After Jackson’s successes in the Creek War, the U.S. War Department rewarded him with a commission as Major General in the U.S. Army over the 7th Military District. This included Tennessee, Louisiana and the Mississippi Territory.
Jackson’s immediate orders were to negotiate a peace treaty with the Creek Nation. In August of 1814, Jackson met with their chiefs. There he forced the Treaty of Fort Jackson that forced the Creeks to give up nearly 23 million acres and remove their settlements to a smaller area of land that American forces could more easily patrol.
Jackson used his reputation as a fierce fighter and the threat of force to get the Creeks, Chickasaws, Cherokees and Choctaws to sign treaties ceding huge tracts of land to the U.S. and confining their tribes to much smaller territories. For the Native Americans these accords proved disastrous and were the first step in their eventual removal to the west.
For Jackson, Spanish Florida was a threat to American security due to America’s lack of military might in the region. The British saw it as a possible route of invasion and the Seminole tribe carried out raids in the United States then fled to the refuge of Spanish Florida.
Jackson Decides to Invade
In 1818, Jackson, once again acting with questionable authority, invaded Spanish Florida to attack the Seminoles. After three months, Jackson declared the Seminole threat over and withdrew.
The Spanish realized that Jackson and the United States were determined to take Spanish Florida. In 1819, Spain and the U.S. agreed to the Adams-Onís Treaty, giving Florida to the United States and advantageously settling the boundaries between the respective governments’ holdings in North America in favor of the United States.
In June 1821, Jackson hesitantly resigned his commission in the U.S. Army to become the Military Governor of the Florida Territory.
Talk of Presidency Begins
From 1812 to 1821, Jackson’s military career made him a national hero and brought to him increased wealth and opportunities. For the United States, Jackson’s actions secured its southern lands, acquired millions of acres for settlement that ultimately fueled the cotton boom, and gave Americans a newfound confidence or “go ahead” spirit that began an unbridled expansion in agriculture and manufacturing. Soon, Jackson’s countrymen would introduce him as a candidate for President of the United States.
