Young Andy Jackson didn’t imagine—as he read the news of the Declaration of Independence of the American colonies to his family and neighbors in South Carolina—that some day he would be President of the new nation.
It would have been difficult for his family and friends to imagine it either, for Andy was a wild fun-loving boy who was always getting into scrapes and preferred copying the rules for how to train a fighting cock to translating Latin exercises. As it was, Andy did not have much time for school because the Revolutionary War kept coming closer and everyone was occupied in preparing against the British attack. He was only fourteen when he and his brother Rob were captured by a British officer and even then Andy displayed the fearless and independent spirit that remained with him all his life—for when the British officer roughly ordered the boy to wipe his boots, Andy refused and for his defiance received a saber cut across his face that left a permanent scar.
When the war was over, Andy looked around for something to do to satisfy his restless nature and high spirits and finally decided to study law and then practice in the unsettled frontier of what is now the State of Tennessee. This was the first step in an exciting career that led him to Washington as Senator from Tennessee, to the Mississippi Territory as “Old Hickory” who fought so fiercely and successfully against the warring Creek Indians, to New Orleans where he earned national renown as the defender of that city during the War of 1812, and finally back to Washington as the seventh President of the United States.
In The Story of Andrew Jackson [David Hendrikson] brilliantly portrays the rough-and-ready life of the early American frontier. Exciting scenes of battle, the hidden terrors of Indian fighting in southern forests, and the simple games and pleasures of the frontiersman are all brilliantly depicted by Mr. Hendrickson’s gifted pen.
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