Jacksonian America was known as a form of democracy that was based on the interest of the common man, limitations of the federal government, the western expansion and settlement. It was named after President Andrew Jackson and purposed to form a democracy party which would make the state more of a republic then a monarchy. Jacksonian America had brought major changes to society and politics by creating a modern democratic party. When in office, Jackson and his governments view on native people had become the foundation of the Indian removal. This removal within states was known as the Indian Removal Act in 1830. This removal had disregarded Washington’s policy which aloud Indians to settle in the southeast as they were considered American Indian. As the Cherokee vs. Georgia case confirmed that natives were dependent people who needed protection, the act had been put into practice. When the act was passed Jackson had believed that the lands which once belonged to the Indians could be used by his benefit, which can provide future votes during elections. Jackson’s form of democracy produced many reforms which confronted the social ills of the day because he made some political changes which were very contradicting. In example, He was concern for the interest of man but not every man held the same rights as others due to social classes. As the new republic began to form many indentured apprentice were signed in covenant to their master which came with many trainings. These training consist of practices that were meant for economic livelihood which would help give the apprentice experience. Some people however did not have any assurance in the way the government set up these principles. Since Americans started to resist working for f... ... middle of paper ... ...s Congress called for union with the United States" (Liberty, p.497). Once Houston was elected president, Texas had ended their disputes and joined America. The invasion of Texas would soon put Mexico on alert and lead to another dispute for America. Another dispute led to the beginning of the Mexican War, which took place in the mid nineteenth century. While most American’s supported the war due to the interest in gaining more land by expanding westward, they also faced their first war on other land outside of the United States (Liberty, p.499). Although Mexico was willing to stand their ground and fight for their rights, in the end they were quickly defeated and Americans were victorious in this war. Once they took over Mexico they began to expand further. This expansion led to a lot of changes which benefited America but caused a lot of destruction for others.
During the 1820’s - 1830’s America went through some would call a political revolution when government issues were diverted from being only for the elite to now they would include the common man as well. This change of power brought a lot of power to the people contributing to the Jacksonian democratic belief of guarding the Constitution. Yet, many of the people under Jackson still saw no change in their liberties, as they did not meet the Jacksonians target audience of white males. Despite expanding the political conversation, Jacksonian Democrats used the Constitution to limit individual liberty and political democracy by only protecting the rights of only a select few of people and seeking to fulfill their goal of obtaining their own gain and maintenance of the then status quo lifestyle therefore not truly guarding the Constitution.
Throughout Jackson's two terms as President, Jackson used his power unjustly. As a man from the Frontier State of Tennessee and a leader in the Indian wars, Jackson loathed the Native Americans. Keeping with consistency, Jackson found a way to use his power incorrectly to eliminate the Native Americans. In May 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed into law the Indian Removal Act. This act required all tribes east of the Mississippi River to leave their lands and travel to reservations in the Oklahoma Territory on the Great Plains. This was done because of the pressure of white settlers who wanted to take over the lands on which the Indians had lived. The white settlers were already emigrating to the Union, or America. The East Coast was burdened with new settlers and becoming vastly populated. President Andrew Jackson and the government had to find a way to move people to the West to make room. In 1830, a new state law said that the Cherokees would be under the jurisdiction of state rather than federal law. This meant that the Indians now had little, if any, protection against the white settlers that desired their land. However, when the Cherokees brought their case to the Supreme Court, they were told that they could not sue on the basis that they were not a foreign nation. In 1832, though, on appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Cherokees were a "domestic dependent nation," and therefore, eligible to receive federal protection against the state. However, Jackson essentially overruled the decision. By this, Jackson implied that he had more power than anyone else did and he could enforce the bill himself. This is yet another way in which Jackson abused his presidential power in order to produce a favorable result that complied with his own beliefs. The Indian Removal Act forced all Indians tribes be moved west of the Mississippi River. The Choctaw was the first tribe to leave from the southeast.
Under the Jackson Administration, the changes made shaped national Indian policy. Morally, Andrew Jackson dismissed prior ideas that natives would gradually assimilate into white culture, and believed that removing Indians from their homes was the best answer for both the natives and Americans. Politically, before Jackson treaties were in place that protected natives until he changed those policies, and broke those treaties, violating the United States Constitution. Under Jackson’s changes, the United States effectively gained an enormous amount of land. The removal of the Indians west of the Mississippi River in the 1830’s changed the national policy in place when Jackson became President as evidenced by the moral, political, constitutional, and practical concerns of the National Indian Policy.
Jackson was a strong opponent of the unequal and aristocrat dominated economic structure of most of America. He was very against the Bank of America because he believed it to have a monopoly on banking and felt that it was owned and run unjustly by wealthy aristocrats who were not always Americans (B). It must also be noted however, that while the Bank of America was undoubtedly corrupt (Nicholas Biddle is known to have given sums of money to close friends, and was also known to regularly bribe newspapers and similar media.) it also did what it was supposed to do very well. It provided money and credit to many of the lower classes that Jackson defended, and also was the source of much economic growth. As a result of this veto Jackson established pet banks in many Western areas to try to appease his main group of supporters and build up the rivalry between the agrarian South and West and the industrial North (C). Many immigrants found that one of the first things they discovered upon entering America was a sense of economic equality and lack of poverty, which are exactly the things Jackson was working towards (D). The case Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge decided that a charter given a person or group to do a service does not allow that group to have complete rights over this service. This decision supports the Jacksonian Democracy ideas that the rights of the community are more important than the rights of business (H).
During The Jacksonian Era many different views and ideas were predominant about the United States. The Jacksonian Democrats were a loose coalition of different peoples and interests pulled together by a common practical idea. That idea was that they all were followers of President Andrew Jackson. Jacksonian Democrats viewed themselves as guardians of the Constitution when in fact they were not. When dealing with politics and ideas within the Democratic Party of the time the Jacksonians proved to be both guardians and violators of the Constitution. Individual liberty is another area in which the Jacksonians were advocates to different sides of the topic at different times. The Jacksonians also proved to be champions for equality of economic opportunity. The Jacksonians demonstrated themselves to be, not the proponents they thought they were, but instead violators of the US Constitution.
One reason why Andrew Jackson was not democratic was because of his mistreatment of the Native American. Today, the population of Native Americans are significantly less than when Jackson served as the leader of the free world. From the early 1830’s until 1840, Jackson forced 5 separate Indian tribes onto a small piece of land (Doc L). A likely reason for this sudden move
Many people argue that Jackson, having turned the federal government into a political machine, ruled as an egomaniacal dictator, and thus deserves to be apologized for. Just as Jackson was sympathetic to the cause of the Natives, he staunchly defended men’s individual rights and sparked a new era of representation. Despite the fact that America’s economy was heavily influenced by government interference and favoritism under John Quincy Adams and the American System, by 1832 Andrew Jackson, the Champion of the Common Man, jeopardized his political security in the interest of both preserving every man’s right to opportunity and upholding a nonpartisan economy. We can draw insight from Jackson’s disgust for banks, or rather, any act of government that gives a special advantage to one group over another.
The Mexican-American War was in 1846, many Americans and Mexicans died. Mexico was trying to win back the land they once had, while America wanted more of their land for their belief manifest destiny. The Mexican-American war was started by a simple mistake, the Americans went to Mexico to ask for more land. While some Americans were camping in Texas a group of Mexican soldiers killed all of the Americans. This was because American and Mexico haven’t decided on whose territory Texas was since The Alamo. The United States was not justified in going to war with Mexico because America came in and broke the laws, there were no borders for Texas, and America stole Mexico's land. Tejanos(Mexicans) invited Americans in to settle in Texas. Americans also known as Anglos Broke most of the few laws Mexico made. There was a war for the independence of Texas. A couple years later, President Polk went to go ask Mexico for some of their land because of their belief called Manifest destiny. Which was the belief that God wanted to expand America's land from Texas all the way to the Pacific.
Jacksonians proved to be both guardians and violators of the Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty, and economic opportunity.
By the time Jackson came to power, the nation had been drastically changed by the Industrial Revolution. The simple, pastoral, agricultural lifestyle was being replaced by the manufacturing world, of cities and factories. Politically, the nation was in great turmoil. There was still an everlasting debate among men in power, over what should prevail, the rights of the states, or the rights of the Federal Government. If not for several personal reasons, Jackson would have been a staunch advocator of states rights. The right to vote was still a major issue, the middle class feeling robbed of power in governmental decisions, the upperclass feeling threatened by the growth of the middleclass. However, Jackson brought with him many new ideas and principles. Since he himself had very modest roots, he sympathized with the middle and lower classes. He had worked for everything he had of value in life, and he acknow...
Andrew Jackson is one of the most controversial presidents. Many regard him as a war hero, the father of the Democratic Party, an inspiring leader, and a spokesman for the common man. While there is plenty to praise about the seventh president, his legacy is tarnished by his racism, disregard for the law of the land, cruelty towards the Native Americans, and ruthless temper. Jackson was an intriguing man who was multi-faceted. One must not look at a singular dimension, and cast judgment on him as a whole. To accurately evaluate one of the most complex presidents, it is crucial to observe Jackson from all possible angles. Prior lifestyle, hardships in life, political ideology, lifestyle of the time, political developments, and his character
The Mexican-American war determined the destiny of the United States of America, it determined whether or not it would become a world power and it established the size of the United States of America. Perhaps the war was inevitable due to the idea of Manifest Destiny - Americans thought they had the divine right to extend their territory. The Mexican-American War started mainly because of the annexation of the Republic of Texas (established in 1836 after breaking away from Mexico). The United States and Mexico still had conflicts on what the borders of Texas was, the United States claimed that the Texas border with Mexico was the Rio Grande, but the Mexicans said that it was the Nueces River, so the land in between were disputed and claimed by both the United States and Mexico.
Andrew Jackson started the indian removal act. Jackson wanted to forcefully evict all the indian tribes. Jackson didn't like that the indians could stay so he ignored the supreme court.Whites were wrong and had to fix Indian relations. Jackson was a president and wanted people to pursue happiness which was land and freedom. But Jackson wanted his own way and forced the indians out with gun point. Jackson was being selfish about the there land. He wanted everyone to be happy and equal but he decided to take the indians property.
A main characteristic of the Jacksonian Era was the fight for the common man. As the United States grew in size and age, the stratification of society was inevitable. In the 1820's class distinctions became major issues, greatly due to an unchanging and small upper class. This greatly detracted from the American ideal of equality when it came to economic opportunities. The upper class us...
Information on The War with Mexico that is needed to know is, the confusion started in 1836 when texas gained its independence from Mexico. The fighting started when texas wanted to be apart of America. The United States didn’t want to annex Texas because they were afraid it would anger Mexico. In the late 1844 James K Polk was elected president and Texas finally got