Andrew Jackson Argumentative Essay

Andrew Jackson was the epitome of the American Dream. He worked his way from being an orphan and a war prisoner before he was 14, to being the greatest military general America had ever seen. He won the battle of New Orleans and took over Florida with his own army. Common citizens marveled at his war tactics and his record of cheating death. He ran for President in 1824 and nearly won, if not for a “corrupt bargain”. He was the champion of the people, and the common men loved him. Despite all this, Andrew Jackson is infamous as one of the worst Presidents in the history of the United States. As President, he caused the economic crisis of 1837, he implemented the spoils system to reward cronies, and he ordered the genocide of Native

Americans.

Andrew Jackson is infamous in part because he caused the economic panic of 1837. He won the White House because he cast himself as “The People's President”. As soon as his first term began, he eagerly awaited a chance to prove himself to the American public. Jackson’s opportunity presented itself in the form of the National Bank’s charter. Jackson viewed the National Bank as a machine of the wealthy, keeping them rich and the common man in poverty. As Jackson’s first term came to a close, Henry Clay and other Congressmen proposed a bill to renew the Bank’s charter. Clay believed that even though Jackson hated the Bank, he would not dare veto the bill and endanger his chances of a second term. Jackson proclaimed, “The Bank is trying to kill me, but I will kill it” and promptly vetoed the renewal bill. In response, the Bank’s backers retaliated by making loans nearly impossible to obtain and attempting to cause a financial crisis. The Bank believed that this crisis would create a need for a central bank. Jackson stubbornly refused to believe that an economic crisis was impending, but he was clearly wrong During the ensuing year after the bank’s charter was revoked, the nation underwent the greatest economic crisis to affect the young country.

Jackson also is infamous for his institution of the spoils system.

As soon as Andrew Jackson came into office, he fired 10% of the government’s employees, mainly from the post office, and placed his own supporters into the vacated posts. This may not have been a problem if he replaced these workers with people who were qualified, but the vast majority of Andrew Jackson’s appointments were incompetent. Thus, the government became bloated and less efficient. Andrew Jackson development of a special system to reward his cronies with government jobs without formal training, demonstrates that Andrew Jackson should be remembered as

infamous.

Andrew Jackson’s most infamous action as President was the passage of the Indian Removal Act. Prior to Jackson’s presidency, Presidents had attempted to bring Native Americans into American society. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both preached acculturation or the process of adopting the cultural traits and social patterns of another group. The Native Americans in the years up to Jackson’s presidency were becoming more and more “civilized” or European. They had started learning English and following Christianity. Andrew Jackson sought the expansion of America’s farms, and he was seeking to develop more farms westward at any cost. In 1830, Andrew Jackson proposed the “Indian Removal Act” which provided that the Native Americans be removed. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives voted in favor of this act’s institution. However, the Supreme Court ruled that the law was unconstitutional. Andrew Jackson rejected the Supreme Court's authority and he simply ignored them. This forced migration of Native Americans affected the Choctaw, Cherokee,and the Seminole tribes among others . Native American population was decreasing prior to this act, but with better respect for them and their property, the population could have rebounded. During this “Trail of Tears” over 4,000 Native Americans died, most of them young children and elderly.. This was a sad chapter in America’s history. This eviction of Native Americans off their rightfully owned land, is yet another example why Andrew Jackson truly was infamous. .

Andrew Jackson had so much potential as a President.

Everyone adored him, he was America’s sweetheart. He was a military genius and he was very confident of himself. Jackson added to the size of the union before he had even taken office, and was a folk hero across the land. Yet, Jackson should be remembered as one of the worst presidents in the history of the United States. He caused the largest economic crisis our young nation had ever seen, he implemented a system that fired 10% of government employees, and replaced them with his own incompetent cronies, and he defied the Supreme Court and evicted the Native Americans off the lands of their ancestors, causing the trail of tears. This evidence proves that Andrew Jackson deserves to be remembered as

infamous.