

Life of Andrew Jackson. 355 



would have been sufficient under prudent management to have 

 completed his education on the liberal scale which his mother had 

 designed." 



In his eighteenth year, with diminished means, he turned his atten- 

 tion to the study of the law, repairing for that purpose in 1784 to 

 Salisburv, in North Carolina. Here he remained until the winter of 

 1786, when he obtained a license from the judges to practise, and 

 continued in the state of North Carolina till the spring of 1788. 



At this period Jackson determined upon seeking his fortune in the 

 new country of Tennessee, and the following is the account of his 

 early career in that state as given by Mr. Eaton: " The western 

 parts of the state of Tennessee were about this time often spoken of 

 as presenting flattering prospects to adventurers. He immediately 

 determined to accompany Judge M'Nairy, who had been appointed 

 and was going out to hold the first supreme court that had ever sat 

 in the state. It had not been Jackson's intention certainly to make 

 Tennessee the place of his future residence ; his visit was merely ex- 

 perimental, and his stay remained to be determined by the advan- 

 tages that might be disclosed ; but finding soon after his arrival that 

 a considerable opening was offered for the success of a young attorney, 

 he determined to remain. To one of refined feelings the prospect 

 before him was certainly not of an encouraging cast. As in all 

 newly-settled countries must be the case, society was loosely formed, 

 and united by few of those ties which have a tendency to enforce 

 the performance of moral duty and the right execution of justice.. 

 The young men of the place, adventurers from different sections of 

 the country, had become indebted to the merchants : there was but 

 one lawyer in the country, and they had so contrived as to retain him 

 in their business ; the consequence was, that the merchants were en- 

 tirely deprived of the means of enforcing against those gentlemen 

 the execution of their contracts. In this state of things Jackson made 

 his appearance at Nashville; and, while the creditor class looked to it 

 with great satisfaction, the debtors were sorely displeased. Appli- 

 cations were immediately made to him for his professional services, 

 and on the morning after his arrival he issued seventy writs. To 

 those prodigal gentlemen it was an alarming circumstance ; their 

 former security was impaired ; but that it might not wholly depart, 

 they determined to force him in some way or other to leave the 

 country, and to effect this, broils and quarrels with him were to be 

 resorted to. This, however, they soon abandoned, satisfied by the 

 first controversy in which they had involved him; and his decision 

 and firmness were such as to leave no hope of effecting any thing 

 through this channel. Disregarding the opposition raised to him, he 

 continued with care and industry to press forward in his professional 

 course, and his attention soon brought him forward and introduced 

 him to a profitable practice. Shortly afterwards, he was elevated 

 to the office of attorney-general of the state, in which capacity he 

 continued'for several years." 



During this period his military talents were called into frequent 

 service in the duty of repelling the incursions of the surrounding 

 Indian tribes; and at length in 1796 his reputation was such that he 



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