Andrew Jackson Donelson (August 25, 1799 – June 26, 1871) was an American diplomat and politician. He served in various positions as a Democrat and was the Know Nothing nominee for US vice president in 1856. After the death of his father, Donelson lived with his aunt, Rachel Jackson, and her husband, Andrew Jackson. Donelson attended the U.S. Military Academy and served under his uncle in Florida. He resigned his commission, studied law, passed the bar and began his own practice in Nashville. He assisted Jackson's presidential campaigns and served as his private secretary after Jackson won the 1828 presidential election. He returned to Tennessee after the end of Jackson's presidency in 1837 and remained active in local politics. After helping James K. Polk triumph at the 1844 Democratic National Convention, Donelson was appointed by U.S. President John Tyler to represent the United States in the Republic of Texas, where Donelson played an important role in the Texas annexation. In 1846, President Polk appointed Donelson as Minister to Prussia. Donelson left that position in 1849 and became the editor of a Democratic newspaper but alienated various factions in the party. In 1856, the Know Nothings chose Donelson as their vice presidential nominee, and he campaigned on a ticket with former Whig President Millard Fillmore. The ticket finished in third place in both the electoral and popular vote, behind the Democratic and the Republican tickets. Donelson also participated in the 1860 Constitutional Union Convention. Early life One of the three sons of Samuel and Mary Donelson, Andrew Jackson Donelson was born in Nashville, Tennessee. His younger brother, Daniel Smith Donelson, would become the Confederate brigadier general after whom Fort Donelson was later named. Donelson's father died when Donelson was about five. When his mother remarried, Donelson moved to The Hermitage, the home of his aunt, Rachel Donelson Jackson, and her husband, Donelson's namesake, the future US President Andrew Jackson. Rachel and Andrew Jackson took care of all three Donelson sons, including Andrew. Donelson attended Cumberland College, predecessor to the University of Nashville, in Nashville; joined the US Military Academy at West Point, New York; and graduated second in his class in 1820. His two years as an officer in the US Army were spent as aide-de-camp to Andrew Jackson, now a major general who was campaigning against the Seminoles in Florida. After the campaign, Donelson resigned his commission and studied law