08/27/2026
America 250: Andrew Jackson
Howdy, patriots. David Groce, your Texas Tax and Law Man here, standing tall for Old Hickory—Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of these United States and the living embodiment of that fearless, unyielding American spirit.
Hickory trees grow tall and straight, their wood is firm and unbending, and strong as iron - what a great description for Andrew Jackson.
Picture a boy forged in the fires of the Revolution. Born in 1767, his father died before he drew breath. The British killed his mother and brother in the hell of a prison ship. At fourteen, a redcoat officer slashed young Andrew with a sword for refusing to shine his boots. That scar he carried to his grave—and so did the Republic. We don’t shine British boots anymore because our forebears said, “No more.” That defiant confidence carried Americans over the Appalachians and into the West. Old Hickory was that spirit made flesh.
He became a lawyer, a judge, a planter, and a warrior. He built a massive personal library—hundreds of volumes—because a free man arms his mind as well as his rifle. A God-fearing Presbyterian at heart, Jackson lived by a code: duty, honor, and love of country.
His defining moment came in 1814-15 at the Battle of New Orleans. The British came with 8,000 battle-hardened veterans to take the city. Jackson, preferring “General” over “Mr. President” for the rest of his life, rallied a ragtag coalition: Tennessee and Kentucky riflemen, free men of color, Baratarian pirates under Jean Lafitte, Choctaw warriors, local militia, and regulars. Pirates, former slaves fighting as free men, frontiersmen, and patriots—standing shoulder to shoulder - That’s America! They routed nearly 3,000 British in the main assault. American losses: about 70. British: over 2,000. It was the last major battle of the War of 1812 and a thunderclap of American resolve.
Jackson knew warfare up close, including the hard Indian conflicts on the frontier. He respected the warrior spirit of many Native tribes but refused to tolerate the raids and incivility that threatened settlers. That was classic military reality in his day—not the sanitized hindsight of modern critics pushing CRT narratives. Jackson fought for the safety and expansion of the young Republic. He was a man of his times, shaped by the same dangers our forebears faced pushing westward.
At home, Old Hickory loved his wife Rachel with a devotion that still echoes at the Hermitage. Scandal and politics wounded her deeply; she died just before his inauguration, leaving him heartbroken. He never remarried.
This summer, I visited his home, the Hermitage in Nashville, Tennessee. The most impressive architectural feature was the tremendous Greco Roman marker erected in honor of his beloved wife Rachel. He visited her graveside each day in their private garden. That is a man of deep affection and devotion.
In his final days, consistent with his will, he freed his longtime personal slave—another reflection of the complex man navigating the contradictions of his era.
No, Jackson wasn’t perfect. None of them were. But he was thoroughly American: a fighter, a learned attorney, a defender of the Union against nullification, and a champion of the common man against the elites. He earned his place on the twenty-dollar bill through blood, grit, and victory.
For America 250, Old Hickory reminds us: Freedom isn’t polite. It’s hard-won by tough men and women who refuse to kneel. That same spirit that wouldn’t shine British boots still calls us to defend this Republic today.
This is David Groce, your Texas Tax and Law Man, I hope you enjoyed this America 250 series. Saddle up, stay true to the founding, and God bless these United States. Adios!
