But such a statement was not out of character for Jackson He had built his career with tough actions and strong words Like a lion he could be both a stalwart protector and a ruthless predator It was no secret that Jackson disliked Clay and Calhoun Clay had been a thorn in Jackson’s side for two decades criticizing Jackson’s military leadership stealing in Jackson’s view the presidency from him in 1824 and opposing his economic policies Jackson thought Clay known as the Great Compromiser was untrustworthy and opportunistic As for Calhoun Jackson found him haughty and cruel on a personal level and dangerously divisive on a political one Jackson believed Calhoun’s strident support for states rights jeopardized the Union And Jackson had in fact once threatened to hang Calhoun for it Jackson’s strong language at the end of his presidency fit perfectly with his public persona Jackson had been a wild youngster a ferocious soldier and a John C Calhoun 8
passionate iron-willed and heavy-handed political leader He made it clear that in retirement he would remain the same barely tamed American lion he’d always been Henry Clay 9
President Andrew Jackson was famous for his passionate style and strong-willed leadership This personality was no act It was a lifetime in the making Jackson’s colorful character got its start in a childhood brimming with both hardship and adventure A Wild Childhood In 1765 Jackson’s parents Scotch Irish immigrants Andrew and Elizabeth Jackson and their two young sons Hugh and Robert settled in the remote hill country of the British colonies They lived in a log cabin on the border between modern North and South Carolina in an area called the Waxhaw settlement In early 1767 Elizabeth who was pregnant was left alone with her two boys when her husband died A few weeks later on March 15 1767 Andrew was born Elizabeth Jackson moved her family to nearby Lancaster District South Carolina to live with her sister and serve as the housekeeper for her sister’s large family Andrew spent his first dozen or so years there AN ADVENTUROUS LIFE CHAPTER ONE 10
The birthplace of Andrew Jackson in the Waxhaw settlement near the border of North Carolina and South Carolina Elizabeth Jackson wanted her youngest son to become a Presbyterian minister so she took pains to provide him with an education not a given in a region where there were few schools and teachers Andrew attended an academy at the Waxhaw Presbyterian meetinghouse There he learned to read write and cast accounts or do arithmetic He also studied Greek Latin history and the Christian Bible Andrew’s academic performance was lackluster He learned the Bible and he picked up a knack for language that would eventually make him a good orator But he never mastered Greek or Latin His spelling skills were weak And as Andrew grew it became obvious to his community that he would never become a minister 11
