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List of violent incidents involving Andrew Jackson

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From the Coffin Handbills of the 1828 U.S. presidential campaign, an etching depicting Andrew Jackson stabbing Samuel Jackson with a cane-sword in 1807, an action said to have been in self-defense, because S. Jackson had thrown a rock at A. Jackson's head

Andrew Jackson, later seventh president of the United States, was involved in a series of altercations in his personal and professional life. According to historian J.M. Opal, "[Jackson's] willingness to kill, assault, or threaten people was a constant theme in his adult life and a central component of the reputation he cultivated."[1]: 70  It has been hyperbolically claimed that Jackson "participated in more than 100 duels over his lifetime" but that is not correct.[2] That said, in 1828 a political opponent named James L. Armstrong claimed that he had started making a list of altercations involving Jackson which had "accumulated to nearly ONE HUNDRED FIGHTS or violent and abusive quarrels," although Armstrong's published index of "General Jackson's 'juvenile indiscretions" between the ages of 23 and 60'" listed but 14 instances.[3] Despite Jackson's leadership of militia in the War of 1812, the Creek War, and the Seminole War, historians have found that "there is no explicit account of his actually firing at an enemy in standard battle."[4]

  • Duel with Waightstill Avery, 1788, both men fired into the air[5]
  • Roadside standoff in 1803 between Jackson and John Sevier, pistols and a sword were drawn[4]
  • Beat Virginia attorney Thomas Swann with a cane at a tavern, late 1805 or early 1806, part of the lead-up to the Dickinson duel[6]
  • Duel with Charles Dickinson, May 30, 1806, Jackson killed Dickinson[7]
  • In 1807, Jackson was tried and acquitted on charges of assault and battery against Samuel Jackson (no relation, as far as historians can tell), during which A. Jackson brought a hidden knife to a rock fight. S. Jackson was not seriously injured, if at all, and the pair later did business with one another.[8][4]
  • According to various reliable sources, threatened a federal agent in 1812. One description has it that "when he approached the Agency, he armed his negroes with axes, hired some half breed Indians with their arms—marched by the agency in military order, himself at their head with the cap of his holsters thrown back, and his rifle cocked,"[9] and later successfully campaigned to have the agent's boss, Silas Dismoor, fired from his job.[10]
  • Brawl in 1813 at a Nashville tavern involving Jackson, Thomas Hart Benton (great-great-uncle of the painter), Jesse Benton, John Coffee, Stockley Hays, and Alexander Donelson involving knives, whips, and pistols; Jackson was injured.[11]
  • During an assassination attempt while he was president, at age 68, "armed only with a cane, he had valiantly charged forth to do battle with an assassin carrying two pistols"[12]: 211 

Threats

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  • Allegedly threatened to hang attorney Jonathan Thompson "to the first tree, or highest tree" for pursuing legal action regarding Aaron Burr and/or Harman Blennerhassett's debts.[13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Opal, J. M. (October 2013). "General Jackson's Passports: Natural Rights and Sovereign Citizens in the Political Thought of Andrew Jackson, 1780s–1820s". Studies in American Political Development. 27 (2): 69–85. doi:10.1017/S0898588X13000060. ISSN 0898-588X.
  2. ^ "Andrew Jackson was in more than 100 duels! And he killed a man..." washingtonpost.com.
  3. ^ Armstrong, James L. Reminiscences, or, An extract from the catalogue of General Jackson's "juvenile indiscretions" between the ages of 23 and 60 / [James L. Armstrong]. State Library of Pennsylvania. s.n. p. 8.
  4. ^ a b c Burstein, Andrew (2003). The Passions of Andrew Jackson. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0-375-41428-2. LCCN 2002016258. OCLC 49385944.
  5. ^ "Duels | Andrew Jackson's Hermitage". thehermitage.com. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  6. ^ Cheathem, Mark R. (2014). Andrew Jackson, Southerner. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-8071-5099-3. LCCN 2012049695. OCLC 858995561. Project MUSE book 26506.
  7. ^ Brammer, Robert (2015-04-15). "Frontier Racing and Injured Pride: The Duel Between Andrew Jackson and Charles Dickinson | In Custodia Legis". The Library of Congress. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  8. ^ Onion, Rebecca (2014-03-05). "The "Coffin Handbill" Andrew Jackson's Enemies Used to Circulate Word of His "Bloody Deeds"". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  9. ^ "Gen. Jackson and Silas Dinsmore". The Weekly Natchez Courier. 1828-08-23. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  10. ^ Kennedy, Roger G. (2000). Burr, Hamilton, and Jefferson: A Study in Character. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 317–325. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195140552.001.0001. ISBN 9780199848775. LCCN 99022453. OCLC 181840559.
  11. ^ ""Now Defend Yourself, You Damned Rascal!"". AMERICAN HERITAGE. Retrieved 2024-11-17.
  12. ^ Somit, Albert (1948). "Andrew Jackson: Legend and Reality". Tennessee Historical Quarterly. 7 (4): 291–313. ISSN 0040-3261. JSTOR 42620991.
  13. ^ "A brief and impartial history of the life and actions of Andrew Jackson / By a free man". HathiTrust. p. 20. Retrieved 2024-12-11.

Further reading

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