The portrait for this stamp is taken from a bust by Powers.

A frontier general and Indian fighter, Andrew Jackson became the nation's seventh president. His two terms of office were marked by a series of bitter controversies. Involved in Tennessee politics, and later as a state superior court judge,

Jackson retired to his plantation in 1804. A major general in the Tennessee militia, he was called to march against pro -British factions of the Creek nation. He not only crushed the resistance, but forced all of the Indians of the region--ally and foe--to hand over large tracts of land in Alabama and Georgia. The federal government then placed him in charge of the defense of New Orleans. In the famed battle of January 8, 1815, he wiped out an invading British army only to learn a few days later that the British and Americans had ended the war two weeks before.

Jackson was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1823 and was a candidate for president the following year. He nearly won in an election thrown into the House of Representatives. Jackson won the following election, in 1828, under the banner of the new Democratic Party. He considered himself a proponent of states rights, but did not carry out his policies consistently. While vetoing a road project in Kentucky, home of his rival Henry Clay, he aided the western states by increasing federal spending for canal, harbor, and road construction.

Jackson's followers were divided on the issue of protective tariffs. Southerners opposed the approach and Jacksonians in other areas were supportive. In 1832 his administration approved modest reductions in duties and later that year South Carolina--acting on the doctrine of nullification--declared null and void the collection of tariffs in the state. A compromise was reached and other Southern states did not rally to South Carolina's aid.

He supported the Texas rebellion against Mexico, but did not recognize the Texas republic until the day before he left office in 1837. It was during his presidency that the power of that office was strengthened considerably, as was the Democratic Party. He considered himself the president of the people and was not afraid to use his power of the veto. His 12 vetoes during his two terms was more than the total of his six predecessors.