A Medal for the General
Between the presidencies of Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, there was one president who was well known and admired by the average citizen long after his term of office. That man was Andrew Jackson, one of the most enigmatic chief executives yet also one of the most dynamic when it came to making changes that affected the common man.
He was born in South Carolina in March 1767, but his father’s farm was so close to the North Carolina border that for many years there was an ongoing dispute as to which state could claim the honor of his birth. During the Revolution, his two brothers, as well as his widowed mother, died in the Patriot cause and young Andrew was conscripted by the British army as a servant. In one instance, his refusal to shine the boots of an officer led to a severe beating.
At a relatively young age he moved to Tennessee, where he made a name for himself as a lawyer and as an officer in the state militia. As early as 1790, he was elected to high state office, a remarkable achievement for someone that young. By 1798, he was a major general in the Tennessee militia and arranged that the troops under his command were well armed and prepared.
At the age of 45
