Andrew Johnson is a seventeen year-old boy who agrees to help his mother and stepfather move back to Tennessee from North Carolina as they are poor and cannot continue by themselves. The boy is nervous as he heads back to his former home with his relatives because at age fourteen he had been bound by contract as an apprentice to a tailor. The contract does not expire until Andrew reaches age twenty one. Therefore, the teenager is on the run and knows that there is a reward of ten dollars for his return. Despite this danger, Andrew has no choice but to help his impoverished mother and stepfather. Andrew dreams of opening his own tailor shop once he arrives in Tennessee. He also dreams of furthering his education. As the family travels down a Tennessee road, a band of horsemen rudely pushes them off the path. General Andrew Jackson, who is bringing up the rear, apologizes for his men’s behavior. The family is in awe of General Jackson because they have heard that he may run for the Presidency of the United States. Andrew Johnson continues down the road with his mother and stepfather, inspired by the general to make a success of his life as the general, too, experienced an impoverished boyhood.
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