Call Number:

C1092

Repository:

Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division

Extent:

• 1 box
• 1.7 linear feet

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Andrew Jackson Collection, Box and Folder Number; Manuscripts Division, Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Date:

1821-1841 (inclusive)

Creator:

Princeton University. Library. Special Collections and Jackson, Andrew (1767-1845)

Form:

Correspondence -- 19th century, Deeds. -- 19th century, and Ship's papers--19th century.

Abstract:

Consists of selected correspondence and documents of Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States, the bulk of which dates from the time of his presidency (1829-1837).

Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States, was born in the backwoods settlement of the Waxhaw in South Carolina. He received a sporadic education, lost all his family by the time he was fourteen, and moved to Charleston, S.C., where he learned to race horses and also learned the manners of "gentlemen." He studied law and became an outstanding young lawyer in Tennessee. Jackson prospered sufficiently to buy slaves and to build a mansion, the Hermitage, near Nashville. A major general in the War of 1812, Jackson became a national hero when he defeated the British at New Orleans. By 1828 enough political factions had joined him to win numerous state elections and control of the Federal administration in Washington. He was elected to the presidency in 1829 and served till 1837. More than most of his predecessors, Andrew Jackson was elected by popular vote. As president he sought to act as the direct representative of the common man. He died at the Hermitage on June 8, 1845.

The collection consists of selected correspondence and documents of Andrew Jackson, the bulk of which dates from the time of his presidency (1829-1837). The correspondence includes a letter to Dr. James Jackson in Alabama, dated 1821, describing his state of health; a letter to James Carnahan, ninth president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), presenting a gift of a collection of insects from South America; a letter dated 1831 to Hugh L. White, urging him not to resign from the War Department; a letter to Samuel Swartwout, Collector at the Port of New York dated 1833, regarding his purchase of a new carriage and two horses in exchange for his old "Borrouch" [barouche]; a letter to Robert I. Chester dated 1840; and a letter to Elijah Purdy dated 1841, thanking him for his good wishes and criticizing the administration of president William Henry Harrison.

The documents include a deed of land of John W. Ray, dated 1831, signed by Jackson; a passport for the ship NEVA of New York, signed by Jackson and by Secretary of State Edward Livingston, Princeton Class of 1781; a signed ship's document permitting Joseph Z. Chase and his ship, the MAY FLOWER, to depart on a whaling voyage in the Pacific ocean, dated 1834; and a signed document appointing Lewis Boudinot Hunter, Princeton Class of 1824, as a surgeon in the United States Army, dated 1834. Also included is a bookmark printed on silk, commemorating Jackson's victory at the battle of New Orleans, published by W. L. Germon; and a photograph of Jackson's home the "Hermitage" in Nashville, Tenn.