mental_floss magazine
SUBSCRIBE >
GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS >
DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS >
subscriber services >
It’s a wonder Andrew Jackson was able to defeat the British during the War of 1812. And found the modern Democratic Party. And become President of the United States. After all, Jackson should’ve died many, many times before he had the opportunity to do any of those things.
Little Orphan Andrew
The sun rarely shined on Andrew Jackson’s childhood. At 14, Andrew and his brother, Robert, were captured, starved, and abused by the British during the Revolutionary War. After finally being released, they were forced to trek 45 miles to a POW camp in the rain. Robert was so sick that he was slung over the back of a horse. Andrew, meanwhile, was left to trudge through the mud—barefoot, without a jacket, and delirious with smallpox. Their mother eventually negotiated for the boys’ release, but Robert died only two days after reaching the family home. Bedridden for months, Andrew pulled through miraculously.
Once Andrew had been nursed back to health, his mother left to tend sick prisoners of war in Charleston Harbor, 160 miles away. There, she succumbed to cholera and died. Since his father had passed away before he was born, Andrew suddenly found himself a penniless orphan. He moved to the town of Salisbury, N.C., where he scrubbed the floors of a law office by day and roamed the streets by night, stealing signposts and moving outhouses where no one could find them.
The Hot-headed Gunslinger
The next 100 times Andrew Jackson should have died were in duels of honor—the old-fashioned variety, where sometimes men fired their pistols into the air and sometimes they didn’t. Often, these run-ins were instigated by talk of Jackson’s wife, Rachel, who’d previously been with an abusive husband. Jackson valiantly rescued her from the nasty situation, yet the finality of her divorce at the time of their wedding was questionable at best. Needless to say, this was a sore spot for Jackson, and he wasn’t afraid to draw his pistol at any mention of it. In fact, things only got worse when he decided to run for president, as it became the topic of a massive smear campaign. Rachel was called a bigamist more times than she could handle, and she died of a heart attack before she could even make it to the White House.
Although not all of Jackson’s duels were near-death experiences, at least two of them were. Once, for instance, he was shot squarely in the chest. Normally, that sort of thing would signal the end of a duel, but Jackson simply staunched the wound with a handkerchief, and then shot and killed his opponent. The bullet, however, was lodged so close to Jackson’s heart that it couldn’t be removed, and he suffered from chest pains and excessive phlegm for the rest of his life. In another fight, two bullets shattered Jackson’s arm and left shoulder. Doctors wanted to amputate, but Jackson refused for fear it would ruin his military career.
The War Hero
Jackson also should’ve died at some point during his glory days on the battlefield. He became a national hero for “clearing out” the American Indians from the South and for defeating the British at the Battle of New Orleans in early 1815, but General Jackson also fought less glorious battles against malaria, diarrhea, and starvation. In one campaign against the Creek Indians in 1813, he survived on nothing but acorns.
The Enormously Popular President
The combination of Jackson’s humble roots and military success made him wildly popular in the rough-and-tumble early days of the United States. Winning the Oval Office by a landslide in 1828, he was proclaimed “The People’s President” in much the same way the British proclaimed Diana “The People’s Princess.” America’s six previous presidents were born rich and had been well-educated, whereas Jackson had once cleaned floors for a living. But the citizens who loved Jackson nearly killed him, too. On Jackson’s inauguration day, a mob of well-wishers rushed the White House lawn to shake hands with him. The crowd became so thick that the president would have been crushed to death if his friends hadn’t formed a protective ring around him to shield him from the mob.
Of course, no matter how popular a president is, there are always those eager to take him down. In 1835, Jackson was leaving the Capitol building when a demented misanthrope named Richard Lawrence approached him with a raised pistol. Too shocked to move, the president watched as Lawrence fired a shot. Nothing happened. Then the assailant produced a second gun and fired. Again, nothing happened. Horrified, onlookers wrestled Lawrence to the ground and held him until he could be taken into custody. Only later would the strange truth become known that both pistols had been properly loaded. Odds of two misfires in a row: 1 in 125,000. The expression on Lawrence’s face: Priceless.
Jenny Drapkin is the Senior Editor of mental_floss magazine. We’ve been serializing “All The Presidents’ Secrets,” her fantastic feature from the September-October 2007 issue. (Would you care to subscribe?)
Previous Installments: Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Johnson, Rutherford B. Hayes, Calvin Coolidge, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Andrew Jackson, Teddy Roosevelt.
Comments (21)
Comment
- Follow mental_floss
This is all because of good health Andrew Jackson had. If the person is fit and fine and has a very good diet then its possible that he lives a long life.
posted by Alex on 4-16-2008 at 7:07 am
Remember boys and girls; eat your veggies, and go out and play. You too will survive gunshots square to the chest.
posted by Ryan on 4-16-2008 at 8:19 am
I will never look at the $20 the same way again.
You go Andrew Jackson!
posted by beth on 4-16-2008 at 9:00 am
Starvation and living on acorns… healthy diet for sure!
awesome story!!
posted by RodneyB on 4-16-2008 at 9:31 am
well, this sure glossed over his wholesale slaughter of indigineous Americans, what a whitewash!
posted by Karen Bowers on 4-16-2008 at 9:55 am
Not to mention that he had the most corrupt administration up to that time in American history.
posted by airship on 4-16-2008 at 10:43 am
A whitewash? Come now, the article was intended as a run-down of his near-death experiences (perhaps the “nine lives” reference in the title was a bit difficult to interpret?), not a study of the moral correctness of his military actions or his administration. Focusing on one aspect of a person for a short article such as this does not constitute a whitewash. Perhaps you would have been satisfied if the title were “The Nine Lives of Andrew Jackson (Who was a Very Bad Man who killed many Native Americans and had a corrupt cabinet, as well otherwise fell short of the standards of the 21st century and was not a perfect human being)”. Then, the author could have continued with their finely focused, and, dare I say, very interesting, article on Andrew Jackson’s brushes with death.
posted by kate on 4-16-2008 at 11:27 am
kate – lol! how very true!
interesting read, jenny. history has always been fascinating to me.
posted by CK on 4-16-2008 at 12:10 pm
Maybe that could be the next t shirt:
“Indigenous Americans: Whitewashed!”
To the victors go the spoils. Maybe the injuns should have invested in a little gun powder.
posted by tommy on 4-16-2008 at 1:47 pm
To heck with HBO’s John Adams, I want to see an Andrew Jackson mini-series, warts and all! Who would be cast as Jackson (if this was 20 years ago, I would say Clint Eastwood.)
posted by JC on 4-16-2008 at 3:35 pm
Ahh, ol’ Andy used to be my favorite. But then I learned about the Indian Removal Act. Screwed that up pretty thoroughly.
So back to Washy I go…
posted by Aemi on 4-16-2008 at 4:55 pm
The Nine Lives of Andrew Jackson | politikly.com
\r\nIts a wonder Andrew Jackson was able to defeat the British during the War of 1812. And found the
posted by politikly.com | politics and world news on 4-17-2008 at 12:23 pm
Desperate times called for desperate measure,s Jackson acting under orders from the United States Gov.Bravely did what was reqested of him remove threat of of Then Savage Indians.Indeed he is a hero in military skill.The Native American at thye hands of Tye Us gov where treated as humanely as possable,under the circumstances of the day –the Spanish killed without treaties remeber the Native Americans where at least given treaties as bad as they may have been percieved. To condemn Jackson as if he aolone where responsable for slavery is foolish –Jackson added to helping eventualy freeing slaves Those where the dreadful conditions of the day –no Andrew Jackson and Good Black and white slave holders did the only thing they knew how to help go with what we have or what ?/you tell me what the easy solution to freeing the poor slaves was –you will find it was not as cut and dries as we belive today as illegale immigration scuse spelling not a spelling contest
posted by Dave McArdle on 4-21-2008 at 6:10 pm
He personally killed more white men than all the other presidents combined
posted by JD on 4-22-2008 at 1:55 pm
While I realize that this is about Jackson’s death-defying life, to say that he treated the Indians “as humanely as possable [sic]” is, to borrow an earlier word, whitewash. Jackson allowed personal racism (even his neighbors in frontier Tennessee, an area not known for love of the Indians, called attention to the hatred Andrew and his mother had for natives) and economics to override his duties as chief executive of the United States of America. The Supreme Court said in Worcester v. Georgia that the state could not force the Cherokee to move to Indian Territory, but instead of enforcing the Supreme Court’s decision (as he should have been Constitutionally bound to do) he ignored it. An infantryman who later served in the Civil War said there was more brutality on the Trail of Tears (the Cherokee Trail was just one of many, but since they had a written language it became the best known) than he ever saw in combat.
So, while it is amazing that Jackson was able to survive so many close calls, as the descendant of a Shawnee family that had to hide their ethnicity to stay in Ohio, I can’t help but wonder how different the U.S. might have been if Jackson had lost one of those duels with fate.
P.S. I can provide references for the facts that I state, if anyone wants them.
posted by R.G. on 4-23-2008 at 2:02 pm
With all respect for the poor souls who where on the trail of tears.The events leading to that fatal event tell another story little known.A treaty obligating the native Americans was signed and expected to give 5 million dollars for the move in May.The Natives renaged and hid ,thus forcing the Army to forcefully remove them in Sept winter set in making the move fatal.Jacson was out of office and was aware of the harsh treatment recieved by them ,and ageed it was a disgrace.Lets get our facts straight.Proffesor Robert Remini has the documents again we make the mistake of trying to make this very complicated event cut and dried ,it cant be that simple it was very complex.Fairness??maybe we are arguing??todays fairness with yesterdays necesity are two differant subjects.The whole people of the United States where afraid of Native Americans at this period the whole congress wrote the papers for removal Jackson merely signed them ,i fel reluctantly and sadly .He in fact wet to his grave believing he saved his children from total genocide This i belive is more the case.
posted by Dave McArdle on 4-23-2008 at 2:48 pm
The Treaty of New Echota, which is what I assume Mr. McArdle is reffering to, was signed by a small group of dissidents within the Cherokee, and protested by a petition signed by 15,000 Cherokee. Jackson pushed for the treaty’s adoption, and it passed by a single vote-hardly a “whole Congress” action. Saying “the whole people of the United States where [sic] afraid of Native Americans at this period” is an obvious and false generalization: my family and 300 more like mine in Ohio would not have been able to remain in the state during the 1830s if not for the aid of white families in the surrounding areas. Tribes throughout the lands east of the Mississippi River had given up on warfare many years before the Indian Removal Act, and had settled down to farming in the fashion of the whites around them. In Georgia, the main fear was likely that the Cherokee would be able to keep the gold being found on tribal lands.
Mr. McArdle and I are obviously biased-I because of my Shawnee heritage, he because of his research and first-person portrayal of “Old Hickory.” I hope our posts here will lead people to do more research on their own, through historians like Robert Remini and Francis Paul Prucha and through tribal histories of the Cherokee, Shawnee and others, and decide for themselves who was right, who was wrong, what could have been avoided or what had to happen.
posted by R.G. on 4-24-2008 at 6:26 am
Yes,RG is indeed correct .perhaps because i have a certain bias ,because of what i am learning ,does not mean i am totaly without regret as to why these terrible ingnorant things of the past happened .in that we both find intriging and i to encourage all to openly and honest evealuate the conditons ,taking into account warfare and and unfair decisions that do take place in our world . we can find the find the facts as to this tragedy.
posted by Dave McArdle on 4-24-2008 at 10:46 am
I understand RG,the treaty aspect to which you refer and yes i see the unfortunate factor that the Nation was not well represented ,i grant it would be a heck of a arguement to ensue had the yes Jackson backed infuence,failed perhaps your good people would have faired better??me,i belive whether it was Jackson or who ever the same unfortunate result would have ensued ,after all ,it was really Van Buren who oversaw the sad events .which forces me to rely on the laws of manifest destiny the inevitable removal allready ordained befor the orchestrator Jackson took office.{maybe im wrong }its just floating in the scenerio.Jackson had a native son and a few Native American wards even in his nisguided outlook toward other races ,in his heart of hearts he recogignized them as fellow children of God.Last words of the man .”Dont Be afraid children i didnt mean to disterb you do not worry we all meet in heavan both black and white” does this sound like a deliberate racist hater?? no he had his ignorances yes think black people where his Porerty this agrivates me ,but yet a prouduct of his day .hatred of red skinned folks was rampant distrust yes.for which we all thank God can improve our respect ,right is right wrong is wrong ,in my heart of hearts i do not belive many ignorant people are as hating as we would believe ,they are just ignorant of the beauty of appreciating Gods diversity.
posted by Dave McArdle on 4-24-2008 at 4:31 pm
Glad we are comparing one of the most evil men with Princess Diana, and saying he “cleared out” the Indians in like saying Hitler “cleared out” the Jews. Next time please say what he really was like: Racist, ignorant, and a bigot. this man was a terrible man, and a 20 certainly should not have him on it. Honestly expected more from this website…
posted by Fordo on 8-19-2009 at 5:06 am
You can call Andrew Jackson “Racist, ignorant, and a bigot.”, but he is unique among US Presidents (with the exception of Lincoln and Kennedy) in that he successfully stood up against the International Bankers. This led to an unprecedented prosperity for the US in the period 1830’s to 1913, a wealth that has been squandered in recent years by the above mentioned dark forces.
posted by Vesko G. on 8-20-2009 at 12:23 am