Indian wars and die American Revolntion.rnIn 1788, after studing law and being admitted to the bar,rnJackson was appointed the pnblic prosecutor for the “westernrndistrict of North Carolina,” a region that would shortly tiecomcrnthe state of Tennessee. The area was still a wild frontier, andrnJackson did more hidian fighhng than prosecuting. The hidiansrnwere allied witli various European powers (the British inrnparticular) and were armed and encouraged b those powers tornwreak havoc upon Americans. In Jackson’s first fight againstrnIndians in Tcnne,ssee. his militia commander said that Jacksonrnwa.s “bold, dashing, fearless, and mad upon his enemies.”rnJackson’s exploits in battie caused him to rise tiirough thernranks of the Tennessee militia to become its commanding officerrnand to get elected to the Tennessee constitutional convention,rnthe II.S. House of Representatives, and the U.S. Senate.rnDuring the War of 1812, he became a national hero with a seriesrnof victories over tlie British-supported Red Stick Creeks.rnJackson was always in the tirick ot these fights. At EnotachopcornCreek, he was described as “Finn and energetic . . . In the midstrnof a shower of balls, of which he seemed unmindfid, he wasrnseen performing the duties of subordinate officers, rallying thernalarmed, halting them in flight, forming his columns, and inspiringrnthem by his example.”rnAs a result of these victories, Jackson was commissioned a majorrngeneral in the U.S. Army and given command over an arearnthat included Tennessee, Louisiana, and Mi.ssissippi Territor\rnThis set the stage for Jackson’s stunning victon- in the Battle ofrnNew Orleans, where more than 2,000 British were killed orrnwounded, while only seven Americans were lost. Jackson’s victor’rnhumbled the British, saved the West for the United States, andrnmade Jackson an American hero of monumental proportions.rnWhen Jackson later captured Florida for the United Statesrnand acted with some disregard for presidential authorit)’, severalrnpoliticians feared he had Napoleonic designs. From his beginningsrnas a posthumous child of a Scotch-Irish immigrant father,rnJackson had become a warrior aristocrat. That thernAmerican people wanted him as their leader was clearlyrndemonstrated when he won both the electoral and popular voternin three presidential races. (The first time, he was robbed of thernpresidency when, having won only a pluralit} of the electoralrnvotes, the election was decided by tire House of Representatives.)rnJackson was the first president not to have come fronr thernplanting gentr)’ of Virginia or the New England establishment.rnTo those who followed him, it was clear that one patii to thernAmerican ruling class was through martial valor. Not surprisingly,rnnearly all presidcrrts after Jackson served in the militan,’rnwhen young, and seeral were heroes.rnWilliam Henry Harrison was one of these. Havingrndropped out of college to join the Army in 1791, hernser-ed in the campaigns against the Indians of the Ohio Valley,rndistinguishing himself at the Battie of Fallen Timbers in 1794.rnHe left the Army in 1798 with tiie rank of captain and becamernthe territorial delegate for Ohio and, later, the territorial governorrnof Indiana. While governor, he took to the field and led arnforce of regulars and militia against Tecumseh, winning a decisivernvictor}’ at the Battie of Tippecanoe in 1811 and gaining nationalrnacclaim. When the War of 1812 erupted, he was commissionedrna brigadier general and given command of thernNorriiwest. He led American forces in recapturing Detroit andrnthen handed the British a shocking defeat at the Battie of thernThames in Canada by ordering an unexpected mounted assardt.rnLeaving the Army as a major general following the war,rnhe was elected b’ Ohioans first as a representative and then as arnsenator. In tire 1840 presidential campaign, the slogan “Tippecanoernand Tyler too!” helped lead him to a landslide victor)’.rnZachary Taylor was another war hero. I le began his militar)’rncareer in 1808 as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Anrry. Fightingrnthroughout the War of 1812 v^-hile serving under Harrisonrnin the Northwest, he was cited for leadership and gallantr’ andrnpromoted from captain to nrajor. In 1832, now a colonel, hernled a regiment in the Blackhawk War, decisively defeatingrnChief Black Hawk and earning the nickname “Old Rough andrnReady.” Three years later, he defeated the Seminoles in thernBattie of Okeechobee and was promoted to brigadier general.rnDuring the Mexican War, although always outnumbered, hernwon several battles, culminating in a brilliant victor}’ over SantarnAna at Buena Vista in 1847. Back home, Ta}’lor was hailedrnas a conquering hero and urged to run for president. Altiioughrnhe was apolitical and had never cast a vote, was a slaveholderrnrunning on tiie Wliig ticket, and did not bother to campaign, hernwon the election of 1848.rnA farm boy from Ohio, Ulysses S. Crant graduated from WestrnPoint in 1843. Although be had been the best horseman in hisrnclass, he failed to get his requested posting to tiie cavalry andrnwas instead assigned to tiie infantr. His martial spirit becamerne’ident during the Mexican War. Serving with the quartermasterrncorps at the Battle of Monterrey, he refused to remain inrnthe rear with his regimenf s supplies and in.stead helped lead thernassaidt. At Chapultepec, he and a small detachment of soldiersrndragged a Howitzer to an exposed position and began a bombardmentrnthat contributed importantiv to the fall of the town.rnFor his gallantn’, he was brevetted captain, a rank that becamernpermanent in 1853.rnCrant was a warrior, and peacetime service drove him to depressionrnand drinking and to his resignation from the Army.rnCi ilian life was no better. Crant charged back into his naturalrnelement when tire Cisil War erupted, first as the commander ofrna Calena militia compan’ and then as the colonel of an Illinoisrninfantr}’ regiment. Lincoln soon made him a brigadier generalrnin the regulars. From the outset, Crant was the most aggressivernand successful Union general in the western theater. Withinrnhvo years, he had risen to lieutenant general and earned a reputationrnfor his bold thrusts at the enemy, decisiveness, bulldogrndetermination, and fearlessness. With his transfer to the easternrnriieater of the war and his eventual vietoi”}’ over Robert E. Lee,rnCrant became a national hero. Altiiough reluctant to nur forrnpresident and without political experience, he won easily inrn1868 and then, despite mismanagement and scandal in his adminfstration,rnwon by an even greater margin in 1872.rnEver}’ president following Grant in the 19th centur}’, with thernexception of Ckover Cleveland, was not only a Civil War veteranrnbut a hero. Rutherford B. Hayes entered the Civil War as arnmajor in the Oliio militia and ended it as a major general ofrnVoliuiteers. He was wounded four times and led the final capturernof Winchester. Another Ohio boy who rose to major generalrnof Volunteers was James A. Carfield. He distinguishedrnhimself in several battles, including Shiloh. Benjamin Harrison,rna law}er from Indiana and the grandson of William IIenr’rnHarrison, rose from second lieutenant to brigadier general ofrnVolunteers and brilliantiy outmaneuvered Hood at tire Battle ofrnArianta to force a Confederate retreat. At 18 years old, OhioanrnWilliam McKinley enlisted as a private in a regiment commandedrnby Hayes. McKinley rose quickly to sergeant and then.rn22/CHRONICLESrnrnrn