advice of some of
the journalists and politicians who had
helped elect him. That informal group
came to be known as his “kitchen cabinet.”
(The Cabinet is the president’s
official group of advisers.)
As president, Jackson ended the powerful
Bank of the United States. He also
strengthened the central government by
opposing the rights of states to make
their own decisions in certain cases.
When South Carolina threatened to
ignore a federal law, Jackson said he
would send soldiers to enforce it.
In another case, however, Jackson
allowed Georgia to ignore the U.S.
Supreme Court. The state had taken
lands from the Cherokee people. The
Supreme Court ruled against Georgia,
but Jackson did nothing to enforce the
March 15, June 8,
1767 1796 1815 1818 1828 1837 1845
Jackson is
born in the
Carolinas.
Tennessee
elects Jackson
as its first
representative
to Congress.
Jackson defeats
the British in
the battle of
New Orleans.
Jackson
invades
Spanish
Florida.
Jackson is
elected
president.
Jackson retires
at the end of
his second
term.
Jackson dies at
his home near
Nashville,
Tennessee.
T I M E L I N E
6 Jackson, Andrew BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
ruling. Georgia later forced about
15,000 Cherokee to leave. Their march
west became known as the Trail of
Tears.
Retirement
In 1837 Jackson retired to his home, the
Hermitage, near Nashville, Tennessee.
His wife had died after his election in
1828. Jackson’s health grew worse until
he died at home on June 8, 1845.
#More to explore
Adams, John Quincy • Trail of Tears
• United States •War of 1812
Jackson, Jesse
Jesse Jackson fought for the rights of
African Americans during the civil rights
movement of the 1960s. Later on he
became involved in politics and world
affairs.
Jesse Jackson was born onOctober 8,
1941, in Greenville, South Carolina.He
went to college at the University of
Illinois and at North Carolina
Agricultural andTechnical College. Then
he studied religion in Chicago, Illinois.
In 1968 he became a Baptist minister.
Jackson joined the civil rights movement
while he was a student. In 1965 he
began working for the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference (SCLC).
The SCLC was a civil rights group led
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
In 1971 Jackson founded the group
People United to Save [or Serve]
Humanity (PUSH). This group helped
African Americans to get jobs and to
open businesses. In 1984 Jackson
founded the National Rainbow Coalition
to help all kinds of people, not just
African Americans. (These two groups
joined in 1996 to form the Rainbow/
PUSH Coalition.)
Jackson ran for U.S. president as a
Democrat in 1984 and 1988. He did
not win. But he did better than any
African American presidential candidate
who had come before.
Jackson also gained a lot of attention for
his role in world affairs. He spoke out
against apartheid (separation of the
races) in South Africa. He took part in
peace talks in the Middle East. He also
worked with several countries to free
U.S. citizens being held as prisoners.
#More to explore
Civil Rights Movement • King, Martin
Luther, Jr.
In 1990
Washington,
D.C., residents
elected Jackson
as a
“statehood
senator.” His
job was to try
to get statehood
for the
city.
Jesse Jackson
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Jackson, Jesse 7
Jaguar
The jaguar is the largest cat that lives in
