Andrew Jackson
Seventh president, 1829–1837
Andrew Jackson’s life was colored by struggle, conflict, and aggression. The orphan of impoverished immigrants, he was the only American president to have been a prisoner of war or to have killed a man in duel. After serving as a general in the U.S. military during the Battle of New Orleans in 1815, he became national hero.
During Jackson’s presidency, he signed the Indian Removal Act into law, defeated the National Bank through the power of the veto, and threatened to use military force to preserve the Union when South Carolina challenged the federal government. Once viewed as a symbol of the country’s expansive democracy, Jackson is now a controversial figure fo ...
Andrew Jackson’s life was colored by struggle, conflict, and aggression. The orphan of impoverished immigrants, he was the only American president to have been a prisoner of war or to have killed a man in duel. After serving as a general in the U.S. military during the Battle of New Orleans in 1815, he became national hero.
During Jackson’s presidency, he signed the Indian Removal Act into law, defeated the National Bank through the power of the veto, and threatened to use military force to preserve the Union when South Carolina challenged the federal government. Once viewed as a symbol of the country’s expansive democracy, Jackson is now a controversial figure fo ...
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1824
Oil on canvas
23.0 x 20.0cm
L/NPG.97.2017
Image and text © National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, 2023
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Andrew Jackson, 1767–1845
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