in some ways the candidate to beat was general andrew jackson of tennessee. he was the hero of the battle of new orleans. during the war of 1812 he had fought against the creek indians along with another hero, davy crockett. his men had nicknamed him "old hickory." this made him better known than most of the other candidates. like george washington he had risked his life to serve his country. he was a political outsider. unless other candidates could put together a coalition, jackson would be difficult to defeat.