Editing Andrew Jackson (section)

==Early career==
[[File:Jackson Marriage, pictorial history.jpg|alt=Black-and-white illustration showing a Protestant minister wearing in a cassockstanding between Andrew Jackson on the left and Rachel Donelson on the right. The two of them hold hands between then, showing the minister marrying them. An audience stands to the left, at the edge of the image.|thumb|An 1846 [[wood engraving]] by [[William Croome]] depicting Jackson's marriage to [[Rachel Jackson|Rachel Donelson]] in the 1847 ''Pictorial History of Andrew Jackson'' by John Frost]]

===Legal career and marriage===
{{Further|Robards–Donelson–Jackson relationship controversy}}
After the American Revolutionary War, Jackson worked as a saddler,{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=27}} briefly returned to school, and taught reading and writing to children.{{sfn|Booraem|2001|pp= 133, 136}} In 1784, he left the Waxhaws region for [[Salisbury, North Carolina]], where he [[reading law|studied law]] under attorney Spruce Macay.{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=29}} He completed his training under [[John Stokes (North Carolina judge)|John Stokes]],{{sfn|Brands|2005|p=37}} and was admitted to the [[Bar examination in the United States|North Carolina bar]] in September 1787.<ref name="NC State Library">{{cite web |url=http://www.ncpedia.org/biography/jackson-andrew |title=Andrew Jackson |last=Case |first=Steven |date=2009 |publisher=State Library of North Carolina |access-date=July 20, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170618060525/http://www.ncpedia.org/biography/jackson-andrew |archive-date=June 18, 2017}}</ref> Shortly thereafter, his friend [[John McNairy]] helped him get appointed as a [[prosecuting attorney]] in the [[Washington District, North Carolina|Western District]] of North Carolina,{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=34}} which would later become the state of [[Tennessee]]. While traveling to assume his new position, Jackson stopped in [[Jonesborough, Tennessee|Jonesborough]]. While there, he bought his first slave, a woman who was around his age.{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=37}} He also fought his first [[duel]], accusing another lawyer, [[Waightstill Avery]], of impugning his character. The duel ended with both men firing in the air.{{sfn|Booraem|2001|pp=190–191}}

Jackson began his new career in the frontier town of Nashville in 1788 and quickly moved up in [[social status]].{{sfn|Wilentz|2005|p=18}} He became a protégé of [[William Blount]], one of the most powerful men in the territory.{{sfn|Wilentz|2005|p=19}} Jackson was appointed attorney general of the Mero District in 1791 and [[judge-advocate]] for the militia the following year.{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=53}} He also got involved in land speculation,{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=87}} eventually forming a partnership with fellow lawyer [[John Overton (judge)|John Overton]].{{sfn|Clifton|1952|p=24}} Their partnership mainly dealt with claims made under a [[Confederation period#Western settlement|"land grab" act of 1783]] that opened [[Cherokee]] and [[Chickasaw]] territory to North Carolina's white residents.{{sfn|Durham|1990|pp=218–219}} Jackson also became a [[Andrew Jackson and the slave trade in the United States|slave trader]],{{sfn|Cheathem|2011|p=327}} transporting enslaved people for the [[Slave trade in the United States|interregional slave market]] between Nashville and the [[Natchez District]] of [[Spanish West Florida]] via the [[Mississippi River]] and the [[Natchez Trace]].{{sfn|Remini|1991|p=[https://www.proquest.com/openview/1a72861ea0a0473316e0d956124c4e31/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=2029886 35]}}

While boarding at the home of Rachel Stockly Donelson, the widow of [[John Donelson]], Jackson became acquainted with their daughter, Rachel Donelson Robards. The younger Rachel was in an unhappy marriage with Captain [[Lewis Robards]], and the two were separated by 1789.{{sfn|Owsley|1977|pp=481–482}} After the separation, Jackson and Rachel became romantically involved,{{sfn|Brands|2005|p=63}} living together as husband and wife.{{sfn|Meacham|2008|pp=22–23}} Robards petitioned for divorce, which was granted in 1793 on the basis of Rachel's infidelity.{{sfnm|Howe|2007|1p=277|Remini|1977|2p=62}} The couple legally married in January 1794.{{sfn|Brands|2005|p=65}} In 1796, they acquired their first plantation, [[Hunter's Hill (Tennessee)|Hunter's Hill]],{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=68}} on {{convert|640|acres|ha|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} of land near Nashville.{{sfn|Brands|2005|p=73}}

===Early public career===
[[File:Tennesee circa 1810.jpg|thumb|Tennessee {{circa}} 1810. The eastern counties shaded in blue, the [[Mero District]] in green, and Native American lands in red.  The [[Natchez Trace]] from its northern terminus to Chickasaw Crossing where it leaves the state is shaded in gray.|alt=Map of Tennessee]]

Jackson became a member of the [[Democratic-Republican Party]], the dominant party in Tennessee.{{sfn|Wilentz|2005|p=19}} He was elected as a delegate to the Tennessee [[Constituent assembly|constitutional convention]] in 1796.{{sfn|Wilentz|2005|pp=18–19}} When Tennessee achieved statehood that year, he was elected to be its [[U.S. representative]]. During his 10 months in Congress, Jackson argued against the [[Jay Treaty]], criticized [[George Washington]] for allegedly removing Democratic-Republicans from public office, and joined several other Democratic-Republican congressmen in voting against a resolution of thanks for Washington.{{sfn|Remini|1977|pp=92–94}} He advocated for the right of Tennesseans to militarily oppose Native American interests.{{sfn|Brands|2005|pp=79–81}} The state legislature elected him to be a [[U.S. senator]] in 1797, but he resigned after serving only six months.{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=112}}

In early 1798, Governor [[John Sevier]] appointed Jackson to be a judge of the [[Tennessee Superior Court]].{{sfn|Ely|1981|pp=144–145}} 
In 1802, he also became major general, or commander, of the [[Tennessee State Guard|Tennessee militia]], a position that was determined by a vote of the militia's officers. The vote was tied between Jackson and Sevier, a popular Revolutionary War veteran and former governor, but the governor, [[Archibald Roane]], broke the tie in Jackson's favor. Jackson later accused Sevier of fraud and bribery.{{sfn|Brands|2005|pp=104–105}} Sevier responded by impugning Rachel's honor, resulting in a shootout on a public street.{{sfn|Meacham|2008|p=25}} Soon afterwards, they met to duel, but parted without having fired at each other.{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=123}}

===Planting career and slavery===
{{main|Andrew Jackson and slavery}}
{{further|Andrew Jackson and the slave trade in the United States}}

[[File:The Hermitage cabins 2022h.jpg|thumb|Reconstruction of one of the enslaved quarters at the [[Hermitage, Tennessee|Hermitage]] |alt= Two-door wooden cabin with stone fireplace and no windows]]

Jackson resigned his judgeship in 1804.{{sfn|Wilentz|2005|p=21}} He had almost gone bankrupt when the land and mercantile speculations he had made on the basis of [[promissory notes]] fell apart in the wake of the [[Panic of 1796–1797]].{{sfnm|Howe|2007|1p=375|Sellers|1954|2pp=76–77}} He had to sell Hunter's Hill, as well as {{convert|25,000|acres|ha|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} of land he bought for speculation and bought a smaller {{convert|420|acre|0|sigfig=2|abbr=on|adj=on}} plantation near Nashville that he would call the Hermitage.{{sfn|Remini|1977|pp=131–132}} He focused on recovering from his losses by becoming a successful [[Planter class|planter]] and [[merchant]].{{sfn|Remini|1977|pp=131–132}} The Hermitage grew to {{convert|1000|acres|ha|sigfig=2|abbr=on}},{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=379}} making it one of the largest cotton-growing plantations in the state.{{sfn|Wilentz|2005|p=21}}

Like most planters in the [[Southern United States]], Jackson used [[Slavery in the United States|slave labor]]. In 1804, Jackson had nine [[African Americans|African American]] slaves; by 1820, he had over 100; and by his death in 1845, he had over 150.<ref name="Hermitage_Slavery_2011">{{cite web|title=Andrew Jackson's Enslaved Laborers|url=http://www.thehermitage.com/mansion-grounds/farm/slavery |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912055314/http://www.thehermitage.com/mansion-grounds/farm/slavery|archive-date=September 12, 2014|access-date=April 13, 2017|publisher=The Hermitage}}</ref> Over his lifetime, he owned a total of 300 slaves.<ref>{{cite web|title=Enslaved Families: Understanding the Enslaved Families at the Hermitage|url=https://thehermitage.com/learn/slavery/enslaved-families/|website=thehermitage.com|ref=Enslaved Families Understanding the Enslaved Families at The Hermitage|access-date=August 23, 2022|archive-date=June 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220618122940/https://thehermitage.com/learn/slavery/enslaved-families/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Jackson subscribed to the [[Paternalism|paternalistic]] idea of slavery, which claimed that slave ownership was morally acceptable as long as slaves were treated with humanity and their basic needs were cared for.{{sfn|Warshauer|2006|p=224}} In practice, slaves were treated as a form of wealth whose productivity needed to be protected.{{sfn|Cheathem|2011|p=328–329}} Jackson directed harsh punishment for slaves who disobeyed or ran away.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|last1=Feller|first1=Daniel|author-link=Daniel Feller|last2=Mullin|first2=Marsha|date=August 1, 2019|title=The Enslaved Household of President Andrew Jackson|url=https://www.whitehousehistory.org/slavery-in-the-andrew-jackson-white-house|website=[[White House Historical Association]]}}</ref> For example, in an 1804 advertisement to recover a runaway slave, he offered "ten dollars extra, for every hundred lashes any person will give him" up to three hundred lashes—a number that would likely have been fatal.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite news|last=Brown|first=DeNeen L.|date=May 1, 2017|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/04/11/hunting-down-runaway-slaves-the-cruel-ads-of-andrew-jackson-and-the-master-class|title=Hunting down runaway slaves: The cruel ads of Andrew Jackson and 'the master class'|newspaper=The Washington Post|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170411204030/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/04/11/hunting-down-runaway-slaves-the-cruel-ads-of-andrew-jackson-and-the-master-class/|archive-date=April 11, 2017}}</ref> Over time, his accumulation of wealth in both slaves and land placed him among the elite families of Tennessee.{{sfn|Meacham|2008|p=35}}

===Duel with Dickinson and adventure with Burr===
{{See also|List of violent incidents involving Andrew Jackson}}
[[File:Charles Dickinson Andrew Jackson duel 1806 - crop contrast - Image from Seba Smith's 1834 parodic biography of Andrew Jackson 07.jpg|thumb|alt=Four men in tophats, two in the foreground. The man on the right is shooting a pistol at the one on the left.|An 1834 [[woodcut]] depicting Jackson's duel with [[Charles Dickinson (historical figure)|Charles Dickinson]] from the satirical ''Major Jack Downing's Life of Andrew Jackson''.{{sfn|Smith|1834|p=19}} Downing was a fictional character created by [[Seba Smith]] to parody Jackson.{{sfn|Smith|2005|pp=60–65}}]]
In May 1806, Jackson fought a duel with [[Charles Dickinson (historical figure)|Charles Dickinson]]. Their dispute started over payments for a forfeited horse race, escalating for six months until they agreed to the duel.{{sfn|Moser|Macpherson|1984|pp=78–79}} Dickinson fired first. The bullet hit Jackson in the chest, but shattered against his breastbone.{{sfn|Brands|2005|p=138}} He returned fire and killed Dickinson. The killing tarnished Jackson's reputation.{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=143}}

Later that year, Jackson became involved in former vice president [[Aaron Burr]]'s [[Burr conspiracy|plan]] to conquer [[Spanish Florida]] and drive the Spanish from Texas. Burr, who was touring what was then the Western United States after [[Burr–Hamilton duel|mortally wounding Alexander Hamilton in a duel]], stayed with the Jacksons at the Hermitage in 1805.{{sfn|Meacham|2008|p=27}} He eventually persuaded Jackson to join his adventure. In October 1806, Jackson wrote [[James Winchester (general)|James Winchester]] that the United States "can conquer not only [Florida], but all Spanish North America".{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=149}} He informed the Tennessee militia that it should be ready to march at a moment's notice "when the government and constituted authority of our country require it",{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=148}} and agreed to provide boats and provisions for the expedition.{{sfn|Meacham|2008|p=27}} Jackson sent a letter to President [[Thomas Jefferson]] telling him that Tennessee was ready to defend the nation's honor.{{sfn|Brands|2005|p=120}}

Jackson also expressed uncertainty about the enterprise. He warned the Governor of Louisiana [[William C. C. Claiborne|William Claiborne]] and Tennessee Senator [[Daniel Smith (surveyor)|Daniel Smith]] that some of the people involved in the adventure might be intending to break away from the United States.{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=151}} In December, Jefferson ordered Burr to be arrested for treason.{{sfn|Meacham|2008|p=27}} Jackson, safe from arrest because of his extensive paper trail, organized the militia to capture the conspirators.{{sfn|Remini|1977|p=153}} He testified before a grand jury in 1807, implying that it was Burr's associate [[James Wilkinson]] who was guilty of treason, not Burr. Burr was acquitted of the charges.{{sfn|Brands|2005|p=127–128}}