Lived

March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845

Home State

Tennessee

Party

Democratic

Vice President

John C. Calhoun; Martin Van Buren

Andrew Jackson rose from frontier poverty to military fame at the Battle of New Orleans and became the seventh President as a self-styled champion of the common man. He paid off the national debt, confronted South Carolina over nullification, and expanded the popular vote. Yet his legacy is inseparable from the Indian Removal Act, which produced the Trail of Tears and the forced march of the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole nations. His defiance of the Supreme Court in Worcester v. Georgia and his destruction of the Second Bank remain deeply contested. Hero of the Battle of New Orleans (1815), Major General in the U.S. Army, first Governor of Florida Territory, U.S. Senator from Tennessee.

No formal higher education; read law in Salisbury, North Carolina.

Paid off the national debt — the only President ever to do so. Faced down South Carolina in the Nullification Crisis with the Force Bill, preserving federal supremacy over tariffs. Expanded the reach of the popular vote by opening state electors to the people. Signed the Indian Removal Act (1830), the Force Bill (1833), and the Compromise Tariff of 1833.

Signed the Indian Removal Act, producing the Trail of Tears and thousands of deaths on the forced march of the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole nations. Vetoed the Bank of the United States and moved federal deposits to state banks, helping cause the Panic of 1837. Reportedly said of Worcester v. Georgia: 'John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it.' Owned enslaved people throughout his life.