REV. Peace and Friendship. Two hands clasped in token of amity; on the cuff of the left wrist three stripes and as many buttons; the other wrist is bare; above the hands, a pipe of peace and a tomahawk crossed. By John Reich.

ANDREW JACKSON

"OUR FEDERAL UNION! IT MUST AND SHALL BE PRESERVED"

1767-Born on March 15, in the Waxhaw Settlement, Lancaster County, S.C., the son of Andrew Jackson, an Irishman who emigrated to America in 1765, and died in 1767.

1784-87-Studied in the law offices of Spruce Macay in Salisbury, N.C.; was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in McLeanville, Guilford County, N.C.

Had little opportunity and disposition to undertake formal schooling. One source reported: "He learned to read, to write, and cost accounts-little more."

1780-At the age of 13, Jackson participated in the

1788-Appointed prosecuting attorney for the western district of North Carolina, the region now forming the State of Tennessee.

Revolutionary War battle of Hanging Rock. A year later was taken prisoner after an unsuccessful effort to capture a body of British troops at Waxhaw Church; received a saber blow, which marked him for life, when he refused to clean the boots of a British officer.

1791-Married Rachel (Donelson) Robards, remarried her in 1794, when it was found that the earlier marriage was not valid.

1796-Delegate to the convention which formed a constitution for the new State of Tennessee. 1797-Elected to fill an unexpired term in the U.S. Senate; served until he resigned the following year. 1798-1804-Served as a judge, Tennessee State Supreme Court. His biographer, James Parton, wrote: "Tradition reports that he maintained the dignity and authority of the bench that his decisions were short, untechnical, unlearned, sometimes ungrammatical, and generally right." Was appointed a major general in the Tennessee Militia (1802).

*

After his resignation from the bench, he engaged in agricultural pursuits.

1813-Was ordered to lead the Tennessee Militia to support General Wilkinson in New Orleans. After reaching Natchez, Jackson received orders to disband his troops, which he refused to carry out. During the march he had displayed such courage and

endurance, as well as concern for the welfare and privations of his militia, he earned the sobriquet of "Old Hickory," which his troops conferred on him. 1814 Commanding the Tennessee Militia, he defeated the Creek Indians on March 27, at Horshoe Bend, Ga.; this was in retaliation for their massacre at Fort Mims in the Mississippi Territory. Was commissioned major general, U.S. Army, with command of the Seventh Southwestern Military District. In November of this year he captured Pensacola, Fla., then owned by Spain but used by the British as a base of operations.

Led the U.S. Army to New Orleans where he was successful in two engagements with the British and afterwards gained his famous victory on January 8, 1815. His conquest was so overwhelming as to make him an outstanding hero of the War of 1812. The Congress memoralized his success by awarding him a gold medal.

1817-Because of Seminole and outlaw harassment of U.S. citizens on the Florida frontier, Jackson headed an expedition which was so successful, he virtually seized Florida. He executed Arbuthnot and Ambrister, two British subjects who were accused of inciting the Indians to hostile acts. He stood accused of exceeding his orders when this action brought the United States to the verge of a war with Great Britain and Spain. Diplomatic action on the part of President Monroe prevented an outbreak of war. The later purchase of Florida by the United States, Jackson felt, justified his action. 1821-Served as the first governor of Florida, from March 10 to July 18.

1823-25-Elected to the U.S. Senate and served from March 4, 1823, to October 14, 1825, when he resigned.

1823 Nominated as candidate for the Presidency, Jackson ran against Henry Clay, John Quincy Adams, and William Crawford. Though he had the most votes in the electoral college, they did not constitute a majority. When the election was thrown into the House of Representatives, Jackson lost to Adams.

1828-36-Defeated Adams in the election of 1828, to

become the seventh President of the United States; won 178 of the 261 electoral votes. Reelected in 1832, defeating Henry Clay.

"To the victors belong the spoils." Jackson was the first president to exercise, on a large scale, his prerogative of replacing Federal employees ap pointed by previous administrations, with those of his own choosing.

The constitutional authority of a State to nullify Federal laws was one of the chief issues which came to a head during Jackson's administration. South Carolina threatened to secede from the Union if the Federal Government used force to col lect customs duties to which the State objected. At a "Jefferson Day Dinner" on April 13, 1830, Jackson gave a warning by his famous toast "Our Union! It must be preserved." Troops and warships were dispatched to Charleston Harbor. Hos tilities were avoided, however, through compromise legislation which was passed by the Congress, due largely to the efforts of Henry Clay.

In May 1830, Jackson vetoed a bill for construction of a road in Kentucky on the basis that he was de termined to withstand raids on the Treasury for purely internal items within the States, such as roads, canals, and dams.

Jackson obtained an agreement from the French in 1831, whereby they undertook to make restitution for seizures made during the Napoleonic Wars.

An innovation of the campaign in 1832 was Jackson's influence in achieving a national party convention for choosing the presidential and vice presidential candidates, in preference to the congressional caucus which previously served as the nominating body.

A dispute between Jackson and the President of the Second Bank of the United States, led to the withdrawal of Government deposits from this bank in 1833 and, 3 years later, to this institution ceasing to function as a national bank. Like the First Bank of the United States, it functioned under a timelimited charter to carry on a commercial banking business as well as to provide a fiscal service for the U.S. Government.

In July 1836, Jackson issued his famous "Species Circular" which required the payment of gold and silver for public lands sold. Its purpose was to curtail wildcat speculation in public lands for which the Government received bank notes of doubtful value. This led to a money crisis at the close of the Jackson administration and as a very real problem with the incoming administration of Van Buren.

1837- Retired to private life.

1815- President Jackson died on June 8, at the age of 78, in his family home "The Hermitage." He is buried in the garden on that estate.

Tariff Acts July 14, 1832, 4 Stat. 583.
Compromise Tariff Act March 2, 1833, 4 Stat. 632.
Force Bill March 2, 1833, 4 Stat. 632.

nue only. During his early years in the U.S. Senate he supported legislation for internal improvements at national expense, though in later years he regarded this as being an improper use of Federal funds.

In 1827, Van Buren became one of the managers for Andrew Jackson's campaign for the Presidency, and was influential in swinging eastern support to win the election. 1829-Elected Governor of New York; served from January to March, when he resigned because of his appointment to the Cabinet of President Andrew Jackson.

In his short period as Governor, Van Buren urged upon the New York State Legislature a "safety

fund" banking system, whereby the banks would mutually insure each other.

1829-31-Served as Secretary of State, and as chief policy adviser to President Jackson. He reopened trade with the British West Indies which the British had prohibited since the close of the American Revolution; secured French agreement to pay damages done to Americans during the Napoleonic wars; wrote the Maysville Road veto which voiced the administration's opposition to internal improve. ments at Federal expense; and investigated the possibility of purchasing Texas from Mexico. Political opposition on the part of followers of Vice Presi dent John C. Calhoun in the Cabinet of President Jackson led to a reorganization. This was brought about through mutual agreement between Jackson and Van Buren, in having the latter resign, thus forcing the resignation of the other Cabinet members.

In 1831, Calhoun, as President of the Senate, cast the deciding vote which rejected President Jackson's nomination of Van Buren as U.S. Minister to Great Britain.

1832-Elected Vice President of the United States; served

from March 4, 1833, to March 3, 1837, during which time he was a consummate politician, and helped President Jackson strengthen his party or ganization on national, State, and local levels.

1835-36-Nominated for the Presidency; defeated Wil

liam Henry Harrison, the Whig candidate. 1837-41-As President of the United States, Van Buren continued almost all the Cabinet appointments of his predecessor.

A financial panic developed early in Van Buren's administration because of previous overexpansion of bank credit, huge State debts for internal improvements, land speculation, an unfavorable trade balance, poor crops, and an economic crisis in England which caused the British to call in loans made in America. Van Buren met this crisis, and the depression which followed, with skill and firmness, even though his efforts did not meet with popular approval, and finally led to his defeat for reelection in 1840.

Nothwithstanding the obstacles encountered, Van Buren's major achievement while in office was the establishment of the independent Treasury System to manage the collection, safekeeping, transfer, and disbursement of public moneys without recourse to the services of private banks. It also served as the agency for marketing Government securities independently of the banks until the establishment of the National Banking System in 1863. By the acts of 1846 and later, the various mints were also made public depositories.

Because of the slave issue and the fact that Texas was at war with Mexico, Van Buren blocked its annexation. He directed the use of Federal troops in the Seminole War (in Georgia and Alabama), and he issued an executive order which provided that no person should labor more than 10 hours a day on Federal works.

1840-Van Buren lost the Democratic nomination for the Presidency to Polk, because he continued to oppose annexation of Texas.

1862-Died at his country home, "Lindenwald," at Kinderhook, N.Y., on July 24.

Independent Treasury Act -July 4, 1840, 5 Stat. 385; (repealed in 1841, 9 Stat. 59; later reenacted).

OBV. William H. Harrison. Bust of the President. REV. Within a pearled ring, a laurel wreath. Inaugurated President of the United States March 4, 1841. Died April 4, 1841.

By George T. Morgan, Mint engraver, who executed this medal some 40 years after President Harrison's death. WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, "Old Tippecanoe" 1773-Born February 9, at Berkeley Plantation, Charles

City County, Va., the youngest son of Benjamin
Harrison, one of the signers of the Declaration of
Independence.

Majored in classical studies at Hampden-Sidney College, Virginia; studied medicine under Dr. Benjamin Rush, American patriot, at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Philadelphia. 1791-Commissioned as an ensign in the First Regiment,

U.S. Army; stationed at Fort Washington (Cincinnati) and served on frontier duty. Was commissioned as a lieutenant the following year. For his services in the expedition, in December 1793, that erected Fort Recovery, he was thanked by name in general orders.

1794 Fought gallantly, with Gen. Anthony Wayne, at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, a region of northwest Ohio at the Rapids of the Maumee.

1795-Given command of Fort Washington, with the mission of preventing the French from moving military supplies down the Mississippi.

Married Anna Symmes, daughter of John Cleves Symmes, from which union six sons were born; their grandson, Benjamin Harrison, became 23d President of the United States. 1798-Resigned his commission as a captain in the Army, peace having been made with the Indians, and was appointed by President John Adams as Secretary of the Northwest Territory. 1799-Member of the Sixth U.S. Congress, as a terri

torial delegate. While serving as chairman of the Committee on Public Lands he devised a plan for homesteading, which was adopted by the Congress, making it possible for settlers to procure land which they could not otherwise afford to purchase. 1801-12-As Indian Commissioner and also Territorial Governor, Harrison negotiated a number of treaties with the Indians and was instrumental in bringing together practically all the Territory of Indiana-a region now represented by the States of Indiana, Illinois, much of Wisconsin, and part of Michigan. The tremendous land acquisitions from the Indians led to increasing opposition from the Shawnee Chieftain, Tecumseh and his brother, known as the "Prophet." With continuing out