A Guide to the Andrew Jackson Collection, 1812-1845, 1916, and undated

Biographical Note

Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) was the seventh President of the United States (1829-1837) as well as a lawyer, general, and legislator. Born in the Carolinas, he served as a courier during the Revolutionary War. He read for the law during his teen years and became a lawyer in Tennessee by 1787. The first U. S. Representative for Tennessee (1796), Jackson was elected to the Senate in 1797, resigned in 1798, and served as a judge on the Tennessee Supreme Court, 1798-1804. He was later reelected to the Senate in 1822.

As a major general during the war of 1812, Jackson defeated the British at New Orleans in 1815. Additionally, he fought in the Creek Wars and the Seminole War and became the Military Governor of Florida in 1819 after Spain ceded the territory to the U. S.

Jackson ran for president in 1824 and won the popular and electoral votes. However, he did not win a majority and the House gave the Presidency to John Quincy Adams. He successfully ran for president in 1828, defeating Adams. During his controversial presidency Jackson dissolved the national bank, weathered the Nullification crisis, supported and implemented the removal of Indians to western territories, and instituted the modern system of patronage in politics. In 1837, Jackson retired to his plantation, the Hermitage, and died there in 1845.

Sources:

American Presidents. “Andrew Jackson Biography.” History Empire. http://www.american-presidents.com/andrew-jackson (accessed July 22, 2010)

The Whitehouse. ”Andrew Jackson.” The Whitehouse. http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/andrewjackson (accessed July 22, 2010)

Scope and Contents

Correspondence, typescripts, Photostats, literary productions, financial records, a land patent, and news clippings comprise the Andrew Jackson Collection, 1812-1845, 1916, and undated. The collection contains four original letters written by Jackson concerning various military and political matters. Originals include an 1824 letter of recommendation for John H. Lewis from Jackson to William Henry Harrison; an 1813 letter to Army quartermaster William Berkeley Lewis concerning the supply of provisions and Jackson’s poor health; three letters to General John Clark from 1819; and a draft of an 1839 letter to William and Stockly Donelson regarding land boundaries. Photostats of a letters, such as from Jackson to W. S. Fulton in 1830 discuss a proposed expedition under Sam Houston to affect the independence and annexation of Texas. Financial records consist of checks drawn on the Bank of Metropolis, while the 1832 land patent pertains to Little Rock, Arkansas. Additionally, the collection includes two newspaper accounts of Jackson’s life and death published in 1845 and literary productions consist of a poem entitled "Lines on Gen. Jackson Retiring from the Presidency."

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research use.

Portions of this collection are restricted for high security reasons. Please contact repository for more information.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Andrew Jackson Collection, 1812-1845, 1916, and undated, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

Processing Information

Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s “History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project,” 2009-2011.

Subsequent revisions were made by M. J. Ellison, April 1876; and Bethany Anderson, December 2011.

Detailed Description of the Papers