Today Rachel and Andrew Jackson are disliked by many people, but what those people do not understand is how hard the Jacksons worked. They devoted more than half of their life to the United States. Jackson was a lawyer, a shop owner, a circuit rider, a governor, a senator, a congressman, a general, a militia leader, a president, and many other things. Rachel should stand as a symbol of bravery to women all around the country then and now. Even though Rachel wanted to curl up under her covers and hide from the gossip she stood by her husband’s side no matter what he decided to do.
When Rachel was 12 years old her family and about 600 other people sailed down the Holston River and the Cumberland River to the Cumberland. Throughout their voyage, they met many misfortunes. They were constantly fighting Indians, illnesses, or death. At the age of 17, Rachel met Lewis Robards and soon after they were married. But a short time afterward, Lewis started to be abusive and even had an affair with a slave. Two years after her marriage to Lewis, Lewis sent Rachel back to her mother’s because he thought she was being too nice to Peyton Short.
Andrew did not have an easy early life either his father died shortly before he was born and his mother died while trying to save his brother and him leaving them orphans. A little while before his mother and brother died Andrew and his brother Robert were captured by the British and held as prisoners. The boys nearly starved to death in captivity. Andrew was ordered to clean the boots of a British officer, but Andrew refused. The officer slashed him with a sword, leaving Jackson with scars on his left hand and head. This incident spawned his intense hatred of the British. (Jackson’s hatred became very useful to the United States later.)
After Lewis sent Rachel back to her mother’s house where she met Andrew. They tried for a long time to suppress their love for each other but they finally succumbed and got married in Natchez. Later they found out she had not actually been divorced from Lewis making her an adulteress. After Rachel divorced Lewis she remarried Jackson. But Lewis’s accusations still made Rachel Jackson a bigamist and adulterer in the eyes of many.
After Andrew won the election and lost Rachel the Donaldson family and Andrew’s friends were very supportive of Andrew. They came from all over into the White House to comfort him and show him their support. With their help, Andrew was then able to be the president that the people of the United States of America had elected. They had elected the man that had won the Battle of New Orleans, the man who had stopped the British after the government had pretty much given up, and most importantly the man who had given the Americans hope when they needed it the most. Andrew Jackson was the Washington of his time.