专八人文知识需知的美国名人--安德鲁·杰克逊

专八人文知识需知的美国名人--安德鲁·杰克逊

　　英语专八人文知识涵盖的知识面较广，考生们需要平时多积累小常识，这样在专八考试中才能游刃有余，新东方在线整理了专八人文知识需知的美国名人系列知识点供考生们参考。

　　安德鲁·杰克逊(Andrew Jackson，1767年3月15日─1845年6月8日)是美国第七任总统(1829年—1837年)。首任佛罗里达州州长、新奥尔良之役战争英雄、民主党创建者之一，杰克逊式民主因他而得名。在美国政治史上，1820年代与1830年代的第二党体系(Second Party System)以他为极端的象征。杰克逊始终被美国的专家学者评为美国最杰出的10位总统之一。

　　The voice of the American Revolution, and our first great radical.

　　他发出了美国革命的声音，他也是第一个伟大的激进分子。

　　Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh President of the United States(1829–1837). He was military governor of Florida (1821), commander of the American forces atthe Battle of New Orleans (1815), and eponym of the era of Jacksonian democracy. A polarizingfigure who dominated American politics in the 1820s and 1830s, his political ambition combinedwith widening political participation, shaping the modern Democratic Party.

　　His legacy is now seen as mixed, as a protector of popular democracy and individual liberty forwhite men, checkered by his support for slavery and Indian removal. Renowned for his toughness,he was nicknamed "Old Hickory". As he based his career in developing Tennessee, Jackson was thefirst president primarily associated with the American frontier.

　　Military career

　　Jackson was appointed commander of the Tennessee militia in 1801, with the rank of colonel.

　　During the War of 1812, Tecumseh incited the "Red Stick" Creek Indians of northern Alabama andGeorgia to attack white settlements. Four hundred settlers were killed in the Fort Mims Massacre. Inthe resulting Creek War, Jackson commanded the American forces, which included Tennesseemilitia, U.S. regulars, and Cherokee, Choctaw, and Southern Creek Indians.

　　Jackson defeated the Red Stick Creeks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814. Eight hundred"Red Sticks" were killed, but Jackson spared chief William Weatherford. Sam Houston and DavidCrockett served under Jackson in this campaign. After the victory, Jackson imposed the Treaty ofFort Jackson upon both the Northern Creek enemies and the Southern Creek allies, wrestingtwenty-million acres (81,000 km²) from all Creeks for white settlement. Jackson was appointedMajor General after this action.

　　Jackson's service in the War of 1812 against the United Kingdom was conspicuous for bravery andsuccess. When British forces threatened New Orleans, Jackson took command of the defenses,including militia from several western states and territories. He was a strict officer but was popularwith his troops. It was said he was "tough as old hickory" wood on the battlefield, which gave himhis nickname. In the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815, Jackson's 5,000 soldiers won avictory over 7,500 British. At the end of the day, the British had 2,037 casualties: 291 dead(including three senior generals), 1,262 wounded, and 484 captured or missing. The Americanshad 71 casualties: 13 dead, 39 wounded, and 19 missing.

　　The war, and especially this victory, made Jackson a national hero. He received the Thanks ofCongress and a gold medal by resolution of February 27, 1815. Alexis de Tocqueville latercommented in Democracy in America that Jackson "...was raised to the Presidency, and has beenmaintained there, solely by the recollection of a victory which he gained, twenty years ago, underthe walls of New Orleans."

　　Presidency 1829–1837

　　Federal debt

　　In 1835, Jackson managed to reduce the federal debt to only $33,733.05, the lowest it had beensince the first fiscal year of 1791. President Jackson is the only president in United States history tohave paid off the national debt. However, this accomplishment was short lived. A severe depressionfrom 1837 to 1844 caused a tenfold increase in national debt within its first year.

　　Electoral College

　　Jackson repeatedly called for the abolition of the Electoral College by constitutional amendment inhis annual messages to Congress as President. In his third annual message to Congress, heexpressed the view "I have heretofore recommended amendments of the Federal Constitutiongiving the election of President and Vice-President to the people and limiting the service of theformer to a single term. So important do I consider these changes in our fundamental law that Ican not, in accordance with my sense of duty, omit to press them upon the consideration of anew Congress." The institution remains to the present day.

　　Spoils system

　　When Jackson became President, he implemented the theory of rotation in office, declaring it "aleading principle in the republican creed. "He believed that rotation in office would prevent thedevelopment of a corrupt bureaucracy. To strengthen party loyalty, Jackson's supporters wantedto give the posts to party members. In practice, this meant replacing federal employees withfriends or party loyalists. However, the effect was not as drastic as expected or portrayed. By theend of his term, Jackson dismissed less than twenty percent of the Federal employees at the startof it. While Jackson did not start the "spoils system," he did indirectly encourage its growth formany years to come.

　　Attack and assassination attempt

　　Richard Lawrence's attempt on Jackson's life, as depicted in an 1835 etching.The first attempt todo bodily harm to a President was against Jackson. Jackson ordered the dismissal of Robert B.Randolph from the Navy for embezzlement. On May 6, 1833, Jackson sailed on USS Cygnet toFredericksburg, Virginia, where he was to lay the cornerstone on a monument near the grave ofMary Ball Washington, George Washington's mother. During a stopover near Alexandria, Virginia,Randolph appeared and struck the President. He then fled the scene with several members ofJackson's party chasing him, including the well known writer Washington Irving. Jackson decidednot to press charges.

　　On January 30, 1835, what is believed to be the first attempt to kill a sitting President of the UnitedStates occurred just outside the United States Capitol. When Jackson was leaving the Capitol outof the East Portico after the funeral of South Carolina Representative Warren R. Davis, RichardLawrence, an unemployed and deranged housepainter from England, either burst from a crowd orstepped out from hiding behind a column and aimed a pistol at Jackson, which misfired. Lawrencethen pulled out a second pistol, which also misfired. It has been postulated that moisture from thehumid weather contributed to the double misfiring. Lawrence was then restrained, with legendsaying that Jackson attacked Lawrence with his cane, prompting his aides to restrain him. Otherspresent, including David Crockett, restrained and disarmed Lawrence.

　　Richard Lawrence gave the doctors several reasons for the shooting. He had recently lost his jobpainting houses and somehow blamed Jackson. He claimed that with the President dead, "moneywould be more plenty" (a reference to Jackson's struggle with the Bank of the United States) andthat he "could not rise until the President fell." Finally, he informed his interrogators that he was adeposed English King—specifically, Richard III, dead since 1485—and that Jackson was merely hisclerk. He was deemed insane, institutionalized, and never punished for his assassination attempt.

　　Afterward, due to curiosity concerning the double misfires, the pistols were tested and retested.Each time they performed perfectly. When these results were known, many believed that Jacksonhad been protected by the same Providence that had protected the young nation. This nationalpride was a large part of the Jacksonian cultural myth fueling American expansion in the 1830s.

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