4. Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson’s journey from modest beginnings to a leading plantation owner was significantly facilitated by his ownership of enslaved individuals. In 1804, he purchased The Hermitage, a 425-acre farm, which he expanded to over 1,000 acres, making it one of the largest cotton-growing plantations in Tennessee. By the time of his death in 1845, Jackson owned approximately 150 enslaved people, whose labor was crucial in cultivating cotton and maintaining the estate, thereby bolstering his wealth and political prominence (thehermitage.com).
