On New Year’s Day, 1835, President Andrew Jackson did something extraordinary. He paid off the national debt. For the first time in our nation’s history, the federal government had balanced its budget and cleared its creditors. To thank him for his efforts, an unemployed house painter from England met the President on the steps of the Capital and pulled out a pistol. He shot directly at Jackson’s chest, but the weapon misfired. The gunman produced and fired a second pistol, and it also failed. Davy Crockett helped others to subdue the would-be killer, and for the first time in our nation’s
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