Which significant battle enabled Andrew Jackson to become the President of the USA? Considering his leadership and contribution to this war he was catapulted to the White House.
-
I've changed the title; there was only one American Civil War.– RussellCommented Oct 26, 2012 at 13:40
-
1Glad to have you here, Balaji. However, this question was trivially answerable from Andrew Jackson's google page (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Jackson#Military_career) . We prefer harder questions.– T.E.D. ♦Commented Oct 26, 2012 at 15:12
-
3I quibble with the phrasing of the question. An election made General Jackson President; a battle catapulted him to national attention and fame. The two are distinct.– MCW ♦Commented Oct 26, 2012 at 16:00
-
@MarkC.Wallace - The two are distinct only in the most pedantic of senses. You can try below if you want, but I can't imagine anyone making a convincing argument that Jackson would have even been able to credibly run for POTUS without the Battle of New Orleans. It is quite fair to say that battle made him president.– T.E.D. ♦Commented Oct 26, 2012 at 17:47
-
I'll accept that and proclaim myself a pedant. I think they're distinct, but I won't try to argue your point.– MCW ♦Commented Oct 26, 2012 at 19:06
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
This battle was the battle of New Orleans, early in 1815.
The peace treaty for the War of 1812 had been signed in Europe, but the Americans didn't yet know it (in the days before telecommunications). Nor did the British attackers headed to Louisiana.
Jackson adopted a fortified position and let the British attack over rough terrain. The result was a lopsided American victory, about 2,000 British killed and wounded (including their general), versus 20 American casualties.
This "sealed" the peace after heavy American defeats in 1814 (when the British had captured and burned Washington D.C.), because the last battle was an American victory. The British weren't about to overturn the peace and suffer another defeat at the hands of a general like Jackson. New Orleans made clear that Jackson was one of the greatest generals in American history, and paved the way for his Presidency.
-
1I'm not convinced that the Imperial British Army, fresh from taking down Napolean, was all that scared of General Jackson. However, it did allow the USA to save quite a bit of face, and probably helped make the point in England that fighting the USA on its own turf wasn't their best available use of resources.– T.E.D. ♦Commented Oct 26, 2012 at 14:48
-
5I think that the Imperial British Army was anything but "fresh" after taking down Napoleon. 1812 was a war the UK never wanted. I believe theBritish public was sick of war, the budget was ruined, and the notion of fighting another engagement long distance for no clear gain can't have been appealing. I think rather than being scared of General Jackson, they were scared that if they lost another battle to a nobody like Jackson, the shame would be unbearable.– MCW ♦Commented Oct 26, 2012 at 15:59
-
Neither side took into account the result of New Orleans in deciding to make peace, because the peace treaty had been signed weeks before the battle.– OldcatCommented Jan 10, 2014 at 1:04
-
I misread "The peace treaty for the War had been signed in 1812" and I thought "WTF, 3 years and they still didn't know?!? How is that even possible?".– o0'.Commented Jul 31, 2015 at 17:11