Discover 22 Entertaining and Eye-Opening Fun Facts about Andrew Jackson: Unraveling the Man Behind the Legend!

1. Lemon-Beating Canes and Assassination Attempts

When life gives you lemons, just copy old Hickory and beat the lemons with a cane: On January 30, 1835, Richard Lawrence was the first known person to attempt the assassination of a sitting U.S. president, trying to fire two pistols at President Andrew Jackson, both of which misfired. Instead of cowering, Jackson thrashed him with his trusty cane, leaving the crowd to intervene and restrain Lawrence, who was later found not guilty by reason of insanity and sent to live out his days in an asylum.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

2. Black Armbands and Bittersweet Inaugurations

Cue the world's saddest violins and the blackest party attire: Andrew Jackson's 1829 presidential inauguration was a bittersweet spectacle. With a mourning heart and a black armband, Old Hickory gave his powerful inaugural address after the untimely death of his wife, Rachel, just weeks before the big event.
Source => nationalinterest.org

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=> Fun Facts about Martin-Van-Buren

3. White House Cheese-stravaganza!

If breaking the internet was a thing in the 19th century, this event would have done just that: cheese so monumental, its legacy lingered for years. The scoop? Andrew Jackson let a whopping 1,400-pound cheese gifted to him age for two years in the White House's Entrance Hall, finally holding a public cheese-stravaganza in 1837 where guests devoured the dairy goodness in a mere two hours, leaving behind a persistent odor and indelible stains to be remembered for posterity.
Source => whitehousehistory.org

4. Bank-Breaking Presidential Power Plays

Before breaking the bank was a trendy casino catchphrase, Andrew Jackson took it quite literally: The former U.S. president fiercely opposed the Second Bank of the United States and went as far as removing all federal funds from it, redistributing the money to state banks during the infamous "Bank War," which earned him a congressional censure for presidential power abuse in 1834.
Source => history.com

5. Duels, Horses, and Senate Representation

If horses could talk, they'd neigh-ver believe this one: Andrew Jackson participated in a fatal duel in 1806 due to insults hurled at him and his wife Rachel, coupled with accusations of cheating on a horse race bet. The unfortunate Charles Dickinson found himself on the wrong end of Jackson's pistol, a fate shared by perhaps as many as a hundred others. Prior to his notorious presidency, Jackson dabbled in law and represented Tennessee in the Senate.
Source => history.com

6. Monopoly on Presidential Bank Takedowns

Banking on Demise: When it came to the Second Bank of the United States, Andrew Jackson didn't just play Monopoly – he rewrote the rules! The 7th president of the United States believed the Bank held too much power over the government, so he gave it a giant 'VETO' stamp instead of a "Get Out of Jail Free" card in 1832, ultimately leading to the Bank's downfall in 1836.
Source => federalreservehistory.org

7. The Scandalous Jackson Reality Show

Talk about a scandalous sitcom: Andrew Jackson's marriage to his wife Rachel was the ultimate reality show before reality shows were a thing! Their love story was peppered with gossip about adultery and bigamy, providing some controversial material for Jackson's presidential campaign. Yet, despite all the hurdles and drama, the couple stood strong and stayed devoted to each other, making their marriage an unforgettable chapter in American history.
Source => smithsonianmag.com

8. Miraculously Misfiring Pistols

In the game of "Tag, You're It," President Andrew Jackson was certainly "it" when the tables turned unexpectedly during an assassination attempt: A rogue house painter named Richard Lawrence fired not one, but two pistols at Jackson from close range during a memorial service for a congressman, yet both miraculously misfired, prompting Jackson to charge at Lawrence with his cane as the shooter was subdued. Later, an investigation found the pistols to be in perfect working order, making the odds of both guns misfiring a whopping 125,000 to 1.
Source => history.com

9. Log Cabin-Raised John Rambo of Presidents

Born in a log cabin and always ready for action: Andrew Jackson may just be the pioneer version of John Rambo. Surprise twist: he was also the only U.S. president to be held as a prisoner of war, having been captured by the British during the American Revolution and suffering through harsh conditions and a not-so-fun bout of smallpox.
Source => cabinhomes.com

10. Donkey Embracing and Party Symbol Birth

Don't be an ass, folks! Andrew Jackson proved that clutching onto your opposition's insults can actually be an emblem of success: He embraced being called a jackass by incorporating the donkey graphic in his campaign posters, which later led to the birth of the iconic Democratic Party symbol in the United States.
Source => history.com

11. Paper Money-Hating High Roller

The OG "high roller" who gambled like it was going out of style, yet wouldn't touch paper money with a 10-foot poker: Andrew Jackson, our seventh U.S. President, frittered away his grandfather's inheritance on a wild trip to Charleston as a teenager, betting on dice, cards, and horse races, but held a staunch aversion to paper currency and was a stickler for gold and silver, even going so far as to dismantle the Second Bank of the United States due to its paper money manipulations.
Source => history.com

12. Unbelievable Presidential Assassination Survival

In an unbelievable twist of fate that would make even the most seasoned action hero envious: Andrew Jackson became the first U.S. president to survive an assassination attempt when Richard Lawrence's dual pistols both misfired on January 30, 1835, outside the United States Capitol. Lawrence, an unhinged house painter from England, was later found not guilty by reason of insanity and confined to the realm of madhouses for the remainder of his days.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

13. Duel Master Jackson's Sky Shots

Step aside, Alexander Hamilton, for there was another historical figure who truly knew how to make a duel-icious entrance: Andrew Jackson participated in over 100 duels in his lifetime, even killing his opponent Charles Dickinson after a horse bet gone wrong. Although, in a rather unexpected plot twist, Jackson and his rival Waightstill Avery chose the pacifist route during another duel, firing their shots into the sky and resolving their differences without a single drop of blood being shed.
Source => timeline.com

14. Cursing Parrot Gets Funeral Ejection

Whoever said parrots were supposed to be polite clearly never met Andrew Jackson's feathery friend – indeed, Polly may want a cracker, but this bird wanted to dish out some verbal smackdown: At Jackson's funeral, his pet parrot caused such a ruckus with its incessant cursing that it had to be unceremoniously removed from the premises.
Source => news.virginia.edu

15. White House Inauguration Party Chaos

When Andrew Jackson turned the White House into "Party Central Station" for his inauguration, it brought a whole new meaning to "breaking the ice" at a social gathering: His 1829 celebration unleashed a mob of raucous guests who smashed china, cornered Jackson against a wall, and forced him to escape through a side window. The mayhem was finally curbed when White House staff cleverly placed free punch bowls on the lawn to coax the rowdy attendees out.
Source => buzzfeed.com

16. A Love Story Through Scandal and Drama

Talk about a scandalous walk down the aisle: Andrew Jackson and his wife Rachel's love story was filled with juicy tales of bigamy and legal drama that set tongues wagging back in the day. Nevertheless, their devotion to each other weathered all storms and their love remained steadfast throughout their lives.
Source => thehermitage.com

17. Presidential Smooching of Bibles

Did Andrew Jackson "swear to give it a good ol’ smooch"? You betcha: Our seventh president celebrated taking his oath by planting a lips-to-paper kiss on the Bible—a quirky ritual also practiced by George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and Harry S. Truman (with several of them, including Jackson, not even using the phrase "so help me God" during their oaths).
Source => mtsu.edu

18. Bulletproof President with Dueling Wounds

A survivor in every sense, Andrew Jackson could've starred in his own 19th-century rendition of the "Bulletproof" movies: He got shot thrice in duels and once infamously took a bullet to the chest defending his wife's honor, but managed to give a fatal shot to his opponent in return, and later became the seventh president of the United States.
Source => thirteen.org

19. Choo-Choo! First President on a Train

Choo-choo-choose the president! Next stop, historical milestones: Andrew Jackson was the first U.S. president to board a train while in office, taking a trip on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in 1833, celebrating the opening of a route between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and transforming American transportation history forever.
Source => cincinnati.com

20. Setting the Standard for Presidential Duos

In an era when mixing business with pleasure was as common as finding an electric eel at a pool party, Andrew Jackson took teamwork to a whole new level in his presidential campaigns: He made history by being the first to pick a vice president as his running mate - the esteemed John C. Calhoun - not only in 1828, but also in 1832, setting the stage for all future presidential duos!
Source => loc.gov

21. Looney Tunes-Style Assassination Brawl

Like a scene straight out of a Looney Tunes episode, starring Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam, President Andrew Jackson proved he could tussle with the best of 'em: On January 30, 1835, Jackson became the first president to survive an assassination attempt when Richard Lawrence's pistols malfunctioned, leaving our presidential hero free to whack the would-be attacker with his trusty cane until help arrived.
Source => edubirdie.com

22. The United Colors of Jackson's Battle Ensemble

Before they were the Jackson 5 or United Colors of Benetton, there was Andrew Jackson's unexpected ensemble: At the Battle of New Orleans, Jackson led an eclectic mix of free black soldiers, Choctaw tribesmen, army regulars, and frontier militiamen, demonstrating his ability to bring together different backgrounds for a common purpose.
Source => history.com