Wikipedia

List of violent incidents involving Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson, later seventh president of the United States, was involved in a series of dustups in his personal and professional life. 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  It has been hyperbolically claimed that Jackson "participated in more than 100 duels over his lifetime" but that is not correct.[2] Despite his 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."[3]

From the Coffin Handbills of the 1828 U.S. presidential campaign, an etching depicting Andrew Jackson stabbing Samuel Jackson with a cane-sword in 1807, an action said to have been in self-defense, because S. Jackson had thrown a rock at A. Jackson's head
  • Duel with Waightstill Avery, 1788, both men fired into the air[4]
  • Roadside standoff in 1803 between Jackson and John Sevier, pistols and a sword were drawn[3]
  • Beat Virginia attorney Thomas Swann with a cane at a tavern, late 1805 or early 1806, part of the lead-up to the Dickinson duel[5]
  • Duel with Charles Dickinson, May 30, 1806, Jackson killed Dickinson[6]
  • In 1807, Jackson was tried and acquitted on charges of assault and battery against Samuel Jackson (no relation, as far as historians can tell), during which A. Jackson brought a hidden knife to a rock fight. S. Jackson was not seriously injured, if at all, and the pair later did business with one another.[7][3]
  • Brawl in 1813 at a Nashville tavern involving Jackson, Thomas Hart Benton (great-great-uncle of the painter), Jesse Benton, John Coffee, Stockley Hays, and Alexander Donelson involving knives, whips, and pistols; Jackson was injured.[8]
  • During an assassination attempt while he was president, at age 68, "armed only with a cane, he had valiantly charged forth to do battle with an assassin carrying two pistols"[9]: 211 

See also

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References

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  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. ^ "Andrew Jackson was in more than 100 duels! And he killed a man..." washingtonpost.com.
  3. ^ a b c Burstein, Andrew (2003). The Passions of Andrew Jackson. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0-375-41428-2. LCCN 2002016258. OCLC 49385944.
  4. ^ "Duels | Andrew Jackson's Hermitage". thehermitage.com. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ ""Now Defend Yourself, You Damned Rascal!"". AMERICAN HERITAGE. Retrieved 2024-11-17.
  9. ^ Somit, Albert (1948). "Andrew Jackson: Legend and Reality". Tennessee Historical Quarterly. 7 (4): 291–313. ISSN 0040-3261.

Further reading

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