Andrew Jackson, Grand Master, Grand Lodge of Tennessee, 1822-
1824, was a colorful and controversial President from 1828 to
1836.
Portrait
of Brother Andrew Jackson
Painting by John Wesley Jarvis
White House Collection
The exact date on which Andrew Jackson was made a Mason is
not known, but The Builder in 1925 states: "The claim of
Greeneville Lodge No. 3 of Tenn. (formerly No. 43 of N.C.) seems
to be the most weighty. An original transcript of the lodge
record for Sept. 5, 1801 shows that he (Jackson) was a member
at the time." Several other sources cite different Lodges
in Tennessee and North Carolina as claiming this famous American
as a member or as attending, including two Nashville Lodges
(Harmony Lodge No. 1 as early as 1801 and Cumberland Lodge No.8
in 1805) and Tennessee Lodge No. 2 in Knoxville. Possibly, he
was made a Mason at one of the Nashville Lodges since he came
to that city at the age of 21, but the record is not clear.
Whatever the case, it is certain from records that Bro. Jackson
took an active interest in Freemasonry at an early age and throughout
his life.
Bro. Jackson was born on March 15, 1767, at Waxhaw, South Carolina,
the same month of his father's death. When he was 13, he enlisted
as a soldier in the Revolutionary War. He and his brother, Robert,
age 16, were captured by the British and were mistreated, a
fact that Andrew never forgot. When both he and his brother
contracted smallpox, their mother obtained their release. The
older brother died two days later, and Andrew was sick for several
weeks.
|
|
|
The Hermitage, Home
of President Jackson, Nashville, Tennessee
Photo courtesy The Hermitage:
Home of President
Andrew Jackson, Nashville, TN
|
Adventurous Andrew had red hair and a violent temper. In December
1784, he left Waxhaw, moved to Salisbury, North Carolina, practiced
law, and was admitted to the North Carolina bar in 1787. The
following year he came to Nashville, and in 1790 he became U.S.
Attorney for the Southwest Territory. In August 1791, he married
Rachel Robard who thought she was divorced from her husband,
Lewis Robard of Kentucky. In September 1793, Andrew learned
that Lewis Robard was granted a divorce from Rachel on September
27, 1793. Andrew and Rachel were remarried on January 17, 1794.
During his later life, the fact that Andrew and Rachel had lived
together for some two years prior to their legal marriage was
political fodder for Andrew's opponents.
Jackson's business affairs varied, but he was able to retain
possession of his beloved home, The Hermitage (see following
page), east of Nashville. Jackson was named as a delegate to
a convention in Knoxville to consider statehood, and he was
instrumental in naming the state Tennessee, a Cherokee word
meaning "the Great Crooked River that flows from the mountains
in the east." Jackson became a member of the United States
House of Representatives on December 5, 1796, and was labeled
an uncouth, longhaired backwoodsman. He longed for his beloved
wife, and after a few weeks in the House, he returned to Tennessee.
He was appointed as a U.S. Senator on March 4, 1797, a position
from which he resigned in April 1798.
Jackson engaged in many duels. His opponents included Governor
John Sevier and Charles Dickinson, the latter dying as a result
of the duel. Jackson took a bullet to the chest but was able
to return deadly fire. He carried Dickinson's bullet in his
chest the rest of his life. In 1812 in Knoxville, he engaged
in a duel with Jesse Benton, brother of Thomas Hart Benton with
whom Jackson later served in the Senate and on the same Senatorial
Committee. Jackson took a bullet to the arm. The bullet was
removed 20 years later.
Many of Jackson's duels stemmed from insults hurled at Rachel.
Thus he was sensitive to the remarks made about Margaret (Peggy)
O'Neill (O'Neale) Timberlake, who later married John Eaton,
the Secretary of War. John, a former Senator, was a Tennessean,
and a member of Cumberland Lodge No. 8. Jackson came to the
defense of John, his Masonic Brother, and Peggy Eaton more than
once. On one occasion, he upbraided Captain Richard Call for
speaking ill of Peggy O'Neill, telling this former soldier that
he had no right to such talk unless he himself could verify
his claim on positive evidence. The matter eventually led to
the resignation of Jackson's cabinet. Jackson's integrity and
the defense of women were admirable traits, as was his loyalty.
On one occasion, for instance, he declared, "I would resign
the Presidency sooner than desert my friend Eaton."
In 1812 he became Commander of the Tennessee militia and a
Major General of volunteers. In 1813 after a massacre at Fort
Mims by the Creek Indians, Jackson, though weak from loss of
blood from a street battle, led his volunteers to Alabama. Among
his volunteers were Sam Houston, later to become a member of
Cumberland Lodge No. 8, Congressman from Tennessee, Governor
of Tennessee, President of the Lone Star Republic of Texas,
Governor of Texas, and a Charter Member of the Grand Lodge of
Texas; Davy Crockett, a Tennessee Mason later to gain fame at
the Alamo; and Thomas Claiborne, later that year to become first
Grand Master of Masons in Tennessee. As a result of this military
engagement, Jackson, on August 9, 1814, signed a treaty in which
the Creeks agreed to surrender 22,000,000 acres of land located
in what is now Georgia and Alabama. John Overton, a member of
Cumberland Lodge No 8, later to become the wealthiest man in
Tennessee, was one of Jackson's closest advisors.
Jackson's name became a household word after he defeated the
British at the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815. In
1824, campaigning for President on this popularity, he received
a plurality of popular votes in the election, but the House
of Representatives chose John Quincy Adams as President. During
the discussion prior to the selection of a President by the
House of Representatives in 1824-25, Jackson refused to agree
to appoint Henry Clay as Secretary of State in exchange for
the latter's support. This opposition cost Jackson the election.
In 1828 he received 68% of the electoral votes, and in 1832
he received 76%. Henry Clay, Past Grand Master of Kentucky,
received 17% of the electoral votes in the 1832 election. William
Wirt, candidate of the Anti-Masonic party in 1832, received
the seven electoral votes from Vermont.
In 1832, the state of South Carolina attempted to nullify a
Federal Law related to tariffs. Jackson declared the Federal
Law supreme, and South Carolina withdrew its ordinance, but
it resurfaced later. Jackson nominated Roger Taney, a Roman
Catholic of Frederick, Maryland, to a cabinet post, but the
Senate rejected the nomination. Two years later, Jackson appointed
him Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
 |
Rachel Jackson
Photo: The Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson,
Nashville, TN
|
Rachel Jackson had accompanied General Jackson to Washington
in 1824-25 when the Presidency was decided in the House of Represen-tatives.
Rumors about Rachel preceded her arrival in Washington, and
the question arose as to whether the other ladies would accept
her. Ultimately, they did call upon her. But she did not want
to go to Washington in 1828, fearing that her inelegance at
conversation, her pipe smoking, and general lack of refinement
would reflect poorly on her husband, the new President. However,
she did acquiesce to the urging of her friends and made plans
to go. She went on a shopping trip and bought clothes appropriate
for the occasion only to become ill and die on December 22,
1828.
Following Rachel's death, other female relations of Jackson
served as First Ladies of the White House. These included Rachel's
niece Emily Donelson, who developed tuberculosis and returned
to her home in Tennessee in 1836, and Sarah York Jackson, the
wife of Andrew's adopted son. Differences between Jackson and
his daughter-in-law over the Peggy Eaton matter caused her to
leave Washington and return to Tennessee. For some months the
White House was a bachelor's hall.
Between 1814 and 1822, the Grand Lodge of Tennessee admitted
36 Masons, of whom only five had served as Master of a Lodge.
These persons were only nominal Past Masters, having had conferred
upon them the Past Master's Degree which, at that time, was
construed as investing them with all the rights and privileges
of an actual Past Master. Among these persons were Andrew Jackson,
Sam Houston, and Wilkins Tannehill. Jackson, who never served
as Master of a Lodge, was admitted to membership in 1822. He
had been away from Nashville for several years while in the
military service. In an unprecedented action, the Grand Lodge
elected him Grand Master at the 1822 Annual Communication and
reelected him in 1823. He served two one-year terms.
During this time, he inaugurated new rules governing debate
and decorum and chartered four new Lodges: Jackson No. 45, at
Jackson; Vale of Temple No. 46 at Pikeville; Rhea No. 47 at
Jonesboro; and New Providence No. 48 at Maryville. In May 1825,
the Grand Lodge of Tennessee hosted a reception in Nashville
for Brother General LaFayette, the Frenchman who was a soldier
in the American Army during the Revolutionary War. General Jackson
and Grand Master Wilkins Tannehill were co-hosts for the occasion.
As President, Jackson is probably best remembered for his efforts
to bring the governance of the country within the grasp of the
common people. He worked hard to defeat the persons who had
a monopoly on the banking system of America. His tough character
caused his soldiers and political cronies to give him the name
"Old Hickory." He was the first President to come
from west of the Alleghenies and the first President to ride
on a train.
Historical persons are frequently judged by present-day standards,
which is unfair. Jackson owned slaves, engaged in dueling, ran
a racing stable, bet on horse racing, and participated in cockfights.
He sanctioned the movement of many Cherokee Indians to Oklahoma
in what is commonly known as the "Trail of Tears."
He did not join the church near where he lived until late in
life, but he attended and was the largest contributor to its
building fund. His loyalty to a Masonic Brother is in keeping
with the highest ideals of the Fraternity.
Jackson died on June 8, 1845, eight years and 96 days after
he left the office of President. Sam Houston, learning that
his old General was soon to pass from this world, hastened from
Texas to The Hermitage and arrived a few minutes after Jackson's
death. His body was laid to rest beside his beloved Rachel at
The Hermitage.
Sources
Breeding, Robert. Footprints in Appalachia. Thriftecon
Publications, Knoxville, Tenn., 1996.
Denslow, W.R. 10,000 Famous Masons.
Transactions of The Missouri Lodge of Research, 1959.
Freidel, Frank. Our Country's Presidents.
National Geographic Society, 1981.
James, Marquis. Andrew Jackson, Portrait
of a President. Bobbs-Merrill Co., New York, 1937.
Kane, Joseph Nathan. Facts about the Presidents.
Pocket Books, Inc., New York, 1964.
Snodgrass, Charles A. and Bobby J. Demott.
The History of Freemasonry in Tennessee. Tennessee Valley
Publishers, Knoxville, Tenn., 1994.
|
Bobby J. Demott
is a member of Cherokee Lodge No. 728, Knoxville, Tennessee,
and a 33° member of the Knoxville S.R. Bodies. Now retired,
he spent over 33 years on the faculty of the University
of Tennessee where he taught and conducted research on dairy
products. He is a frequent contributor to the Scottish
Rite Journal. |
