and he later became a national war hero, after the defeat of the British in New Orleans during the War of 1812. Andrew Jackson was elected the seventh president of the United States in 1828. He destroyed the National Bank, founded the Democratic Party and is known for his support of individual liberty.
When Jackson was 13, he decided to join the local militia and serve as a courier during the Revolutionary War. In 1779 his older brother was killed in the Battle of Stono Ferry, Jackson and his brother Robert were captured by the British. While in captivity the brothers both got smallpox, which Robert died from after they were released by British authorities. Jackson's mother later died of cholera, and at the age of 14, he was orphaned. Jackson was then raised by his Uncles and started to study law in North Carolina. When Jackson arrived in Nashville in 1788, he met Jackson married Rachel Donelson Robards whom he had met in Nashville.
The Jacksons had three adopted sons: Theodore, an Indian orphan; Andrew Jackson Jr., the son of Rachel's brother Severn Donelson; and Lyncoya, a Creek Indian orphan. It is believed that his harsh, adventuresome, early life developed his strong, aggressive qualities of leadership, his violent temper, and his need for loyalty .
In 1796, Jackson was now a member of the convention that had established the Tennessee Constitution and then he was elected Tennessee's first representative in the U.S. House of Representative. The next year He was elected to the Senate but then Jackson resigned after serving only eight months. In 1798, Jackson was elected a judge of the Tennessee Supreme Court and served in that position until 1804.Jackson was appointed commander of the Tennessee militia in