Practicing law on the frontier
Arriving in Nashville, Jackson began the practice of law. To reach the court, he sometimes had to ride miles and miles, day after day, through thick forests where the Indians might lie in wait.
When Tennessee was made a territory, Jackson became district attorney. He had many "ups and downs" with the bad men of the frontier. Jackson himself had a bad temper, and woe to the man who made him angry. He either got a sound thrashing or had to fight a duel.
In Congress
When Tennessee became a state, Jackson was elected to Congress. A year or so afterward (1797) he was appointed a United States senator to fill a vacancy. But such a position did not give him excitement enough, so he resigned the next year and returned to Nashville. He was a frontier judge for a time, then he became a man of business.
A call to arms
126. How Jackson Won a Great Victory. When the War of 1812 broke out there was a call to arms! The British will capture New Orleans! Twenty-five hundred frontiersmen rallied to Jackson's call. He was just the man to lead them. They decided to go to New Orleans by water.
Down the Cumberland to the Ohio in boats! Down the Ohio to the Mississippi, and down the Mississippi to Natchez! Here they stopped, only to learn that there were no British near.
How he won the name "Old Hickory"
The twenty-five hundred men marched the long, dreary way home. Jackson was the toughest one among them. He could march farther and last longer without food than any of them. The soldiers nicknamed him "Old Hickory."