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Tennessee
Presidents
Thus
far, there have been 3 US Presidents from the state of Tennessee. Below
are brief descriptions of their life and presidency. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Born:
March 15, 1767 in Waxhaw, South Carolina. Moved to Tennessee as a young
man and became a lawyer. He was the first man elected from Tennessee to
the House of Representatives, and in 1797 served a year in the US Senate
before resigning and becoming a Tennessee Supreme Court judge. Built a
large mansion in Nashville, TN known as the "Hermitage." Widely
remembered for killing a man during a duel while defending his wife's
honor. Jackson was a major general and war hero during the War of 1812,
where he defeated the British in the Battle Of New Orleans. Was the 7th US
president, serving two terms from 1829 to 1837. Nicknamed "Old
Hickory" due to his rough and tough behaviour. One of the most
controversial times of Andrew Jackson's presidency was his policy
regarding American Indians. Jackson was a leading advocate of a policy
known as "Indian Removal," signing the Indian Removal Act into
law in 1830. This led to the deaths of over 4000 Cherokee indians as they
suffered hardships on the "Trail of Tears."
Jackson
was the first US president to have an assasination attempt against him. On
January 30th, 1835, a mentally deranged man named Richard Lawrence fired
upon Jackson with two pistols, which both misfired. The angry Jackson
proceeded to beat Lawrence with his cane until Jackson's aides intervened
and stopped the beating.
Andrew
Jackson died on June 8th, 1845 in Nashville, TN at his home the
"Hermitage."
Born:
November 2, 1795 in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Moved to
Nashville, TN with his family when he was 11 years old. Attended
college at the University of North Carolina and then moved back to
Tennessee studied law and became a lawyer. He entered politics in
1821, serving in the Tennessee legislature, and becoming a friend of
Andrew Jackson. He served as Speaker of the House of Representatives
between 1835 and 1839, leaving to become Governor of Tennessee. In
1845 at age 49, he became the youngest man to assume the presidency up
to his time. He was the 11th US President and only served one term.
Polk's presidency is mostly noted for the huge amount of territory
acquired by the United States during his administration. His name is
also associated with Manifest Destiny, the idea that it was
"God's will" for the United States to expand westward.
James K.
Polk died on June 15th, 1849 at home in Nashville, just 3 months after
leaving office.
Born:
December 29, 1808 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Ran away from home with his
brother to Greeneville, TN at age 16 where he became a tailor. Johnson was
elected governor of Tennessee, serving from 1853 to 1857, and was elected
as a Democrat to the United States Senate and served from 1857 to 1862.
Johnson was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln as military governor of
Tennessee in 1862 even though Tennessee had seceded from the Union.
Johnson was a staunch Union supporter and gained popularity by people in
the Union states. He was elected Vice President of the United States and
was inaugurated March 4, 1865. He became the 17th President of the United
States on April 15, 1865, upon the death of Lincoln. He was the first Vice
President to succeed to the U.S. Presidency upon the assassination of a
President and the third to succeed upon the death of a President. Johnson
became the first president to ever be impeached. His impeachment came
about due to his violation of the "Tenure of Office" Act of
1867. He was acquitted due to the Senate being one vote short of the
two-thirds majority needed to convict. Although he was found "not
guilty," the impeachment visibly ended his political career. Johnson
was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the United States Senate in
1868 and to the House of Representatives in 1872. However, in 1874 the
Tennessee legislature did elect him to the US Senate. Johnson served only
4 months before he died.
Andrew
Johnson died on July 31st, 1875 in Carter's Station, TN.