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Doctor Jurist
By the time Andrew Jackson became President in 1828, he was certainly no stranger to giving or receiving violence. President Jackson had not yet, however, been stalked and shot at by a deranged assassin. This first recorded attempt to assassinate an American President occurred on January 30, 1835.
Prelude in Blood, Honor and Death:
Jackson was renowned for fighting duels (perhaps 130) against men who had accused Mrs. Rachel Jackson of bigamy (as well as against card cheats, crooked horse traders, land thieves). Rachel's first husband had left her for the wilderness unannounced. When the statutory time passed with no word, the courts duly declared him dead. Rachel was free to remarry. Not long after she and Andrew Jackson married, this first husband returned to Nashville. Numerous local toughs and political opponents made regular disparaging comments to him and others about Rachel Jackson. Such actions caused or increased her crippling illnesses.
In 1806, Charles Dickinson added his taunt. A challenge from Jackson quickly followed. An accomplished marksman, Dickinson was not much concerned. As the challenged party, he fired first, apparently doing Jackson no harm. Jackson then dropped his opponent with a mortal wound.