It cannot be denied that "Old Hickory" was a great man, and though he was deficient in education, lacking in statesmanship, and obstinate to the last degree, he was the possessor of those rugged virtues which invariably command respect. He was honest, clean in his private life, a stanch friend, an unrelenting enemy, and an intense patriot—one who was ready to risk his life at any hour for his country. In addition, he never knew the meaning of personal fear. No braver person ever lived. When the sheriff in a court-room was afraid to attempt to arrest a notorious desperado, Jackson leaped over the chairs, seized the ruffian by the throat, hurled him to the floor, and cowed him into submission. When a piece of treachery was discovered on a Kentucky racecourse, Jackson faced a mob of a thousand infuriated men, ruled off the dishonest official, and carried his point. He challenged the most noted duelist of the southwest, because he dared to cast a slur upon Jackson's wife. It mattered not that the scoundrel had never failed to kill his man, and that all of Jackson's friends warned him that it was certain death to meet the dead-shot. At the exchange of shots, Jackson was frightfully wounded, but he stood as rigid as iron, and sent a bullet through the body of his enemy, whom he did not let know he was himself wounded until the other breathed his last.
Above all, had not "Old Hickory" won the battle of New Orleans, the most brilliant victory of the War of 1812? Did not he and his unerring riflemen from the backwoods of Tennessee and Kentucky spread consternation, death, and defeat among the red-coated veterans of Waterloo? No wonder that the anniversary of that glorious battle is still celebrated in every part of the country, and no wonder, too, that the American people demanded that the hero of all these achievements should be rewarded with the highest office in the gift of his countrymen.
JACKSON NOMINATED.
Jackson, having "placed himself in the hands of his friends," threw himself into the struggle with all the unquenchable ardor of his nature. On July 22, 1822, the Legislature of Tennessee was first in the field by placing him in nomination. On the 22d of February, 1824, a Federalist convention at Harrisburg, Pa., nominated him, and on the 4th of March following a Republican convention did the same. It would seem that he was now fairly before the country, but the regular Democratic nominee, that is, the one named by the congressional caucus, was William H. Crawford, of Georgia. The remaining candidates were John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay, and all of them belonged to the Republican party, which had retained the presidency since 1800. Adams and Clay were what was termed loose constructionists, while Jackson and Crawford were strict constructionists.
"OLD HICKORY" DEFEATED.
The canvass was a somewhat jumbled one, in which each candidate had his ardent partisans and supporters. The contest was carried out with vigor and the usual abuse, personalities, and vituperation until the polls were closed. Then when the returns came to be made up it was found that Jackson had received 99 electoral votes, Adams 84, Crawford 41, and Clay 37. "Old Hickory" was well ahead, but his strength was not sufficient to make him President, even though on the popular vote he led Adams by more than 50,000. Consequently the election went to the House of Representatives, where the supporters of Clay combined with those of Adams and made him President. Thus came the singular result that the man who had the largest popular and electoral vote was defeated.
It was a keen disappointment to Jackson and his friends. The great Senator Benton, of Missouri, one of the warmest supporters of "Old Hickory," angrily declared that the House was deliberately defying the will of the people by placing a minority candidate in the chair. The senator's position, however, was untenable, and so it was that John Quincy Adams became the sixth President of our country.
JACKSON'S TRIUMPH.
But the triumph of "Old Hickory" was only postponed. His defeat was looked upon by the majority of men as a deliberate piece of trickery, and they "lay low" for the next opportunity to square matters. No fear of a second chance being presented to their opponents. Jackson was launched into the canvass of 1828 like a cyclone, and when the returns were made up he had 178 electoral votes to 83 for Adams—a vote which lifted him safely over the edge of a plurality and seated him firmly in the White House.