Caesar
Andrew Jackson VIII (born Marcus Stevens Washburn, Jr. on June 28, 1955) is the current and eighth Dictator of the Carolina Republic. Jackson's adoptive lineage descends from Caesar Andrew Jackson himself, first Dictator of the Republic. He has reigned since the retirement of his adoptive father in 2009.
Washburn was born in Chattanooga to Brig. Gen. Marcus Washburn, Sr. and Jane Waterford. As the eldest son of a military family, he was expected even before birth to attend the Citadel, Carolina's national military academy. Although it is not in official records, he was likely barred from entry on his first attempt for failing the aptitude tests. These claims have been met with widespread suspicion by Caroline historians and dismissed by the official state line, but they are likely true. The matter was publicly exposed by his adoptive brother Anthony Mulgrave in the 1980s. This act is commonly suspected to be the reason Mulgrave was later removed from the succession. Washburn entered the Citadel in 1975 on his alleged second try and became a highly successful cadet, finishing second in his class. In 1979, Citadel Watch ranked him among the top five potential adoptive sons to the future Andrew Jackson VII, then known as General Lawrence Fitzhenry Fitzroy.
Washburn was not among the three adopted by Andrew Jackson VII at his accession in 1981. These were Anthony Mulgrave, Daniel Boone Taylor, and a surprising choice, Ormond Carlisle Stevens. Stevens was not from a military family, but he had distinguished himself in covert operations and had an uncle who was a senator. His selection was seen as a great affront by the elder families, many of whom had sons eligible for adoption at this time. Many of these families issued formal challenges to Stevens, and fewer challenged the other adoptees. However, Stevens successfully defended over a dozen challenges, earning respect and valor. Washburn decided not to challenge Stevens, against the urging of his family and peers.
Believing his chances at adoption to be over, Washburn decided to marry in 1984 and start his own family. However, he became a national hero due to his role in quelling the 1985 Tupelo insurgency and was promoted twice in the following year. Daniel Boone Taylor's death in 1986 meant Caesar had only two remaining sons. Although younger candidates were lining up for adoption, in 1987, Caesar resolved to adopt Washburn despite his advanced age and biological family. The Carolina Senate unanimously granted a dispensation to adopt Washburn but only on the condition that his biological children and grandchildren would be barred from the Jackson family and consideration for the dictatorship. At 33, Washburn became the oldest adopted Jackson since Harrison Wexford (Andrew Jackson V). Washburn was also older than his both of his new adopted brothers. He was given command of his Legion, VI Silveraxe, and would see action in Florida, the Indian East, and the Malays over the following years.
Caesar adopted two more sons during his reign, Harrison Jennings Beaumont in 1993 and Lucius Lamar Buchanan in 1997. After this time there was four sons of Caesar and it was uncertain which would be named heir. Per tradition, the oldest son would succeed in the absence of an heir being named. Washburn's standing was accelerated when he was given command of all Caroline troops in the coalition force of the Second Borneo War in 2001. Being given complete command in a foreign war was historically seen as the ultimate sign of favor. Despite this, Washburn was criticized by his opponents for minimal Caroline participation in the war. On National Day 2003, he was proclaimed Master of the Horse with the consent of the Senate, formalizing his status as heir apparent.
Washburn's father Andrew Jackson VII retired on National Day 2009, and he succeeded as Caesar Andrew Jackson VIII, Dictator of the Republic, Imperator of the Legions, and Co-Consul with Matthew Moreland Raine. After becoming Dictator, Jackson shocked the nation by adopting a female cadet from the Citadel, Marilynn Shearsmith. Shearsmith was only the 22nd female cadet in Citadel history since the Citadel had first started admitting females in 2002, a move which had been pushed by Washburn. Although the Senate threatened to overrule the adoption, there is no constitutional provision for them do so on the basis of sex. Jackson also adopted a male cadet at the same time, Alexander Mattox III. Both adoptions were controversial for another reason, as they were not from Carolina's prestigious military families. No commoner had been adopted since Lennox Carter in 1903. He was later assassinated by patricians as a warning to his father, Andrew Jackson V.
Among those offended by the adoptions were Consul Raine and several prominent generals, who all had sons graduating in the same year. Faced with this opposition, Jackson dismissed Raine and fired all publicly dissenting generals. These moves made Jackson unpopular nationally, as he destroyed long standing precedent that upheld Caroline social order. Jackson went on to reverse public opinion, as he continued to upend tradition by raising new generals from outside the families and promoting from outside the Citadel, introducing new measures of social mobility for all Caroline citizens. For these actions, he has been favorably compared to his ancestor Andrew Jackson the Great, the Father of Democracy.
The so-called "Washburn Revolution" and its changes to Caroline society remain a source of division in the nation. Many of the old families who were cast down by the dictator freely criticize him and there is always rampant speculation about an old general coming back to depose him. In the early days of his reign, there were many plots to replace Jackson with one of his brothers, although the constitution explicitly forbids this. All sons of Caesar who do not succeed must retire immediately upon the accession of the new dictator and swear allegiance to him.
Those who are against Caesar do not move against him, because even though he has torn a rift through the families that form the core of the military, most officers and soldiers still uphold allegiance to Caesar as their paramount principle. It would be quite difficult to create any considerable force to commit acts of treason, knowing full well what the penalty for losing would be. Thus, it is more fashionable to criticize Jackson for his eccentricities, such as his strange devotion to the oft-ignored Caroline Navy and abnormal attachment to his biological family.
All three of his children attended the Citadel. His eldest daughter, Elizabeth, was part of the first cohort of female cadets, with his second daughter following three years later. His only son, David, is an officer in the VI, and is stationed at the Hermitage to attend his father. Military and political leaders have long kept a watchful eye on David Washburn, the only legitimate son born to a Caroline Dictator in history. Despite the legal prohibition on his succession, there is always speculation that his father is preparing him to take over upon his death, or that the Senate will repeal the ban, or that he will marry Marilynn Shearsmith. Jackson regularly denies all such rumors and promises that his son will never be in such a position.
