Andrew Jackson and His Life

1. Choose one reason why you especially admire the hero/heroine and write a paragraph about how you would like to have certain qualities like this person. One of the qualities I admire in Andrew Jackson was his will to survive. He demonstrated this in many situations, but I will choose only one. Jackson had a quarrel with Charles Dickinson. They decided to settle it with a duel. Jackson decided to let Dickinson shoot first, and if he was not dead, shoot him then. This way Jackson would have a better chance of shooting him. When the time came for the duel, Dickinson shot first and hit Jackson near the heart. But since Jackson didn't show it, Dickinson did not know if he had hit or missed him. Then Jackson calmly and unhurriedly aimed and shot Dickinson. But the bullet lodged in his chest pained him for the rest of his life.
   I admire this quality, but I hope I never would need it. But in a way, that quality is the same as not giving up. I would use this quality if I was ready to quit something that I wouldn't. I would try my hardest.
   (The two following qualities I didn't admire.)
   Another of Jackson's qualities was that he didn't always follow orders given to him. One such time was when he was 14. He was captured by the British. He was ordered to shine the shoes of a British officer, and when he refused, he was struck in the face with a saber.
   I do not admire this quality because if I used it, I would probably be punished, as Jackson was.
   A third quality of Jackson was his quick temper. This quality was shown when he was arguing with Dickinson, and his arguing led to a duel.
   I do not admire this quality. If I used it, I probably wouldn't have any friends because I wouldn't get along with them.
2. Describe two incidents in this person's childhood that are not typical in the average child's life. How did these incidents affect the person as he/she grew up?
   Incident: In 1781, when Jackson was 14, he was captured by the British, who had invaded the Carolinas. Not too long after being imprisoned, he was ordered to shine the shoes of a British officer. When he refused, he was struck across his face with a saber.
   Incident:Also around this time, which was near the end of the Revolutionary War, Jackson lost his mother and two brothers as casualties to the war.
   Both of these incidents fueled his hatred for the British, who he would later fight at the Battle of New Orleans.
3. Imagine what it would have been like to be the person who is the subject in the book. Write about how one event in his/her life would have been different if you switched. The time I would wish to switch places with Andrew Jackson was when he decided to remove the Indians from their land and put them further west. This made the Indians angry, and many died when Jackson tried to force them to leave. (I am not sure of the date, but it is somewhere between 1816 and 1828.) I would decide not to make the Indians leave, but let them keep the land they were on and have settlers avoid this area. This would make Jackson more popular, and he might have won the first presidential election he was in.
4. Make a time line of at least six events in the person's life. Each page in the time line should be 4x4. Number them in sequential order.
   
   • In 1781, Jackson was captured by the British, who had invaded the Carolinas.
   • Andrew Jackson became a Tennessee Representative in 1796.
   • Andrew Jackson was elected to the US Senate in 1797.
   • Jackson was General at the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815.
   • Jackson became our 7^th president on March 4, 1829.
   • Jackson died of natural causes on June 8, 1845.