Why did Andrew Jackson say he had only two regrets- his inability to shoot or hang Henry Clay and john caloun?

Answer 1

John C. Calhoun was his Vice President, but led South Carolina during the Nullification crisis. During this event, South Carolina nearly seceded, or left, the United States. Only the threat of violence kept them from leaving. I believe Jackson even said, "If one drop of blood is shed in opposition to the law, I will hang the first man I can lay my hands on from the first tree I can find."

Henry Clay was also an annoyance for Jackson before and during his tenure in office. Henry Clay refused to authorize military action against the secessionists in South Carolina. Clay also supposedly cost Jackson the 1824 election by making a deal with John Q. Adams called "the corrupt bargin" where Clay offered Adams his support in the house run-off in exchange for the job of secretary of state.

In 1828, Clay also tried to screw Jackson's re-election chances by forcing the re-chartering of the Bank of the U.S. right before the election in the hopes that northern business owners and rich elites would be refuse to vote for him if he voted down the banks charter. The plan backfired however, because 55% of the voters actually supported Jackson's war on the Bank, and he was elected to a 2nd term.