Andrew Jackson: Hero Or Villain?

Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, held power from 1829 to 1837. During this time, Jackson launched a new era in which he claimed to value and represent the common man. A shameless opportunist, Jackson, pandered to the masses for support by claiming to be a man of the people and thus rose above previous president John Quincy Adams in the 1828 election. However, how can a Jackson be considered a man of the people when he is responsible for hurting more people than he helped? Andrew Jackson should be considered a villain who abused his power based upon his inadequate choices as president in regards to the Bank War, spoils system, and the Indian Removal Act.

The way Jackson dealt with the Bank War painted him as a villain.

When Jackson was first elected, he removed many high ranking government officials from office. The Miller Center reports, “Jackson claimed to be purging the corruption, laxity, and arrogance that came with long tenure, and restoring the opportunity for government service to the citizenry at large through "rotation in office." The open positions created by this had to be filled with somebody. Though Jackson did not pick the most worthy people for the job, instead, he chose people who had helped him win the election and some of his friends to join him in the government. This practice, called the spoils system was very unfair and took away jobs from worthy people to help Jackson push his own personal agenda. Most of the individuals he hired were extremely unqualified too. One of these individuals, Samuel Swartwout, whom Jackson had left in charge of the collections from the New York City customhouse, where half of the government's annual revenue was collected, ran away with over $1 million that he stole while working his position. Jackson's’ spoils system caused corruption because of its partisan manipulation. By hiring people who agree with him, Jackson was more easily able to pass his ideas into

A seventh heaven state of extreme happiness and joy was not provided by the seventh president of the United States. Despite leading a debt-free nation, his role in the Bank War eventually led to an economic depression. Additionally, he caused corruption with his spoils system by allowing unqualified personnel to sit on his cabinet. Jackson was blatantly racist and abused executive power in the Indian Removal Act too. It is apparent in these situations, that Andrew Jackson’s ghastly qualities made him a villain unfit to represent the United