The Life of Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was not plainly a common man or an aristocrat.  He was in fact a combination of the two.  Because he came into popularity on the frontier and was not of aristocratic decent he is often considered to be a common man.  However, many facts about his life do not coincide with this stereotype.  From the beginning of his career in Tennessee, he considered himself an aristocrat.  As a result his tastes, manners and life style were shaped accordingly.  Although he considered himself, an aristocrat he was similar to the common man in that he could not spell and he lacked education and culture.  

However, this was not unusual of aristocrats from the southwest region.  Many of them were not born aristocrats but merely rose from middle or lower class migrants who had prospered.  Jackson was one of these self-made aristocrats, a blend of pioneer and aristocrat.  Jackson began his life as a commoner who after losing all of his family began studying law.  In his early twenties Jackson came to Tennessee where he established himself as a lawyer.  Being on of only two lawyers? in his town, he gained wealth.  After buying both land and slaves with his new wealth, he began to strengthen his position with the self-made aristocrats in his area.  Soon with newfound political offices, he became a prominent member of the western aristocrats and consequently he became a first-generation aristocrat.