Andrew Jackson

During the War of 1812 (1812–15), Andrew Jackson defeated the Muscogee (Creek) in the Southwest and became a national hero after the Battle of New Orleans (1815). This reputation helped him win the 1828 presidential election. Historians debate who “won” the war— the United States or Britain; the latter had depended on Native American alliances, such as those with Tecumseh and his confederacy of Native nations. But they agree that Native Americans, who were dispossessed of their lands, lost the most. Half of the Muscogee territory (most of today’s Alabama) was surrendered to the United States.