List of violent incidents involving Andrew Jackson

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Andrew Jackson, 1819 portrait in oil paint by Samuel Lovett Waldo (Metropolitan Museum of Art object 06.197) Black and white square crop of General Andrew Jackson MET DT233622.jpg
Andrew Jackson, 1819 portrait in oil paint by Samuel Lovett Waldo (Metropolitan Museum of Art object 06.197)
"Some account of the bloody deeds of General Andrew Jackson", c. 1828 Some account of the bloody deeds of General Andrew Jackson, circa 1828.png
"Some account of the bloody deeds of General Andrew Jackson", c.1828
An account of some of the bloody deeds of General Andrew Jackson P15138coll33 257 full 1828 Coffin Handbill An account of some of the bloody deeds of General Andrew Jackson.jpg
An account of some of the bloody deeds of General Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson, later seventh president of the United States, was involved in a series of altercations in his personal and professional life. Jackson killed a man, was shot in a duel (in 1806), was shot in a tavern brawl (in 1813), and was charged, in separate incidents, with assault and battery (convicted), and assault with intent to kill (acquitted).

Contents

According to historian J. M. Opal, "[Jackson's] willingness to kill, assault, or threaten people was a constant theme in his adult life and a central component of the reputation he cultivated." [1] :70 One writer who investigated Jackson's brief residence circa 1788–89 in what is now East Tennessee reported, "He was recognized from the first as a man who 'would fight at the drop of a hat, and drop the hat himself.'" [2] Per biographer Robert V. Remini, Jackson had a "vicious temper that frequently exploded into ugly language and acts," [3] :7 and such a temper tantrum, "so furious and startlingly sudden, intimidated his victims by its abruptness and its noisiness." [3] :162 One historian wrote of his pre-war years, "By his mingled tact and daring he soon became a power in the sparsely settled community. His temper was nothing less than volcanic. His oaths were varied, numerous, and highly effective. Yet after he reached middle life both were less frequently in evidence, and except upon extraordinary occasions were more moderate than in youth." [4] A Methodist chaplainwho correctly intuited Jackson's inability to live in egalitarian humility, or to admit to any fault whatsoeverwrote in his journal of the Natchez Expedition, "I find the Gen. cannot bare much opposition. He is a good General but a very incorrect divine." [5]

It has been hyperbolically claimed that Jackson "participated in more than 100 duels over his lifetime" but that is not correct. [6] That said, in 1828 a man named Dr. James L. Armstrong, who had been a surgeon in Jackson's militia in the War of 1812, [7] claimed that he had started making a list of altercations involving Jackson and the final list "accumulated to nearly ONE HUNDRED FIGHTS or violent and abusive quarrels," although Armstrong's index, published under the title General Jackson's "juvenile indiscretions" between the ages of 23 and 60, listed but 14 instances. [8] Shortly after the publication of this document, a Kentucky newspaper claimed that four men, including Archibald Yell, stopped by to "assassinate" Dr. Armstrong in Bedford County for writing anti-Jackson columns, chasing him down and clubbing him. A comment from another correspondent was appended to the report which stated, "This is Jacksonism in its true colors such as the Hero in early times has often acted himself!" [9] Similarly, during the 1824 presidential election, Jesse Benton, brother of U.S. Senator Thomas Hart Benton (and very much an interested party in questions of Jacksonian violence, as he was the one who shot Jackson in 1813), published a pamphlet that stated, "...it is a notorious fact, that he was scarce ever known to leave a [horse racing] round without having participated in an affray or riot, or at least a quarrel." [10]

Jackson's apparent propensity for physical violence was very much an issue for the anti-Jacksonians in the 1824 and 1828 presidential elections. One Delaware voter wrote his local newspaper to this effect: [11]

They do not deny, that Andrew Jackson has often been engaged in the most disgraceful broils and riots in the streets and taverns of Nashville, shooting with pistols and stabbing with dirks on all hands of him. But they tell you that we have no right to investigate his private character, and that his quarrels, duels, adulteries and murders, furnish no arguments against his fitness for an office, where patience, ability and virtuous principles are indispensable requisites to the continuance of the good Government and liberties of our country. [11]

News reports about Jackson's history of violence seem to have at least caught the attention of the voting public. Thomas E. Waggaman of Washington, D.C. wrote Felix Robertson in November 1828 that he had received a letter from a "corresponding committee in Harrisburg Pa. requesting me to give them a history of the Genl's 'trading in negroes cutting off ears' and other acts of violence ascribed to him by the tools of corruption." [12] Jackson was a interstate slave trader active for 20–25 years (c.1789c.1812); [13] whether or not he ever cut off anyone's ears is unrecorded by history, although he repeatedly threatened it. In the United States this practice, called ear cropping, was one of a number of livestock-management practicesincluding branding, castration, chaining, and whippingthat were used against the enslaved. [14] Ear cropping, toe removal, and castration were amongst the most extreme measures used to enforce subservience. [15] [16] The intent behind cropping ears, specifically, was permanent, visible mutilation, and thus implied ongoing shaming and contempt of the person so mutilated. [17]

Despite Jackson's leadership of militia in the War of 1812, the Creek War, and the Seminole War, historians have found that "there is no explicit account of his actually firing at an enemy in standard battle." [18] Nonetheless, his military violence (not currently included on this list) "was considerable." [19] :30

Fights, duels, beatdowns, and attempts at same

Bell Tavern photograph, taken sometime before the building was condemned in 1913, as published in Paddy Meagher's Ordinary and the Bell Tavern (Memphis and Shelby County Room 976.819 A955p) Bell Tavern 976.819 A955p Memphis and Shelby County Room, Memphis Public Library & Information Center.jpg
Bell Tavern photograph, taken sometime before the building was condemned in 1913, as published in Paddy Meagher's Ordinary and the Bell Tavern (Memphis and Shelby County Room 976.819 A955p)
Scott in 1814, around the time when Jackson was beefing with him Major Genl. Winfield Scott - Wood pinxt. ; Edwin sc. LCCN2012645312 (cropped).tif
Scott in 1814, around the time when Jackson was beefing with him

Threats

Russell Bean surrendering to Judge Jackson (conjectural illustration published 1844) Russell Bean surrendering to Judge Jackson (conjectural illustration published 1844).jpg
Russell Bean surrendering to Judge Jackson (conjectural illustration published 1844)

Other quarrels, evidently non-violent

See also

References

  1. Opal, J. M. (October 2013). "General Jackson's Passports: Natural Rights and Sovereign Citizens in the Political Thought of Andrew Jackson, 1780s–1820s". Studies in American Political Development. 27 (2): 69–85. doi:10.1017/S0898588X13000060. ISSN   0898-588X.
  2. 1 2 3 Allison, John (1897). "Dropped stitches in Tennessee history". HathiTrust. pp. 14, 117–118, 120. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Remini, Robert V. (1977). Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Empire, 1767–1821. New York: Harper & Row. ISBN   978-0-8018-5912-0. LCCN   77003766. OCLC   1145801830.
  4. Stevenson, Richard Taylor (1905). The Growth of the Nation, 1809 to 1837: From the Beginning of Madison's Administration to that of Van Buren. Subscribers only. ISBN   978-0-7222-7822-2.
  5. Phelps, Dawson A. (1953). "The Diary of a Chaplain in Andrew Jackson's Army: The Journal of the Reverend Mr. Learner Blackman—December 28, 1812-April 4, 1813". Tennessee Historical Quarterly. 12 (3): 264–281. ISSN   0040-3261. JSTOR   42621154.
  6. "Andrew Jackson was in more than 100 duels! And he killed a man..." washingtonpost.com.
  7. "Tennessee militia". The Nashville Whig. 1812-12-16. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  8. Armstrong, James L. Reminiscences, or, An extract from the catalogue of General Jackson's "juvenile indiscretions" between the ages of 23 and 60 / [James L. Armstrong]. State Library of Pennsylvania. s.n. p. 8.
  9. "Assassination Attempted". Lexington Weekly Press. 1828-07-30. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  10. Benton, Jesse (September 1824). "Supplement to the Public Advertiser, Louisville, Kentucky". bostonathenaeum.org. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "To the Voters of Delaware & Reasons I will not support Andrew Jackson for President". Delaware State Journal, Advertiser and Star. 1827-09-21. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
  12. Thomas E. Waggaman, Washington, to Felix Robertson, 1828 November 29, id128670, Box: 1. Tyler Family Papers, Group H, 01/Mss. 65 T97 Group H. Special Collections Research Center. College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia
  13. Snow, Whitney Adrienne (2008). "Slave Owner, Slave Trader, Gentleman: Slavery and the Rise of Andrew Jackson" (PDF). Journal of East Tennessee History. 80. Knoxville, Tennessee: East Tennessee Historical Society: 47–59. ISSN   1058-2126. OCLC   23044540.
  14. Chapter 5: Slaves by Nature? Domestic Animals and Human Slaves by Karl Jacoby The Atlantic Slave Trade: Volume IV Nineteenth Century. (2022). United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis. p. 92
  15. Morgan, Philip D. (2012). Slave Counterpoint: Black Culture in the Eighteenth-Century Chesapeake and Lowcountry. UNC Press Books. p. 394. ISBN   978-0-8078-3853-2.
  16. Schlotterbeck, John (2013). Daily Life in the Colonial South. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 250. ISBN   978-1-57356-743-5.
  17. Will, George F. (2019). The Conservative Sensibility. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN   978-0-316-48091-8.
  18. 1 2 3 Burstein, Andrew (2003). The Passions of Andrew Jackson. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN   978-0-375-41428-2. LCCN   2002016258. OCLC   49385944.
  19. 1 2 Roots, Roger (November 2001). "When Lawyers Were Serial Killers: Nineteenth Century Visions of Good Moral Character". Northern Illinois University Law Review. 22 (1): 19–35. ISSN   0734-1490.
  20. "Duels". Andrew Jackson's Hermitage. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  21. Arthur, John Preston. Western North Carolina: A History from 1730–1913. pp. 357–359. Retrieved 2024-12-24 via HathiTrust.
  22. "Facts Generally Not Known". The Newbernian. 1828-09-27. p. 3. Retrieved 2025-01-27.
  23. "Portraits of the Opposition, Vol. VIII, Andrew Jackson, Part 1 of 3". Literary Cadet and Rhode-Island Statesman. 1826-10-07. p. 1. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
  24. Remini (1977), p. 422 n. 32.
  25. 1 2 3 Jackson, Andrew (1984). "The Papers of Andrew Jackson, Volume II, 1804-1813". The Papers of Andrew Jackson.
  26. Cheathem, Mark R. (2014). Andrew Jackson, Southerner. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press. p. 42. ISBN   978-0-8071-5099-3. LCCN   2012049695. OCLC   858995561. Project MUSE   book 26506.
  27. Brammer, Robert (2015-04-15). "Frontier Racing and Injured Pride: The Duel Between Andrew Jackson and Charles Dickinson | In Custodia Legis". The Library of Congress. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  28. Onion, Rebecca (2014-03-05). "The "Coffin Handbill" Andrew Jackson's Enemies Used to Circulate Word of His "Bloody Deeds"". Slate. ISSN   1091-2339 . Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  29. 1 2 Various; Jackson, Andrew (1984). Moser, Harold D.; MacPherson, Sharon (eds.). The Papers of Andrew Jackson, Volume II, 1804–1813. University of Tennessee Press. pp. 172–174. ISBN   978-0-8704-9441-3.
  30. "Gen. Jackson and Silas Dinsmore". The Weekly Natchez Courier. 1828-08-23. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  31. Kennedy, Roger G. (2000). Burr, Hamilton, and Jefferson: A Study in Character. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 317–325. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195140552.001.0001. ISBN   9780199848775. LCCN   99022453. OCLC   181840559.
  32. ""Now Defend Yourself, You Damned Rascal!"". AMERICAN HERITAGE. Retrieved 2024-11-17.
  33. "Portraits of the Opposition, No. VII". Literary Cadet and Rhode-Island Statesman. 1826-09-30. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
  34. 1 2 Davis, James D. (1873). "History of Memphis : The history of the city of Memphis, being a compilation of the most important documents and historical events connected with the purchase ..." HathiTrust. pp. 125–130. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
  35. "Old Bell Tavern Pays Debt to Time". The Commercial Appeal. 1914-10-11. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
  36. 1 2 "Buying Property Here In 1820 Was No Profitable Job". The Commercial Appeal. 1932-05-02. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
  37. 1 2 3 Pessen, Edward (1985) [1969]. Jacksonian America: Society, Personality, and Politics (Rev. ed.). Urbana: University of Illinois Press. p. 321. ISBN   978-0-252-01237-2. LCCN   85001100. OCLC   11783430.
  38. Somit, Albert (1948). "Andrew Jackson: Legend and Reality". Tennessee Historical Quarterly. 7 (4): 291–313. ISSN   0040-3261. JSTOR   42620991.
  39. Remini, Robert V. (Summer 1991). "Andrew Jackson's Adventures on the Natchez Trace". Southern Quarterly. 29 (4). Hattiesburg, Mississippi: University of Southern Mississippi: 35–42. ISSN   0038-4496. OCLC   1644229.
  40. Wolfe, Margaret Ripley (2021). Daughters Of Canaan: A Saga of Southern Women. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 112–113. ISBN   978-0-8131-8983-3.
  41. "A brief and impartial history of the life and actions of Andrew Jackson / By a free man". HathiTrust. p. 20. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
  42. "The Narrative of James Roberts, a Soldier Under Gen. Washington in the Revolutionary War, and Under Gen. Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans, in the War of 1812: "a Battle Which Cost Me a Limb, Some Blood, and Almost My Life"". docsouth.unc.edu. p. 18. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
  43. Belko, William S. (2011-01-23). America's Hundred Years' War. University Press of Florida. p. 117. doi:10.5744/florida/9780813035253.003.0005. ISBN   978-0-8130-3525-3.
  44. Heidler, David Stephen; Heidler, Jeanne T. (2018). The rise of Andrew Jackson: myth, manipulation, and the making of modern politics. New York: Basic Books. ISBN   978-0-465-09756-2.
  45. Green, John W. (1943). "Six Judges of the United States District Court for Tennessee (1797–1908)". Tennessee Law Review. 17 (8.1). Knoxville, Tennessee: University of Tennessee Law School: 889–898.

Further reading