March 15

Andrew Jackson's Birthday
 

Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States, a military hero, and the major force in the shaping of the Democratic Party. Jackson also shaped the modern presidency by an unprecedented concentration of power and the use of the presidential veto. It was Jackson who promulgated the theory that only the chief executive represented the will of the American people.

When Jackson married Rachel Robards, they both thought her divorce was finalized, which it wasn't. The rumors about Jackson's and Rachel's adulterous relationship provoked Jackson to many violent fights. Scores of men were threatened, beaten, whipped, and a few even shot-for hinting of any impropriety involving his wife. Jackson's most common threat when confronted with these stories was to cut the ears off of the person criticizing his wife.
 

This threat was based on a bizarre case that Jackson tried when he was a circuit judge in Kentucky. A man named Russell Bean was arrested for cutting the ears off of his wife's illegitimate child. Bean had left his wife in Jonesboro to work in New Orleans for a year. When Bean returned, he found his wife nursing a 2 month old baby. Bean promptly cut the infant's ears off, explaining that he did it "so it'll not get mixed up with my chaps."

The Rachel Jackson stories were only a few of the hundreds of vicious stories circulated about Jackson during his presidential campaign, a campaign that was considered by many historians the dirtiest presidential campaign in United States history. Jackson's strong moral sense prevented him from indulging in similar attacks,  Elections haven't changed that much in one hundred and fifty years.

Jackson has been portrayed in a few films and TV specials, usually by Charleston Heston who played him in The President's Lady (1953) , The Buccaneer (1958), and in two episodes of TVs Playhouse 90.

If there was a single issue that propelled Jackson into the Presidency, it was being the hero of the Battle of New Orleans. The victory was forged by the alliance of Jackson with the Lafitte brothers who headed a band of 3000 smugglers who with their ships and battle experience, were the only trained men at Jackson's disposal. 'The victory ironically came after the Treaty of Ghent whim technically ended the War of 1812, although the official end came when England and and the United States formally  approved the treaty. The battle also made Jackson one of the folk heroes of New Orleans which has repaid his success with the famous statue in Jackson Square and numerous dishes named after the general, including Brennan's popular Jackson salad.
 

Jackson Salad
 

Ingredients
 

1/4 head iceberg lettuce
2 Romaine lettuce leaves
2 Chicory leaves
4 strips crisp bacon
2 hardboiled eggs, coarsely chopped
 

1 small avocado, diced
3 TB olive oil
1&1/2 TB wine vinegar
1/2 tsp dry mustard
salt and freshly ground black and white pepper to taste

1. Fill the bottom of a salad bowl with lettuce and chicory leaves in bite-sized pieces  Mix with the crisp crumbled bacon, hardboiled eggs (holding some aside to sprinkle on top), and avocado.
2. Make dressing by combining and shaking well together the oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Add some to salad (but do not drench) and place in refrigerator until ready to serve, so that dressing will seep through the salad.