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"Snots, you roll over and let Uncle Clark scratch your belly." - Eddie, "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation"

jackson22Our nation’s seventh president Andrew Jackson, who served two consecutive terms from 1829-1837, left more of a legacy than just appearing on the twenty dollar bill. After a loss in the election of 1824 to John Quincy Adams, which was decided by the House of Representatives after Jackson had already won both the popular and electoral vote count, Jackson went on to a sweeping victory in 1828 campaigning as a member of the new Democratic party and and henceforth embarked on one of the most colorful Presidencies that our nation has ever seen.

jackson1Jackson (seen in an actual daguerreotype photograph at left)  had already been a national hero after his military victory at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812. His Presidency only solidfied his popularity as his policies favored westward expansion, Manifest Destiny, increased Presidential power, and more rights for the common man. Of course, he might now be criticized for his stance on slavery and Indian removal, but his philosphy of Jacksonian Democracy lived on beyond the Civil War.

The following are the locations relevant to the life of Andrew Jackson which I have been able to visit:

Saturday, July 25, 2009 – Andrew Jackson Birthplace – Andrew Jackson is the only United States President whose birthplace is claimed by two states. Obviously there is little fanare when a President is born because no one knows that they will be a President, so there is little doubt that many Presidential birthplaces are merely guessed at and possibly even incorrect. But Jackson’s case is most interesting because it involves two states.

Jackson himself claimed to be born in the Waxhaw region of South Carolina on his Uncle James Crawford’s plantation. Some legends however indicate that he was born in his Uncle George McKemey’s house, which although also in the Waxhaw region, may actually have been located just over the border in North Carolina.

After Jackson’s death, the land in question in North Carolina was acquired in 1858 by a man named Thomas Cureton, who claimed to have documentation that the McKemey’s house was located on his property. Based on this information, the North Carolina Daughters of the American Revolution erected a stone monument on this site in 1910, claiming that this was the Andrew Jackson birthplace.

I actually visited this site after visiting the South Carolina site. It was located just a couple miles away from the location indicated by the S.C. marker, down a dirt road just over the North Carolina border. It stood at the end of a dead end street inside of a turnaround. If the prize went to the state with the fanciest tribute, North Carolina would surely lose.

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Just down this old dirt road is the North Carolina monument. Notice the proximity of the NC border.

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Monument in North Carolina erected in 1910

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On Tuesday, July 28, 2009, I visited the North Carolina State Capitol in Raleigh. Apparently they too are of the mind that Jackson was born in their state.

South Carolina, by contrast, has a huge memorial to the Andrew Jackson birthplace. Although they were the second state to actually erect the monument, their site is now a State Park. Near the site where the Crawford cabin stood was erected another monument in 1929 indicating that Jackson had been born there.

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Indicating that South Carolina has gone to greater lengths to claim their ‘birthright’

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State marker at the entrance to the Andrew Jackson State Park

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Monument in South Carolina erected in 1929

Built around the monument, the area became a State Park in 1952. It features campgrounds, picnic areas, and nice statue tribute to Jackson entitled Andrew Jackson, A Boy of the Waxhaws, a period replica schoolhouse, and a small museum dedicated to Jackson. The museum itself is rather unimpressive containing rooms that depcit Colonial period life, including a dining room, bedroom, textile room, and early tools and farm equipment.

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With Andrew Jackson, Boy of the Waxhaws – dedicated in 1967.

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The Andrew Jackson State Park Museum

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Any place with hats can’t be all bad

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Painting of our nation’s seventh President found in the museum

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Period schoolroom from the Jackson era

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They had school desks from every era (indluding my own). I felt like one of the Ingalls girls.

Friday, July 8, 2011  – The Hermitage, home of Andrew Jackson – Although he only stayed there intermittently, President Jackson owned the plantation and home that came to be known as the Hermitage from 1804 until his death in 1845. Jackson and his wife Rachel originally moved into the two-story log cabin that was located on the property, but once the mansion was finished, the log cabin was re-assembled as two one story buildings that would be used as slave quarters. The mansion was completed between 1819-1821.

The Hermitage

Historical sign at The Hermitage

The two single-story cabins, which were once a two story cabin and the first home at the Hermitage of Andrew and Rachel Jackson

The grounds surrounding The Hermitage are beautiful and one could spend the whole day roaming the area. In addition, there is a large visitors center, museum, and mammoth gift shop. We started off our visit in the gift shop where they were serving some sort of crummy berry juice as a sample. Then we continued with a video film of the history of Andrew Jackson, and then browsed the museum pieces, before making the lengthy outdoor trek to the mansion.

In The Andrew Jackson Center – where the museum and gift shop were located

This stone vault lid was originally used to cover the temporary tomb of Rachel Jackson on the property. It was later used, face-down, as a stepping stone outside the side entrance of the mansion. It was discovered by workmen repairing the walk in the early 1970’s.

A couple of Jackson chairs that might be seen in the musem

The mansion itself is full of original furniture and mementos that belonged to Jackson. Unfortunately, no photos whatsoever are permitted in the house, but at one point I snuck off to get a mediocre photo of Jackson’s bedroom – the room in which he passed away.

The Hermitage mansion

Dining area in the mansion

The bedroom in which Andrew Jackson died

Friday, July 8, 2011  – Grave of Andrew Jackson – When Rachel Jackson passed away in 1828, just before her husband entered the White House, Andrew Jackson had a limestone and copper temple monument erected on the grounds of the Hermitage where she was buried. Upon his death in 1845, he was buried under the same monument. This gravesite sits in a quiet and secluded area on the grounds next to a full family cemetery that was added later. Many of Jackson’s offspring up through his great-grandchildren were buried in this area known as Rachel’s Garden.

I jumped a fence to get closer to the graves

The tomb of Andrew Jackson

The tomb of Rachel Jackson

The family cemetery. Note Andrew Jackson’s monument visible on the far left of the photo.

Monument boxes covering the limestone headstones of Andrew Jackson Jr. and his wife. The weather continues to damage these.

Me and Andrew Jackson

Continue to the next President

Return to Saturday 2009 in South Carolina …

Return to Friday 2011 in Tennessee…

7 Responses to “Andrew Jackson and Me”

  1. You look like one of the Ingalls girls.

    Chris

  2. Wow – every once in awhile, you sneak in another photo that rivals the others for best on your site. The ones with you and the John Wayne hat and Billy Jack hats are great. However, I still think that the one of you depicting the plight of St. Peter is overall the best…. but now we have to put the one of you above with the hat in the museum into the mix.

    Peter

  3. Some also claim Andrew Jackson was born at sea.

    Wasn’t he The President that went to great lengths to hide his birth certificate from the public and the press?

    Dave Chasteen

  4. And you were worried the cowboy hat would make you look foolish!

    Bob

  5. Foolish? Shame on you Brad. The hat exudes patriotic dignity. I’m now using a cropped version of the image above as your icon picture in my contact list.

    Peter

  6. To the person who asked if Andrew was the president that went to great lengths to hide is birth cerificate… That would be a NO. You however are thinking of the current president, Obama.
    And 2nd they didnt start issue of birth cert. til the mid to late 1800s and even then it was first done by the church so not everyone had one.

    Brandy

  7. To the person who claims that President Obama went to great lengths to hide his birth certificate… That would be NO. His birth certificate has been good enough for everybody from Social Security offices to passport offices to the Supreme Court and all but a few racist, birther, batshit nut jobs believe that the certificate which may be found on the internet and is far more readily available to see online than ANY other presidential birth certificate or candidate’s birth certificate is his true birth certificate from the state of Hawaii.

    Now back to the topic – thank you for the pictures and information. As a descendant of James Crawford, it is nice to know that people still do care about history.

    Crawford

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