Visit Tennessee Online

A Visit to Andrew Jackson's Hermitage
by Arlene Wright-Correll
http://www.learn-america.com

Earlier this year I read a library book which was a biography of Andrew Jackson and I was impressed by two facts. 1. He was the only president in the history of this country that ever paid off the national debt during his two terms in office. 2. He was this country's first president to come from what was considered a lowly, common existence to become the president of the United States .

We only live about 125 miles north of his home, the Hermitage, in Nashville, TN and we decided we would take a day trip down to visit it.

Originally his property consisted of 1125 acres and eventually grew to encompass 2000 acres now receding back to 1127 acres. This living history lesson has lovingly been restored and retained giving our country one more wonderful living history lesson to visit. As a slave owner eventually the Hermitage supported the Jackson 's and their extended families and a total of 200 slaves. Jackson prospered here as a slave owner, planter and merchant.

In 1804, he acquired the Hermitage, a 640-acre plantation in Davidson County, near Nashville. Jackson later added 360 acres to the farm. The plantation would eventually grow to 1,050 acres. The slaves that Jackson owned did the hardest work on the plantation. The primary crop was cotton, grown by enslaved workers. Jackson started with nine slaves, by 1820 he held as many as 44, and later held up to 150 slaves. Througout his lifetime Jackson would own as many as 300 slaves and apparently many of them became devoted and trustworthy members of his extended family.

The Hermitage is truly worth a trip as it is filled with beauty, information and history as it is a world class American treasure. The Hermitage began as a love story, a story of enduring love and devotion of Andrew Jackson and his wife Rachel Donelson and a story that caused a scandal when they were married in 1791 only to discover later that Rachel's first husband had never legally ended their divorce.

They must have made an interesting couple on the dance floor as Jackson was 6'1'' and weighed 140 pounds and Rachel was short and chubby. However, they were devoted to each other and his devotion to her was so fierce that he would never accept a harsh or cruel word against her from anyone. Rachel only lived 7 years after the first building was built on the property. She is buried in a lovely tomb in her garden where Jackson was eventually laid to rest beside her.

It is evident that Jackson blazed new trails which his freewheeling actions and common man ideals. He was loved and hated and he did not care as he continued his journey from a Revolutionary battlefield at the age of 13 to become the 7 th president of the United States serving 2 terms from 1829 to 1837.

Born on March 15, 1767 in Waxhaw settlement in South Carolina 3 weeks after his father's death and as he grew up he received an "on and off" education until at the age of 13 he joined a local regiment as a courier for the army during the War of 1812. He had two brothers and he was joined in this army by his brother Robert Jackson. During this war they were both captured by the British and held as prisoners where they almost starved to death. Ordered to clean the boots of one of these redcoats he was slashed with a sword upon his left hand and head upon refusing and bore these scars for the rest of his life.

Both brothers contracted small pox during this imprisonment and Robert died shortly after their mother was able to secure their release.

Along the way he earned the nickname of "Old Hickory". The nickname was given to him by his loyal troops. They admired his iron will and staunch courage. He was also nicknamed "Stone Wall Jackson" when he engineered and stone walled the British at the Battle of New Orleans on January 8 th , 1815 which to this day is still considered one of America 's most stunning military victories. This war made Jackson a national hero and he received the thanks of congress and a gold medal.

It is interesting to note that Jackson was the last U.S. President to have been a veteran of the American Revolution, and the second president to have been a prisoner of war as George Washington was captured by the French in the French and Indian War.

Jackson had a good work ethic and at one time during 1781 he worked in a saddlemakers shop. Later on he tough school while he studied law in Salisbury, No. Carolina. Admitted to the bar in 1787 he moved to Jonesborough, which at that time was known as the Western District of North Carolina and did not become part of Tennessee until much later.

Even with a scanty legal eduction he knew enough to become a popular country lawyer on the frontier. At that time most lawyers came from distinguished families so Jackson had to create his own career by his own merits. His personality and ambition allowed him to prosper in the rough and tumble world of frontier law as he waded though many actions of disputed land claims and assault and battery cases until he was appointed Solicitor of the Western District in 1788 a position which he held in the territorial government of Tennessee after 1791.

In 1796 we see Jackson becoming a delegate to the Tennessee constitutional convention and he ws elected Tennessee's U.S Representative when it achieved statehood that year. In 1797 he was elected U.S. Senator as a Democratic-Republican, a position which he resigned from within a year. The following year, 1798, he was appointed a judge of the Tennessee Supreme Court where he served until 1804. In 1803 he owned a lot, and built a home and the first general store in Gallatin.

In 1817 Jackson was ordered by President Monroe to lead a campaign in Georgia against the Creek and Seminole Indians in the First Seminole War. (There basically were 3 Seminole wars which are also known as the Florida Wars , and the First Seminole War was from 1817 to 1818; the Second Seminole War from 1835 to 1842; and the Third Seminole War from 1855 to 1858. The Second Seminole War, often referred to as "The Seminole War", lasted longer than any other war involving the United States between the American Revolution and the Vietnam War according to Wikipedia information.)

Monroe wanted Jackson to prevent Spanish Florida from becoming a refuge for runaway slaves. Later critizied for exceeding Monroes orders in his Florida actions as his directions were to "terminate the conflict." However, Jackson believed the best way to do this would be to seize Florida. Before going, Jackson wrote to Monroe, "Let it be signified to me through any channel... that the possession of the Floridas would be desirable to the United States, and in sixty days it will be accomplished." Because Monroe's orders to Jackson were purposely ambiguous they were sufficient for international denials after Jackson captured Pensacola, Florida, with little more than some warning shots. After deposing the Spanish governor Jackson captured and then tried and executed two British subjects, Robert Ambrister and Alexander Arbuthnot, who had been supplying and advising the Indians. Jackson's ruthlessness actions in battle earned him a new nickname from the Seminole indians and he was called "Sharp Knife".

Jackson was censored for the Flordia actions by many. However, he was defended by Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, who used Spain's weakness to cede Florida to the United States by the Adams-Ons Treaty. Jackson was soon named military governor of Florida and served from March 10, 1821, to December 31, 1821.

In 1822 Tennessee nominated him for president of the United States and he was again reelected to the Senate. Jackson was defeated because of the way our government was run in those days. However, he continued his quest for presidency and after he resigned from the Senate in October 1825 and Jackson defeated Adams in 1828.

He was inaugurated in 1829 where he became the first president to invite the public to attend the White House ball. So many poor people came to the inaugural ball in their homemade clothes and the crowd became so large that Jackson's guards could not hold them out of the White House. As it became so crowded with people soon dishes and decorative pieces of furniture in the White House became broken. Many people stood on good chairs in muddied boots just to get a look at Jackson. As the crowd became so wild that the attendants poured punch in tubs and put it on the White House lawn to lure people out of the White House. Jackson's popularity now earned him another nickname "King Mob". Jackson was re-elected in 1832, easily defeating Henry Clay of the Democratic Party.

Jackson wanted to see the Electorial College abolished and he was the first and only president to pay off the national debt. He opposed the National Bank and as President, Jackson worked to rescind the bank's federal charter as he truly felt it only made the rich richer. He was the first president to be associated with the American frontier. His picture is on the U.S. 20 dollar bill. It is interesting to note that Jackson is the most painted president. There were at least 30 paintings done of him during his presidency.

Andrew Jackson died June 8, 1845 while in residency at his beloved Hermitage.

About the Author & Artist. Arlene Wright-Correll (1935- ___), popular American award winning Artist, published author, columnist, & is the resident art instructor for Avalon Stained Glass School, at the age of 68, decided to pick up her paint brushes again after 54 years and paint. She is a cancer and stroke survivor who is able to strive forward each and everyday to welcome the beauty of this small planet. She also is a China & Porcelain painter, Sandblasting & Etching, Stained Glass & fused glass Artisan. She is one of the six KY Artists who worked 6 months to create the dolls for Journey Jots in 2006 and a Smithsonian Institute art exhibit in 2008. Her published books can be found here . She is also a featured writer for GreenThumbArticles.com and teaches Art Vacation Holidays at Avalon Stained Glass School and Creativity Center.

Originally published on SearchWarp.com for Arlene Wright-Correll Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Article Source: A Visit to Andrew Jackson's Hermitage

Featured Websites

A Visit to Andrew Jackson's Hermitage