This earliest paper in Andrew Jackson’s collected work
described the background of his family:
There were four Brothers, each occupying a large Farm,
or as such are termed in Ireland, Townlands,
as long as grass grows and water runs i.e. Freeholders,
subject perhaps to a small peppercorn or chief Rent to the
Lord of the soil, who besides was entitled to the Royalties,
that is the whole or a portion of the mines, minerals,
fisheries which might then be known or afterwards
discovered although sometimes these advantages
(if lands had been originally granted by King)
were specially reserved to the Crown.
One of the Brothers Andrew the youngest
resided near Castlereagh, he sold his property
and emigrated to America in 1765.
He landed at Charleston, settled back in the country,
had three sons Hugh, Robert and Andrew the latter,
the far famed Hero and deliverer of New Orleans.
He was born on 15 March 1767.1
On that day Andrew Jackson was born in the British South Carolina
colony three weeks after his father’s death.
His two older brothers Hugh and Robert had been born in Ireland,
and they fought for the Americans against the British.
Their mother Elizabeth was a Presbyterian.
She hoped Andrew might become a minister
and in 1775 sent him to study with two clergymen.
He was educated in an Academy by Dr. William Humphries
and learned some Greek and Latin that he called “dead languages.”
He became a Christian and sometimes attended church.
He had a memorandum on how to feed a cock for fighting.
His favorite books were the Bible and the Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith.
Andrew had a temper and much self-confidence, and his mother urged him to fight.
During the War of Independence Andrew Jackson
joined the South Carolina Militia and served in 1780-81.
His brother Hugh fought and died of heat exhaustion.
Elizabeth advised Robert and Andrew to get military training, and they became couriers.
The British captured them in April 1781.
Andrew wrote this account of his being a prisoner of war:
In the month of April 1781 I was a prisoner with the British,
confined in Camden Jail, which was then included in the
British Redoubt nearest Hobkirk’s Hill, and Loggtown
when General Green with his army advanced upon
Camden and encamped upon Hobkirk’s hill.
I with others were confined in the second story of the Jail,
and in the room overlooking General Green’s
encampment out of its north windows.
A few days after General Green’s approach an
American soldier in the evening was seen coming in
from the American lines, to the redoubt where we were
confined, supposed to be a deserter—soon after his arrival,
there appeared considerable stir amongst the British troops,
and we began to fear that a retreat during the ensuing
night was intended—about sunset a carpenter with some
soldiers came into our room with plank, and nailed up the
windows looking toward General Green’s encampment;
some Tories who were in company, abused us very much,
told us Green was on their lines without artillery, and they
intended to make a second Gates of him, and hang us all.
When night closed, we heard much bustle in the Garrison,
and soon found that the effectives were removing and
the invalids relieving them, from which we inferred their
intention to attack General Green in the morning or attempt
to surprise him before day—being anxious to see the Battle,
if one took place, having only a razor blade which was
allowed to us to divide our rations with, I fell to work to cut
out a pine Knot, out of the plank nailed over the windows,
obstructing the view of Green’s encampment, and with
aid of a fellow prisoner, completed my object before day,
making an aperture about an inch and half in diameter
which gave a full view of General Green’s situation—
so soon in the morning as objects could be distinguished,
the British army was seen drawn up in column,
under cover of the stockade and Col. Kershaw’s houses—
a little after sunrise were seen to move a south east
direction, keeping themselves under cover from
a view from Green’s encampment.
It continued this direction until it reached the woods,
when it wheeled to the left, under cover of the woods,
until it reached the Cheraw Road, here it received a
severe fire from the American piquet, and was seen
to halt for a moment, when it was again seen to advance,
and the American piquet retiring keeping up a brisk fire
of musketry—soon after this, the British were seen
advancing in order of Battle up the Hill,
and General Green forming on the heights.
The British supposing Green had no artillery,
the officers in front lead on their men encouraging them,
when Green’s battery opened upon them with great effect,
many horses coming in, without riders, and many with
the wounded upon them and the noncombatants running
helter-skelter for safety—soon the small arms were heard,
and a general action appeared to commence, when the
American squadron of horse were seen to charge them
on their left and rear, and cut off the retreat of the British
from their redoubts—never were hearts elated more than
ours at the glitter of the Americans’ swords, wielded by
the American arm so successfully which promised
immediate release to us, having cut off the left of the
British army which as appeared, he had perfectly in his
power if Green had been able to have sustained himself
in his position—how short was our Joy, for soon thereafter
the roar of the cannon ceased, the sound of our small
arms appeared retiring, and the cavalry appeared to
be attacked in front vigorously, and his only alternative
to cut his way through the enemy, which appeared
to be done with great gallantry and retired out of view.
The firing having ceased, Captain Smith of the artillery
was brought in a prisoner and lodged in the room with us,
who related to us the disaster of our army—
he had reached General Green Just before day,
had thrown himself down to rest in his shirt
and drawers, in which he was taken not having time,
after the alarm given, to put on his clothes;
Captain Smith said his command was entirely
killed or taken, but he saved the pieces.
A few days after this battle, I with six others
were exchanged; I traversed the battle ground,
found many muskets without their locks with
their butts up and some barrels out of their stocks,
every appearance indicated a sudden unexpected
attack and when many were cleaning their arms etc., etc.
Thus unprepared, and one Regiment giving way when
ordered to charge the enemy, compelled the other to retreat
which left Washington in the perilous situation described and
compelled him to seek safety by cutting his way through the
lines of his enemy which he appeared to do gallantly.2
The Jacksons’ mother Elizabeth served American prisoners of war on British ships
and she was able to get her sons Robert and Andrew released in a prisoner exchange.
Andrew had refused to polish a British officer’s boots.
He protected himself from a sword and had his arm and head injured.
They both got small pox.
Elizabeth got them released and had two horses for her and dying Robert.
Andrew had to walk 45 miles. Robert was so malnourished
that he died of cholera that November. Elizabeth nursed Andrew back to health.
She went to Charleston and died there of cholera in the fall of 1781.
With no living father Andrew loved his mother very much,
and he remembered these things that she had said to him:
You can make friends by being honest….
None will respect you more than you respect yourself….
Never brook outrage upon your own feelings.
If you ever have to vindicate your feelings
or defend your honor, do it calmly.3
Andrew considered these her last words, and he made them the law of his life:
Andrew, if I should not see you again, I wish you to
remember and treasure up some things I have already said
to you: in this world you will have to make your own way.
To do that you must have them by being steadfast.
You must keep in mind that friends worth having will in
the long run expect as much from you as they give to you.
To forget an obligation or be ungrateful for a kindness is a
base crime—not merely a fault or a sin, but an actual crime.
Men guilty always of it sooner or later
must suffer the penalty.
In personal conduct be always polite but never obsequious.
None will respect you more than you respect yourself.
Avoid quarrels as long as you can
without yielding to imposition.
But sustain your manhood always.
Never bring a suit of law for
assault and battery or for defamation.
The law affords no remedy for such outrages that can
satisfy the feelings of outrage upon your own feelings.
If you ever have to vindicate your feelings
or defend your honor, do it calmly.
If angry at first, wait till your wrath cools
before you proceed.4
In 1782 Andrew went to a school and was taught by Robert McCulloch.
In 1783 Andrew Jackson began teaching school in Waxhaw North Carolina.
The state of North Carolina in 1783 approved what people called the “Land Grab Act,”
and this allowed citizens to claim land in Tennessee west of the Allegheny Mountains.
A land office opened in Hillsboro, North Carolina in October.
Most land was sold as 100 acres for ten pounds.
In the first year about 4,000,000 acres were sold.
The Spanish Governor Esteban Rodríguez Miró in New Orleans
urged Dragging Canoe and other Chickamauga Cherokees to fight the settlers,
and he planned to have a trading post built in Tennessee.
The British accepted the Spanish rule of West Florida with no reference to a northern border.
In 1784 the Spaniards closed to Americans the southern portion of the Mississippi River.
Attacks led by Dragging Canoe and Cherokees
persuaded many settlers to move to Kentucky.
Andrew Jackson moved to Salisbury, North Carolina in 1784, and he studied law
with Spruce McCay from then until 1786 when he began
reading law under Col. John Stokes for six months.
Jackson became a licensed lawyer in Guilford County on 26 September 1786.
He lived in Martinsville, North Carolina
and tended a store there while he was practicing law.
The United States Confederation had begun issuing 5,312 military warrants
for land grants in 1784 for the next 15 years.
Although less than a quarter were claimed by veterans,
they approved forming western states in the United States.
On 20 May 1785 they passed the Land Ordinance
for settlers to purchase farmland in the west.
Jackson bought land.
Jackson at Nashville joined those who attempted to protect the community.
Captain Sampson Williams led a force of over sixty men.
Jackson with twenty men went ahead.
He and Williams became friends fighting the Indians.
The United States sent four Commissioners, and Benjamin Hawkins, Pickens, Martin,
and McIntosh agreed to a treaty with the Chickamauga Cherokees
at the Hopewell plantation in South Carolina on 28 November 1785.
The Cherokees were granted hunting grounds near Duck River in Tennessee.
On 13 July 1787 the Confederate Congress approved An Ordinance
for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio.
On November 12 Jackson and William Cupples were empowered to practice as attorneys
in Surry County, North Carolina, and on December 10 Jackson in Randolph County
took an oath and was given a license in several counties.
James Robertson had been exploring the area in since 1779,
and in a letter to McGillivray on 3 August 1788 he warned that the British
would try to collect levies on trade in New Orleans.
In Jonesborough Jackson resented being ridiculed by Col. Waightstill Avery.
On August 11 Jackson sent him a note of protest and did not receive a response.
The next day he sent Avery this letter:
Sir: When a man’s feelings and character are injured,
he ought to seek a speedy redress; you received a few lines
from me yesterday and undoubtedly you understand me.
My character you have injured; and further you have
Insulted me in the presence of a court and a large audience.
I therefore call upon you as a gentleman to give me
satisfaction for the Same; and I further call upon you
to give Me an answer immediately without Equivocation, and
I hope you can do without dinner until the business is done;
for it is consistent with the character of a gentleman
when he Injures a man, to make a speedy reparation;
therefore I hope you will not fail in meeting me this day.
P. S. this Evening after court adjourned.5
They met that day and fought, and no one was hurt.
In the Nashville area Indians were killing about three settlers per month.
On 26 October 1788 Andrew Jackson moved to Nashville, Tennessee,
and on November 3 he received this letter from the State of North Carolina:
To the Judge or Judges of the Superior Court of law
and Equity for the County of Davidson:
Whereas Andrew Jackson Esquire has applied to me the
Subscriber, Judge of the Superior Court of law and Equity
for the County aforesaid to be admitted to plead and
practice as an attorney in the said Court of law and Equity,
and whereas the said Andrew Jackson from proper
credentials to me produced appears to be
of an unblemished Moral character, and from
a previous examination before me had likewise
appears to possess a competent degree of law
Knowledge for the purpose aforesaid,
I therefore in pursuance of the authority vested in me by
the act of the General Assembly to that purpose do hereby
admit and empower the said Andrew Jackson to plead and
practice in the said Courts of law and Equity within the
said county as an attorney thereof with all and Singular
the Rights, privileges and emoluments belonging or in any
wise appertaining to Attorneys and practitioners of the law
in the said courts, he the said Andrew Jackson taking the
Several Oaths appointed by law for his qualification.6
On 13 February 1789 Andrew Jackson wrote
this letter to Brigadier General Daniel Smith:
I had the pleasure of seeing Captain Fargo yesterday
who put me under obligations of seeing you this day;
but as the weather seems dull and heavy, it prevents my
coming up; but I commit to you in this small piece of paper
the business he wants with you; he expresses a great
friendship for the welfare and harmony of this country;
he wishes to become a citizen and trade to this country
by which means and through you I think he can have
a lasting peace with the Indians; he wishes you to write
to the governor informing him the desire of a commercial
treaty with that country; he then will importune the
Governor for a privilege or permit to trade to this country
which he is sure to obtain as he is related to his Excellency;
then he will show the propriety of having a peace with
the Indians for the purpose of the benefit of the trade
of this country; and also show the governor the respect
this country honors him with by giving it his name;
he bears the commission of captain under the King of Spain
which is an honorable title in that country and can in
my opinion do a great deal for this and hopes you will
do him the honor as to see him upon this occasion
before he sets out for Orleans and I think it the only
immediate way to obtain a peace with the savage.
I hope you will consider it well and give me a few
lines upon the occasion by Col. Donelson who hands
you this as I have the good of this country at heart,
and I hope also if you will do Mr. Fargo the honor
as to go and see him upon the occasion as you go
down, you will give me a call as I think I could
give you some satisfaction on this subject.7
On 13 November 1789 Jackson submitted a petition to the State of North Carolina
and was allowed a fee equal to that of the Attorney General for the Washington District.
The United States Congress established the Southwest Territory between Kentucky
and the territories of Alabama and Mississippi on 26 May 1790.
That year President George Washington appointed surveyor Daniel Smith
the Secretary of the old Southwest Territory.
On 18 April 1791 Jackson and Robert Weakley
agreed to arbitration to settle a controversy.
Jackson began living with Rachel Donelson married Lewis Robards,
and they separated in 1790.
Jackson became acquainted with Rachel through her mother in Nashville.
Rachel thought Robards had divorced her,
and she married Jackson in Natchez, Mississippi in late 1790 or early 1791.
On 15 February 1791 Jackson was appointed the Attorney General in the Mero District,
and on 10 September 1792 he was elected the
Judge Advocate for the Davidson County militia.
On 2 July 1791 on the bank of the Holston River the United States represented by
Governor William Blount of the Southwest Territory and Superintendent of Indian Affairs
in the Southern District of the United States signed a treaty of Peace and Friendship
with 16 articles, that the 39 Cherokee chiefs and warriors made their X mark along
with signatures by the Southern Territory Secretary Daniel Smith and dozen others
from Kentucky, Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, and other places.
The United States Secretary of War Henry Knox with six more Cherokees
also agreed to the treaty on 17 February 1792 when it was proclaimed.
Blount’s jurisdiction as superintendent also included the
Creeks, Choctaws, and Chickasaws in the South.
His policy was defensive, and he made use of local militia.
Blount recommended James Robertson and John Sevier,
and Knox confirmed them as brigadier generals.
Governor William Blount and Daniel Smith in a short letter to Andrew Jackson
on 10 September 1792 named him the Judge Advocate for Davidson County.
That month the Chickamauga Cherokees attacked Nashville.
Blount advised Knox that he could rely on the District Attorney Jackson.
Jackson was in love with Rachel Donelson.
After they heard that her husband Lewis Robards had divorced her,
they were formally married on 18 January 1794.
They lived at Poplar Grove in Nashville,
and the Davidson Academy there elected him a trustee.
On 12 May 1794 Jackson and John Overton had begun speculating in land.
On May 16 Jackson wrote this letter to John McKee
who had lived for a while with Cherokees:
I Received your letter of the 17th April 94 which give
me Sanguine hopes of a general Peace With the
Southern Indians, but I had Scarcely finished Reading
it before these hopes all Vanished at the information
of the Murder of James Mc? since which time they
have been Constantly infesting our frontier.
I fear that their Peace Talks are only Delusions;
and in order to put us off our Guard.
Why Treat with them?
Does not Experience teach us that Treaties answer No other
Purpose than opening an Easy door for the Indians to pass
through to Butcher our Citizens; what Motives Congress
are governed by with Respect to their pacific Disposition
towards Indians I know not; some say humanity dictates it;
but Certainly she ought to Extend an Equal share of
humanity to her own Citizens; in doing this Congress
would act Justly and Punish the Barbarians for Murdering
her innocent Citizens; has not our Citizen been Prosecuted
for Marching to their Town and Killing some of them?
Then why not when they Commit Murders on our Citizens
agreeable to infringement of the Treaty and a cause of
war, and the whole Nation ought to be Scourged for the
infringement of the Treaty, for as the Nation will not give
murderers up when demanded, it is an acknowledgment
of their Consent to the Commission of the Crime;
therefore all consenting are Equally guilty;
I dread the Consequence of the Ensuing Summer.
The Indians appear very Troublesome, the frontier
discouraged and breaking and numbers leaving the
Territory and moving to Kentucky; this Country is Declining
fast, and unless Congress lends us a more ample protection,
this Country will have at length to break or seek a
protection from some other Source than the present.
I will thank you for the News of the Place.
My Next will be more full.8
On 25 August 1794 the Knoxville Gazette
called for a process to statehood for Tennessee.
Blount asked for a plebiscite on statehood.
In a census of over 77,000 people 6,507 voted for statehood while 2,562 were opposed.
That year Jackson paid property tax on the ten slaves he owned.
Andrew Jackson in Philadelphia in 1795 with his
partner John Overton began selling 5,000 acres.
Jackson wrote this letter to Nathaniel Macon on 4 October 1795:
When in Philadelphia last April a full and complete state
of the business I had entrusted to your patronage was
handed me (by David Allison Esqr) agreeable to your
instructions; wherein I viewed (with Gratitude) with
what unwearied attention you had prosecuted my claim.
I have now to request a Continuance of your friendly aid
in bringing the business to a final End and Determination
the Ensuing Session of Congress; and to Communicate
to me the result of that Determination.
What an alarming situation; has the late Negotiation of
Mr. Jay with Lord Greenville, and that Negotiation
(for a Treaty of Commerce it cannot be properly Called,
as it wants reciprocity) being ratified by the Two thirds
of the Senate and President has plunged our Country in;
will it End in a Civil War; or will our Country be relieved
from its present ignominy by the firmness of our
representatives in Congress (by impeachments for the
Daring infringements of our Constitutional rights)
have the insulting, Cringing and ignominious Child of
aristocratic Secrecy; removed erased and obliterated from
the archives of the Grand republic of the United States.
I say unconstitutional; because the Constitution says that
the President by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate was not required by the President previous to the
Formation of the Treaty; nor the Outlines of said Treaty
made known to the Senate until after made and their
Consent wanting to make it the Supreme Law of the land
(therefore made without the advice of the Senate and
unconstitutional) and erecting courts not heard of in the
Constitution etc. etc. all bills for raising a revenue to
originate in house of representatives by treaty.
It is not only unconstitutional, but inconsistent with the
Law of Nations; Vatel B2, P. 242 S325 says that the rights
of Nations are benefits, of which the sovereign is only the
administrator, and he ought to Dispose of them no farther
than he had reason to presume that the Nation itself
would dispose of them; therefore the President
(from the remonstrance from all parts of the Union)
had reason to presume that the Nation of America would
not have ratified the Treaty, notwithstanding the 20
aristocratic neebobs of the Senate had Consented to it.
But why should I pester you with these remarks your
superior understanding can discover a thousand Defects
in that Treaty that my genius are not adequate
to therefore will Drop the subject.9
On 3 December 1795 Jackson received a letter from Joseph Anderson who sent him
power of attorney in a case, and he reported that the Territory now had 77,508 souls.
On December 19 Jackson was elected a delegate to the Tennessee Constitutional
Convention that met from 11 January 1796 to February 6.
Jackson received a short letter Nathaniel Macon wrote on 17 January 1796
and a copy of a report of the Committee Claims.
On March 28 that Territory was dissolved,
and the Indian fighter John Sevier was elected governor.
Jackson wrote a Remonstrance to the Assembly of Tennessee on 11 April 1796
that commented on seven of their Remonstrants.
The surveyor Daniel Smith was Secretary of the Southwest Territory 1790-96,
and he participated with 55 delegates in the writing of the Tennessee State Constitution
that called for a Tennessee Senate and House of Representatives.
On June 1 the United States Congress and President Washington approved
admitting Tennessee as the sixteenth state in the Union.
The northern and southern boundaries of North Carolina were extended
west for Tennessee to the Mississippi River, the western boundary.
The eastern boundary of Tennessee became the highest crests of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
On June 11 Jackson wrote about a land deal he made with David Allison of Philadelphia
regarding Territory south of the Ohio River in Davidson County that included
“Stock in goods, wares, and Merchandize” worth $4,800.
Blount urged Jackson to run for the only Tennessee
seat in the U. S. House of Representatives.
Jackson received 1,113 votes, and his opponent James Rody got only 12 votes.
Jackson became Tennessee’s first congressman in 1796.
In November he had lost an election to be the Major General
of the Tennessee Militia to John Sevier.
On December 5 Andrew Jackson took his seat to represent the new state of Tennessee
in the United States House of Representatives.
On December 29 President Washington rejected a petition for compensation
for a Tennessee man for fighting Cherokee towns in 1793 in response to thefts and murders.
Jackson spoke out saying that it was
just and necessary.
When it was seen that war was waged upon the State,
that the knife and the tomahawk were held over the
heads of women and children,
that peaceable citizens were murdered.10
Jackson also challenged the “facts” presented by War Secretary Knox,
and Jackson said that from June to October 1793 about 1,200 Indians
had attacked the militia and threatened the Government.
He argued that the response by the militia was in defense.
Then Jackson proposed this resolution:
Resolved, That General Sevier’s expedition into the
Cherokee Nation in the year 1793 was a just and
necessary measure, and that provision ought to be
made by law for paying the expenses involved.11
They debated whether the expeditionary force was to be compensated,
and Jackson submitted reports by Territory Secretary Daniel Smith.
Governor Blount reported,
For a Considerable time after Sevier’s return
no Depredations were Committed by the Indians
on the frontier and that that Campaign was the
Ground work of the Subsequent present Tranquility
of & Enjoyed by the Holston frontier.12
In the budget for federal appropriations in 1797 the militia was granted $22,816.
On 17 January 1797 Jackson drafted this report of a committee of the
United States Congress about the frontier suffering incursions of the Indians:
It appears from recurring to the Different official
Communications from the Governor and Secretary of the
then Territory to the Secretary at War, that the frontier was
very much harassed by the frequent incursion, Depredations
and murders of the Indians from the ? day of ? 1793 until
the ? day of ? in the same year when the depredations and
incursions of the Indians grew more frequent, and in larger
parties, the attacks being made on different quarters,
and the frontier being in a very defenseless situation,
the Secretary (the Governor being absent) on the 30th day
of September ordered General Sevier to take the field with
one third of the men previously ordered by Governor Blount
to be held in readiness, to act on the defensive and interrupt
any parties of Indians that might attempt to invade the
frontier, but before the General had got into the field,
a large party of Indians Consisting of two hundred on the ?
day of September [August 29] made an attack on Henry’s
Station and killed a lieutenant Telford and one private
but failed in their attempt to carry the station,
General Sevier having collected 300 foot and two troops
of cavalry marched to the frontier on the south side of
Holston where he was stationed when a large party of
Indians Consisting of 1200 crossed the river below him
and penetrated through the frontier within seven miles of
Knoxville and on the 25th day of September 1783 attacked
and carried the Caveat Station and murdered every man,
woman and child being thirteen in number; that Country
being thus situated and invaded, the Secretary issued
his order on the 30th of September, Commanding General
Sevier to pursue, overtake and punish the Enemy
with what men could be speedily raised.
These facts appear to bring 2 questions
before the Committee.
1st Whether the then situation of the Territory was such,
as to render the Expedition an essential or necessary
measure for the Defensive protection of the frontier.
Recurring to the facts before stated, it appears to the
Committee that the Frontier Country was in an actual
state of invasion, and the measures adopted were
essential to the efficient protection of the frontier by
pursuing and discomfiting the invaders in such a
manner as might prevent them from returning
and making an immediate attack on the frontier.
2nd was the authority given by the government to the
governor of the Territory (or secretary in his absence),
such as to lay the militia under obligations of obeying him.
It appears from the ordinance which is recognized by the
Session act that the governor is to be Commander in Chief
of the militia, and in that respect similar powers to any
state governor, and by the Communications of the Secretary
of War, that he was authorized, and invested with
discretionary powers, to call into the field any number of
militia that he might think necessary to protect the frontier,
therefore laying the ordinance aside, granting him the power
to order the martial law required obedience—and therefore
the militia bound to obey his orders, it is therefore the
opinion of the Committee that they ought to be paid.
It appears that the rations, forage and expense of the
sick and wounded are paid by government and part of
the pay due to soldiery, leaving a balance of ? Dollars
which is suspended as being for offensive service.
The Committee therefore recommends
the following resolution:
Resolved that the sum of ? Dollars and ? be appropriated
for the Discharge of the pay remaining due to General
Sevier and his Command for his services from
the ? day of ? 1793 to the day of December 1793
both days agreeable to his muster rolls.13
The next day on 18 January 1797 Jackson from Philadelphia
wrote a letter
to John Sevier about army pay and a direct tax
being debated in the House of Representatives.
He commented on the war between France and Britain.
Then he wrote,
I am sorry to see our Country by the Conduct of our
Government involved in such a situation with the republic
of France, who are now struggling to obtain for themselves
the same Blessings (liberty) that we fought and bled for;
we ought to wish them success if we could not aid them.
How the present difference with France may terminate
is for wiser politicians than me to determine….
I am the only representative from the State.
Consequently all the business of the State in the
House of Representatives devolve on me, on all
Committees, before whom business is brought that
is of a general Nature I am appointed and have to serve,
and also upon many select ones, wherein the Interest
of the Individuals of my state are concerned.
The Committees meet generally at 6 o’clock in the evening
and sit to 9, and then on Saturdays.
This they are compelled to do from the shortness
of the Session, having to attend to the Committees
and the business of the House, I have not much
time to waste, and I am well convinced that my
constituents would rather have Justice done,
and their demands paid than receive letters from me,
and as I am compelled to neglect one or the other.
My duty dictates to me to attend closely
to the interest of my Country.14
He noted that he is the only Representative from his state.
Jackson had studied law in Salisbury, North Carolina with Judge John McNairy
who wrote him a long letter from Bellview on 4 May 1797 that began a life-long quarrel.
On May 8 Jackson in Nashville wrote back to John Sevier, a friend of McNairy.
Jackson in a short letter to McNairy on May 12 wrote,
Your letter of this day is now before me upon which
permit me to remark in a few words; that it is observable,
the harsh and grating expressions in the latter part
are understood to apply to yourself.
This Sir was not accepted in that sense by me.
Not through inattention I conceive was the idea taken up,
as from experience in life; I have been accustomed to hear
men speak of their own failings at least in milder terms.
From this cause together with the uncertainty of the tenor
of the letter, I was led to adopt the opinion:
Your letter informs me I was wrong in that particular;
but I must in candor say sir; however immaterial
it may be to you, that my feelings in regard to the
violation of our once intimate friendship are not healed.
To give you any other information would be uncandid.
Let the matter drop here; as members of civilized Society,
I indulge the idea that we shall pass through life in an easy
manner; with the help of those rules and forms of politeness
which such a state ought to impose upon every man.15
In September 1797 the Tennessee Legislature elected Jackson
their United States Senator, and Governor Sevier certified him on October 1.
He began serving on November 22.
Jackson from Philadelphia on December 6
submitted a detailed statement on land frauds in Nashville.
Judge Andrew Jackson from Philadelphia on 11 January 1798
wrote this letter to Indian Commissioner James Robertson:
Congressional business progresses slowly;
all important questions postponed until we are
informed of the result of our negotiation with France.
The Tennessee memorial has attracted
the attention of the two Houses for some time.
Many difficulties presented themselves,
and many delays thrown in the way.
Policy dictated to us that the only thing that could
strike at the root of opposition and secure success
was a nomination of commissioners by the President
for the purpose of holding a treaty with the Cherokees.
This was fortunately brought about,
and I believe will have the desired effect.
Opposition is on the decline,
and I have no doubt but a treaty will be ordered.
The Senate agree in the expediency of the measure,
but differ with the President in the
number of commissioners necessary.
This has occupied the Senate to delay in agreeing
to the nomination of the President; and as those
in nomination may be withdrawn, and others presented,
I am not at liberty to give you their names.
It appears to be the wish of the President
by the treaty contemplated to purchase all the land
from the Indians that they will sell; and I do hope
that Tennessee river will become the line.
When this is completely acted upon by both Houses,
I will write you more in detail; and should it be
carried into effect, of which I have no doubt,
I trust it will be acknowledged that the delegation
have done their duty so far as related to that object.
France has finally concluded a treaty
with the Emperor and the King of Sardinia,
and is now turning her force toward Great Britain.
Bonaparte with one hundred and fifty thousand troops
inured to conquer, is ordered on the coast
and called the army of England.
Do not then be surprised if my next letter
should announce a revolution in England.
Should Bonaparte make a landing on the English shore,
tyranny will be humbled, a throne crushed,
and a republic will spring from the wreck,
and millions of distressed people restored to the
rights of man by the conquering arm of Bonaparte.16
In a long letter to John Overton on 22 January 1798 Jackson wrote,
We have been engaged with the subject of relief,
to our frontier Citizens; a treaty is ordered,
and I hope a purchase under this treaty will be effected to
the Tennessee River—It will be held early in the Spring.17
Jackson wrote many letters to Robert Hays about land,
and from Philadelphia on January 25 he concluded,
A Treaty with the Cherokees is ordered,
and I believe the object will be to purchase
from them all the land they will sell.
The Treaty will be held in the Spring say the month of April
therefore lands on Duck river, should the Tennessee
become the line will be valuable.
This is as much as to say to you
keep all you have and get what you can.18
On 21 February 1798 the United States Senator Jackson wrote
in a letter to the Speaker of the Tennessee Senate William Blount:
Your letter of the 8th of January came safe to hand,
and is now before me, in answer to which I am sorry
I cannot say to you, that my legs are sound, and with truth
I can say that I am in greater danger from the Ice,
than from the Ball of a Northern Pistol; from Experience
I find they are not ice proof, notwithstanding you judged
right, when you said you did not credit the report of my
being shot in the leg, for I do believe they are Pistol proof.
Sticks and Spittle are substituted by the
Eastern representatives in Place of Pistols.
Two engagements of this kind have lately taken place
on the floor of the representative branch the first with
Spittle or tobacco Juice the second with a club and Tongues,
a challenge passed a refusal to fight, and with the
exception of sixteen days spent in debating the
subject in the House of Representatives.
In their disgrace and expense of the
Union twelve thousand dollars.
This will serve for a specimen of Eastern quarrels.
I will send you a newspaper as soon as published that will
throw more light on this brilliant subject whether they have
the constitutional to make their own rules, to regulate trials
of impeachment or whether it is a legislative object, but a
majority in their wisdom have said that the Senate has the
right to make and adopt their own rules in this respect, and
Issue process under them and Seize persons’ papers and
enforce the attendance of witnesses; thus the Solomons of
the age have spoken, and I have not faith to believe them.
I think about prophets, for in that Holy Constitution
I cannot read such power granted—but I read that
no person shall be deprived of life, Liberty or property
but agreeable to Law, and I never knew before
I was told by these Solomons, that the Senate without
the aid of the other branches could Pass a law, but
Sedgwick spoke unto the aristocrats saying that is the
power we Possess; it would be dangerous to part with it….
A resolution is laid upon the table
to determine the abstract principle.
“Is a Senator impeachable?”
This is not yet taken up.19
Senator Jackson did not like the policies of President John Adams
and took a leave of absence on 16 April and went home to Nashville.
He resigned his Senate seat on September 26.
In 1798 Jackson paid property tax on the fifteen slaves he owned.
Tennessee’s Governor John Sevier selected Jackson to be a judge
on Tennessee’s Superior Court in June 1798, and he served for six years.
His court usually met in Knoxville, Jonesborough or Nashville.
He could handle fifty cases in fifteen days.
Virginia’s Senator Henry Tazewell explained to Jackson in a
fairly long letter on July 20 the policies of the Republican Party.
William Blount had signed the Constitution in 1787,
and he was governor of the Southwest Territory 1790-96.
Then he was a United States Senator for 15 months.
Blount speculated in western land,
and in 1797 he was accused of being part of a conspiracy.
Jackson led those who supported him.
Blount died at Knoxville during an epidemic on 21 March 1800.
Jackson was appointed ad interim to the Tennessee Superior Court
on 20 September 1798, and on December 20 the Tennessee General Assembly
elected him to the Tennessee Superior Court.
On 1 October 1800 Napoleon managed to get Spain to transfer Louisiana
with New Orleans to France in the secret Treaty of San Ildefonso.
The Republican leader Thomas Jefferson was elected
and became President on 4 March 1801.
He considered Napoleon a threat and sent the diplomat James Monroe
who negotiated the Louisiana Purchase with France in 1803.
Jackson hoped to be appointed Governor of the large territory,
but Jefferson selected William C. C. Claiborne for that position
and made James Wilkinson the United States General in New Orleans.
On 1 September 1801 Jackson wrote in a letter to William Dickson:
Through life I have held it a sacred duty I owed to my
Country and myself, never to give my suffrage to a
candidate for a seat in the Congress of the United States,
unless I was convinced that his political sentiments were
congenial with those he represented, and that he would
speak and do the will of his constituents; and being now
informed that you are a candidate for the honor of
representing the citizens of the State of Tennessee in the
Representative branch of the Federal Legislature—
believing as I do, that any citizen who does obtain the
suffrage of the freemen of Tennessee, must be a character,
the composition of which is virtue, talents, and the true whig
principles of seventy-six; in short, sir, that he must be
a Republican, and in politics, like Caesar’s wife,
not only chaste but unsuspected.20
Then he asked Dickson a series of questions about his views on various issues.
On September 5 Jackson organized the first Masonic Lodge in Nashville.
On 5 February 1802 Jackson was barely elected over Governor Sevier as the
commanding Major General in the Tennessee Militia, and on February 16 Jackson
formed a business partnership with Thomas Watson and
the slave-trader John Hutchings who was related to his wife Rachel.
Jackson from Knoxville wrote to Sevier on March 27 that he had not solicited the
appointment, and on April 1 Jackson was made a major general in the Tennessee militia.
He worked as an agent for the marshal’s sale of 85,000 acres of land by Duck River.
On 10 May 1802 Major General Andrew Jackson
wrote this letter to James Winchester:
On the 7th Instant, information reached me
through the channel of a letter from the Governor,
that Major Russle of Jackson County was about
to raise a party to Search the mountain over
our boundary for Indian Camps and to break them up.
Thus it appears (if the information is correct) some citizens
in that county that not yet content with the unwarrantable
murder of the Indian, which may implicate the Safety of our
whole Frontier—but Sir by a still more rash & unwarrantable
act, and that too headed by an officer of a high grade violate
the laws of our country and involve us in an Indian war.
The respectability of the Militia & the Safety of our country
require corrective, and if the facts relative to Russle conduct
are true he ought and must be arrested, and an enquiry
had before a court martial—or all Subordination, order and
discipline will cease to Exist among the militia—and instead
of their being the guardians of our national peace,
liberty and happiness, they will become the very reverse.
I wrote to Col. McKinney on the Subject Stating to him the
necessity (if all the facts are true) of having him arrested,
and further stating that he will receive orders and
instructions from you, the proper channel, on the Subject.
If the facts I have Just to add—appearing are true
it is highly necessary he Should be arrested,
and I have no doubt but you will take the most
expeditious method through Col. McKinney to
ascertain the facts and pursue the Legal steps to have a
Speedy enquiry into his conduct before a court martial.21
Eli Whitney had applied for a patent on his cotton gin on 28 October 1793,
and it was granted on 14 March 1794, though validation came in 1807.
These “Resolutions of a Cotton Gin Committee” were published on 13 July 1803:
At a meeting of a number of the citizens of Mero district
in the town of Nashville on the 13th inst. to consult with
Mr. Russell Goodrich, attorney in fact for Miller and Whitney,
patentees of the saw Cotton Ginn on the compensation
to be made to the patentees for making and using the
said saw Ginns without license, and whether it would
be most conducive to the interest and harmony of the state,
that the individuals should compromise with the said
patentees, or that the state should make a purchase
of the patent right for the use and benefit of the state:
Having formed themselves into a committee and
appointed Gen. Andrew Jackson chairman, and
Nicholas T. Perkins, clk, came to the following resolutions:
Whereas the cultivation of Cotton has become an
object of great importance to this state, and in all
probability, an article upon which the riches of the
country will depend, it is therefore worthy the attention
of the legislature: and whereas many of the citizens
have hitherto been and now are deterred from making
and using Ginns, lest they should trespass on the
patent right of Miller and Whitney, & thereby subject
themselves to heavy penalties and dangers; therefore,
Resolved, That it Will tend much to the agricultural and
commercial interest of this state, that the legislature thereof
at their next session, purchase the patent right of the said
saw Ginn for the use and benefit of the citizens, and lay
a tax on the makers and users of the said Ginns, to
discharge the sum which may be contracted to be
given to the patentees for their patent right aforesaid.
That the citizens of the different parts of
the state be invited to join with this committee
to recommend it to the legislature at their next
session to make the purchase aforesaid.
That these resolutions be published in the Tennessee
Gazette, for the information of the citizens of the state
in order that if it meet their approbation, it may be
fully represented as the general wish of the people.
That it be recommended to each committee
to have the result of their deliberations made public,
through the medium of the press.
That every member present subscribe
their names to these resolutions, by and
with the consent of the said Russell Goodrich.22
This document was signed by Andrew Jackson, chairman and
R. Goodrich attorney for Miller and Whitney with the names of 20 other men.
Sevier’s supporters eventually persuaded the legislature
in November 1803 to establish two militia districts,
and Jackson was appointed to the one in West Tennessee.
Sevier was running for Governor, and on 27 July 1803 Jackson published
in the Knoxville Gazette three corrupt warrants by Sevier.
On 7 August 1803 Jackson was persuaded to write a letter
to President Thomas Jefferson in defense of Colonel Thomas Butler.
Jackson wrote,
Should it be decided that the heir is a part of uniform and
subject to the order of the commander in chief, it may
also be extended to the nose, ear, eye and so forth, they
are all equally gifts of nature, and all as much recognized
by any written rules for the government of the army.
The feelings of the militia are alive upon the occasion,
as it is well known, that when in the field
they are subject to the same orders,
and liable to the same pains for disobedience.
It opens a door for the greatest tyranny to be exercised by
a commander in chief and by which he may deprive his
country of the service of its most valuable officers
when he may think they have become too honest,
too economical, too independent
to be subservient to his views.
To conclude I will just remark that, The novelty of the
order, its renewal at the time it was, the uniform upright
conduct of the colonel during his command in this state, his
hospitality, Politeness and attention to the citizens and those
Passing through it, all combined to increase the wishes of
our citizens, for his honorable acquittal and safe return, and
in the golden moment of American prosperity, when all the
Western Hemisphere rejoices at the Joyful news of the
cession of Louisiana, an event which places the peace,
happiness and liberty of our country on a lasting basis, an
event which generations yet unborn on each revolving year,
will hail the day, and with it the causes that gave it birth,
such Joy as these we hope will not be interrupted by the
scene of an aged and meritorious officer being brought
before a court martial for the disobedience of an order
that went to deprive him of the gift of nature which was
worn by him both for ornament and convenience.23
Also on that August 7 Jackson issued this General Order
to the Militia as to Spanish Threats that begins:
The late conduct of the Spanish Government,
added to the Hostile appearance and menacing attitude
of their Armed forces already encamped within the limits
of our government, make it necessary that the militia
under my command, should be in complete order
and at a moment’s warning ready to march.24
President Thomas Jefferson on 19 September 1803
wrote this letter to General Jackson:
On receipt of your favor of Aug. 7 I made it the subject
of some communication with the Secretary of War.
He informs me that the charge against Col. Butler
on which stress is laid is for disobedience of
orders & neglect of duty for not going to
Fort Adams when ordered & for an absence from
his command of near twelve months without leave.
On this he will have the benefit of a trial
by his peers, who no doubt will do him justice.
The acquisition of Louisiana is of immense
importance to our future tranquility, inasmuch
as it removes the intrigues of foreign nations
to a distance from which they can no longer
produce disturbance between the Indians & us.
It will also open an asylum for these unhappy people
in a country which may suit their habits of life better
than what they now occupy which perhaps they will
be willing to exchange with us; and to our posterity
it opens a noble prospect of provision for ages.
The world will here see such an extent of country under a
free and moderate government as it has never yet seen.25
John Sevier became Governor of Tennessee again on 23 September 1803,
and in the first ten days of October Jackson wrote five letters to him.
Their differences nearly led to a duel.
In the fall of 1803 Jackson had boats built for the War Department
to prepare for a conflict with Spain over Louisiana.
On October 1 Sevier criticized Judge Jackson in his court,
and he accused Jackson of stealing another man’s wife.
The next day Jackson in a letter to Sevier wrote,
The ungentlemanly expressions, and gasgonading conduct
of yours, relative to me on yesterday was in true character
of yourself, and unmask you to the world, and plainly
shows that they were the ebulitions of a base mind goaded
with stubborn proof of fraud, and flowing from a source
devoid of every refined sentiment or delicate sensation.
But sir the voice of the people has made you a Governor;
this alone makes you worthy of my notice
or the notice of any Gentleman.
For the Office I have respect, and as such I only deign
to notice you, and call upon you for that satisfaction
and explanation that your ungentlemanly conduct and
expressions require, for this purpose I request an interview,
and my friend who will hand you this will point out the
time and place, when and where I shall expect to see
you with your friend and no other person.
My friend [Captain Andrew White] and myself will be armed
with pistols—you cannot mistake me or my meaning.26
On 3 October 1803 Jackson received a note from John Sevier and wrote to him again.
On October 5 and 7 Jackson received petitions signed by numerous men
asking him not to retire from his office as a judge.
Jackson in Knoxville wrote a long letter to Gov. Sevier on October 9
that called him the “greatest coward.”
General Jackson from Hunter’s Hill on November 12 wrote
to the United States Secretary of War Henry Dearborn, advising,
Your letter of the 31st Ultimo reached me today,
the contents duly observed, I hasten to answer,
That the Boats required shall be ready to sail
against the 20th of next month, if within reach of
Possibility, and in procuring them economy shall
be attended to, as far as the shortness of time and
he scarcity of hands at this busy season will permit.
I view with extreme regret the necessity for this
precautionary measure, and this at a period when
it was generally thought and believed that the
wisdom of our government had laid the lasting basis
of peace by the purchase of Louisiana in this quarter.
But Sir, if we should be by the conduct of Spain
compelled into the measure, and war be the ultimatum,
you will find the spirit of Patriotism pervade the minds
of the militia in the west, and that the regiments
required will be readily filled; of this there is no doubt,
unless their ardor should be abated by the mode the
Governor has adopted in his selection of officers.
Permit me here to state that the militia by the
constitution of this State has a right to appoint and elect
their own officers from that of a Lieutenant up to the Col.
This being their right secured to them by the constitution,
they view any change from this an act of usurpation,
which the mind revolts at and creates opposition.
I am Just informed, and that too through a respectable
channel that the Governor has assumed the power
to appoint any person he pleases to office, taking
them from the ranks, and paying no respect to the
selection of officers already appointed agreeable
to the existing rules and regulations of the state.
I am also informed that this has given offense
to the officers commanding companies, and that
they make use of all their influence to prevent
those new created officers from taking any part
of their company from them by enlistment or otherwise;
this I fear, will have a baneful effect, and occasion
a serious delay in filling up the regiments.
There are a number of (Volunteer) independent
companies who expected to have been called upon to march
and held themselves bound to do so at a minutes warning.
These I am just informed have been neglected,
not even a request command or invitation to march.
This information comes to me directly from one
of the independent corps, accompanied with a
complaint of neglect on the part of the Governor.
Unfortunately for our state at present, we have
a governor who has always through life been
governed by selfish motives regardless of
Public good, and unfortunately in the present
instance he pursues the system of giving
appointments to those who are his favorites,
without consulting the Benefit of the public service.
If this system is not put an end to by the interference of the
general Government, I fear that the Federal party will have
to say that the militia cannot be relied on in cases of sudden
emergency, and I am well assured if proper measures had
been adopted, the full quota of men required of this state
could have been brought to the field in three weeks.27
In April 1804 Jackson stopped being a superior court judge,
and on the 19th he formed a business partnership
to operate a retail store with John Coffee and John Hutchings.
On April 28 Jackson wrote to Coffee:
Nothing on the subject of Governor of New Orleans,
the President at Monticello—under present circumstances
my feelings could not consent to pay my respects to him
lest it might be construed into the conduct of a courtier—
and my visit might have created such sensations in his
mind—I therefore passed on without calling—
of all ideas to me it is the most humiliating to be thought
to cringe to power to obtain a favor or an appointment—
feelings calculated to bend to those things are badly
calculated for a representative Government—
where merit alone ought to be the road to preferment.
I have Just waited on the Secretary of War;
from him I learn that Two Boats will be wanted
for the transportation of troops down the river—
you will without delay cause the one that is afloat
at the mouth of the Spring branch to be reraised and
repaired, and the other raised and repaired if Possible—
If not possible, a new one built which
I mean to have done at my own expense—
I expect if she cannot be raised, perhaps she
can be stripped of her plank which will answer
same purpose; I wish this done as early as possible;
the Boats may be wanted in six or eight weeks.
I would not for the price of three that the
Public shall be disappointed or delayed—
It is the wish of the Secretary of War that
chains for the Ferry Boats across Tennessee
should be provided; I wish you to have them
made on as low terms as possible.28
On 24 July 1804 Jackson resigned as a judge,
and he purchased the Hermitage property on August 23.
Vice President Aaron Burr was rejected by President Jefferson
who chose George Clinton as his running mate in 1804.
Burr decided to run for Governor of New York.
On July 11 Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel.
Burr wanted to raise a force to drive Spaniards out of Florida,
and from 29 May 1805 to June 3
he appealed to General Jackson in Nashville for support.
Jackson was prepared to fight if war was declared.
Burr after being in New Orleans visited Jackson again
at his Hermitage from August 6 to the 14th.
On August 23 Jackson bought the Hermitage property.
Notes
1. Correspondence of Andrew Jackson, Volume I To April 30, 1814
ed. John Spencer Bassett, p. 1.
2. Ibid., p. 2-4.
3. The Shaping of America: A People’s History of the Ante-bellum Years
by Page Smith, p. 24.
4. Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Empire, 1767-1821
by Robert V. Remini, p. 11.
5. Correspondence of Andrew Jackson, Volume I, p. 5.
6. Ibid., p. 5-6.
7. Ibid., p. 7-8.
8. Ibid., p. 12-13.
9. Ibid., p. 17-18.
10. Andrew Jackson and His Indian Wars by Robert V. Remini, p. 38.
11. Ibid.
12. Ibid., p. 39.
13. Correspondence of Andrew Jackson, Volume I, p. 25-26.
14. Ibid., p. 27-28.
15. Ibid., p. 37.
16. The Papers of Andrew Jackson 1804-1813 Volume I, p. 164-165.
17. Correspondence of Andrew Jackson, Volume I, , p. 43.
18. Ibid., p. 45.
19. The Papers of Andrew Jackson 1804-1813 Volume I, p. 182-183.
20. Correspondence of Andrew Jackson, Volume I, p. 58.
21. The Papers of Andrew Jackson 1804-1813 Volume I, p. 295-296.
22. Ibid., p. 303-304.
23. Ibid., p. 353-354.
24. Correspondence of Andrew Jackson, Volume I, p. 68.
25. The Papers of Andrew Jackson 1804-1813 Volume I, p. 365.
26. Ibid., p. 367-368.
27. Ibid., p. 395-396.
28. Ibid., p. 19-20.
29. Ibid., p. 80.
30. Ibid., p. 91.
31. Ibid., p. 110.
32. Ibid., p. 111-112.
33. Correspondence of Andrew Jackson, Volume I, p. 156.
34. The Papers of Andrew Jackson 1804-1813 Volume II, p. 116-117.
35. Ibid., p. 114-115.
36. Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Empire, 1767-1821
by Robert V. Remini, p. 149.
37. The Papers of Andrew Jackson 1804-1813 Volume II, p. 120.
38. Ibid., p. 121.
39. Ibid., p. 127.
40. Ibid., p. 134.
41. Ibid., p. 140-142.
42. Ibid., p. 147-150.
43. Ibid., p. 155-158.
44. Ibid., p. 192.
45. Ibid., p. 206.
46. Ibid., p. 210-211.
47. Ibid., p. 238.
48. Correspondence of Andrew Jackson, Volume I.
49. The Papers of Andrew Jackson 1804-1813 Volume II, p. 270.
50. Ibid., p. 290-292.
51. Ibid., p. 300-301.
52. Ibid., p. 302-303.
53. Ibid., p. 305-306.
54. Correspondence of Andrew Jackson, Volume I, p. 233.
55. The Papers of Andrew Jackson 1804-1813 Volume II, p. 338-339.
56. Ibid., p. 340-341.
57. Ibid., p. 342-343.
58. Ibid., p. 343, 344.
59. Ibid., p. 349-350.
60. Ibid., p. 348.
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