Editing Andrew Jackson (section)

==Early life==

=== Childhood ===
Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767, in the [[Waxhaws]] region of the [[Carolinas]]. His parents were [[Scotch-Irish Americans|Scots-Irish]] colonists Andrew Jackson and Elizabeth Hutchinson, [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterians]] who had emigrated from [[Ulster]], Ireland, in 1765.{{sfn|Brands|2005|pp=11–15}} Jackson's father was born in [[Carrickfergus]], [[County Antrim]], around 1738,{{sfn|Gullan|2004|pp=xii; 308}} and his ancestors had crossed into Northern Ireland from Scotland after the [[Battle of the Boyne]] in 1690.{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=2}} Jackson had two older brothers who came with his parents from Ireland, Hugh (born 1763) and Robert (born 1764).{{sfn|Nowlan|2012|p=257}}{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=2}} Elizabeth had a strong hatred of the British that she passed on to her sons.{{sfn|Meacham|2008|p=11}}

Jackson's exact birthplace is unclear. Jackson's father died at the age of 29 in February 1767, three weeks before his son Andrew was born;{{sfn|Nowlan|2012|p=257}} afterwards, Elizabeth and her three sons moved in with her sister and brother-in-law, Jane and James Crawford.{{sfn|Brands|2005|p=16}} Jackson later stated that he was born on the Crawford plantation,{{sfn|Remini|1977|pp=4–5}} which is in [[Lancaster County, South Carolina]], but second-hand evidence suggests that he might have been born at another uncle's home in North Carolina.{{sfn|Brands|2005|p=16}}

When Jackson was young, Elizabeth thought he might become a minister and paid to have him schooled by a local clergyman.{{sfn|Wilentz|2005|p=16}} He learned to read, write, and work with numbers, and was exposed to Greek and Latin,{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=6}} but he was too strong-willed and hot-tempered for the ministry.{{sfn|Brands|2005|p=16}}

=== Revolutionary War ===
[[File:The Brave Boy of the Waxhalls2.jpg|thumb|''The Brave Boy of the Waxhaws'', an 1876 [[Currier and Ives]] lithograph depicting the story of a young Andrew Jackson defending himself from a [[British Army during the American Revolutionary War|British]] officer during the [[American Revolutionary War]]|alt=Sketch of an officer preparing to strike a boy with a sword. The boy holds out his arm in self-defense.]]
Jackson and his older brothers, Hugh and Robert, served on the [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Patriot]] side against British forces during the [[American Revolutionary War]]. Hugh served under Colonel [[William Richardson Davie]], dying from [[heat exhaustion]] after the [[Battle of Stono Ferry]] in June 1779.{{sfn|Booraem|2001|p=47}} After anti-British sentiment intensified in the Southern Colonies following the [[Battle of Waxhaws]] in May 1780, Elizabeth encouraged Andrew and Robert to participate in militia drills.{{sfn|Remini|1977|pp=15}} They served as couriers,{{sfn|Brands|2005|p=24}} and were present at the [[Battle of Hanging Rock]] in August 1780.{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=17}}

Andrew and Robert were captured in April 1781 when the British occupied the home of a Crawford relative. A British officer demanded to have his boots polished. Andrew refused, and the officer slashed him with a sword, leaving him with scars on his left hand and head. Robert also refused and was struck a blow on the head.{{sfnm|Meacham|2008|1p=12|Remini|1977|2p=21}} The brothers were taken to a [[prisoner-of-war camp]] in [[Camden, South Carolina]], where they became malnourished and contracted smallpox.{{sfn|Wilentz|2005|p=15}} In late spring, the brothers were released to their mother in a [[prisoner exchange]].{{sfn|Booraem|2001|p= 104}} Robert died two days after arriving home, but Elizabeth was able to nurse Andrew back to health.{{sfn|Remini|1977|pp=23–24}} Once he recovered, Elizabeth volunteered to nurse American [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] housed in British [[prison ship]]s in the harbor of [[Charleston, South Carolina]].{{sfn|Wilentz|2005|p=17}} She contracted [[cholera]] and died soon afterwards.{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=24}} The war made Jackson an orphan at age 14{{sfn|Brands|2005|pp=30–31}} and increased his hatred for the values he associated with Britain, in particular [[aristocracy]] and political privilege.{{sfn|Wilentz|2005|p=9}}