The President: Thank you very much.
Wow, what a nice visit this was.
Inspirational visit, I have to tell you.
I'm a fan.
I'm a big fan.
I want to thank Howard Kettell, Francis Spradley
of the Andrew Jackson Foundation, and all of the
foundation's incredible employees and supporters
for preserving this great landmark, which is what it
is -- it's a landmark of our national heritage.
And a special thank you to Governor Bill Haslam and
his incredible wife, who -- we just rode over
together -- and Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob
Corker, two great friends of mine, been a
big, big help.
Both incredible guys.
In my address to Congress, I looked forward nine
years, to the 250th anniversary of
American Independence.
Today, I call attention to another anniversary: the
250th birthday of the very great Andrew Jackson.
(Applause.)
And he loved Tennessee, and so do I --
to tell you that.
(Applause.)
On this day in 1767, Andrew Jackson
was born on the backwoods soil of the Carolinas.
From poverty and obscurity, Jackson rose to
glory and greatness -- first as a military
leader, and then as the seventh President of the
United States.
He did it with courage, with grit, and with
patriotic heart.
And by the way, he was one of our great Presidents.
(Applause.)
Jackson was the son of the frontier.
His father died before he was born.
His brother died fighting the British in the
American Revolution.
And his mother caught a fatal illness while
tending to the wounded troops.
At the age of 14, Andrew Jackson was an orphan, and
look what he was able to do.
Look what he was able to build.
It was during the Revolution that Jackson
first confronted and defied an arrogant elite.
Does that sound familiar to you?
(Laughter.)
I wonder why they keep talking about
Trump and Jackson, Jackson and Trump.
Oh, I know the feeling, Andrew.
(Laughter.)
Captured by the Redcoats and ordered
to shine the boots of a British officer, Jackson
simply refused.
The officer took his saber and slashed at Jackson,
leaving gashes in his head and hand that remained
permanent scars for the rest of his life.
These were the first and far from the last blows
that Andrew Jackson took for his country that he
loved so much.
From that day on, Andrew Jackson rejected authority
that looked down on the common people.
First as a boy, when he bravely served the
Revolutionary cause.
Next, as the heroic victor at New Orleans where his
ragtag -- and it was ragtag -- militia, but
they were tough.
And they drove the British imperial forces from
America in a triumphant end to the War of 1812.
He was a real general, that one.
And, finally, as President -- when he reclaimed the
people's government from an emerging aristocracy.
Jackson's victory shook the establishment
like an earthquake.
Henry Clay, Secretary of State for the defeated
President John Quincy Adams, called Jackson's
victory "mortifying and sickening".
Oh, boy, does this sound familiar.
(Laughter.)
Have we heard this?
(Laughter.)
This is terrible.
He said there had been "no greater calamity" in the
nation's history.
The political class in Washington had good reason
to fear Jackson's great triumph.
"The rich and powerful," Jackson said, "too often
bend the acts of government to their
selfish purposes."
Jackson warned they had turned government into an
"engine for the support of the few at the
expense of the many."
Andrew Jackson was the People's President, and
his election came at a time when the vote was
finally being extended to those who did
not own property.
To clean out the bureaucracy, Jackson
removed 10 percent of the federal workforce.
He launched a campaign to sweep out
government corruption.
Totally.
He didn't want government corruption.
He expanded benefits for veterans.
He battled the centralized financial power that
brought influence at our citizens' expense.
He imposed tariffs on foreign countries to
protect American workers.
That sounds very familiar.
Wait till you see what's going to be happening
pretty soon, folks.
(Laughter.)
It's time.
Andrew Jackson was called many names, accused of
many things, and by fighting for change,
earned many, many enemies.
Today the portrait of this orphan son who rose to the
presidency hangs proudly in the Oval Office,
opposite the portrait of another great American,
Thomas Jefferson.
I brought the Andrew Jackson portrait there.
(Applause.)
Right behind me, right -- boom, over my
left shoulder.
Now I'm honored to sit between those two
portraits and to use this high office to serve,
defend, and protect the citizens of the
United States.
It is my great honor.
I will tell you that.
From that desk I can see out the wonderful,
beautiful, large great window to an even greater
magnolia tree, standing strong and tall across the
White House lawn.
That tree was planted there many years ago, when
it was just a sprout carried from
these very grounds.
Came right from here.
(Applause.)
Beautiful tree.
That spout was nourished, it took root, and on this,
his 250th birthday, Andrew Jackson's magnolia is a
sight to behold.
I looked at it actually this morning.
Really beautiful.
(Applause.)
But the growth of that beautiful
tree is nothing compared to growth of our
beautiful nation.
That growth has been made possible because more and
more of our people have been given their dignity
as equals under law and equals in the eyes of God.
Andrew Jackson as a military hero and genius
and a beloved President.
But he was also a flawed and imperfect man, a
product of his time.
It is the duty of each generation to carry on the
fight for justice.
My administration will work night and day to
ensure that the sacred rights which God has
bestowed on His children are protected for each and
every one of you, for each and every American.
(Applause.)
We must all remember Jackson's words:
that in "the planter, the farmer, the mechanic, and
the laborer," we will find muscle and bone
of our country.
So true.
Now, we must work in our time to expand -- and we
have to do that because we have no choice.
We're going to make America great again, folks.
We're going to make America great again --
(applause)
-- to expand the blessings of America
to every citizen in our land.
And when we do, watch us grow.
Watch what's happening.
You see it happening already.
You see it with our great military.
You see it with our great markets.
You see it with our incredible
business people.
You see it with the level of enthusiasm that they
haven't seen in many years.
People are proud again of our country.
And you're going to get prouder and prouder and
prouder, I can promise you that.
(Applause.)
And watch us grow.
We will truly be one nation, with deep roots, a
strong core, and a very new springtime of American
greatness yet to come.
Andrew Jackson, we thank you for your service.
We honor you for your memory.
We build on your legacy.
And we thank God for the United States of America.
Thank you very much, everybody.
(Applause.)