The Battle of New Orleans

Essay by starsgirl97College, UndergraduateA+, October 2007

download word file, 3 pages 5.0

The Battle of New Orleans; Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory. By Robert Remini. (New York: Penguin Books, 1999. viii, 345 pp. Bibliographical references, maps, illustrations index.)

"The purpose of this book is an attempt to recount one extraordinary event in the nation's past that produced not only a stupendous military victory that helped define the country but a towering hero who became a symbol of what was best in American society" (xi). Remini contends that the Battle of New Orleans defined the United States and made Andrew Jackson a huge hero.

Before the battle, other nations laughed at the United States because it was governed differently. Afterwards, the world was convinced that a Republic could survive. The victory proved that the U.S. could be sovereign and have rights. Residents started calling themselves Americans and they joined together to become the United States of America. Andrew Jackson was an ordinary person who won extraordinary battles.

He was not any different from the people he led but he was able to unite the American soldiers and defeat the British; he became nationally known.

The Battle of New Orleans is significant because it showed the Americans could unite for a common goal. The American forces were composed of many different units. There were soldiers from Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi and Louisiana. There were also pirates, Indians and blacks all fighting for a common goal: to keep the British out and preserve American freedom. Before the battle, the "ethnic and social distinctions had kept them divided," but during the conflict, they were all Americans (190). The battle was also a huge confidence boost for the country. The United States had lost many battles with and without foreign help but a victory fought with only Americans was one of a kind. The...