Andrew Jackson Legacy Essay

The legacy of Andrew Jackson was of a self-made man, of perseverance that would one day lead to the presidency. His life acquainted him well with death, where at a young age he lost his family – his mother and two brothers – to war and his father before he was even born. Events like the Fort Mims massacre, his relationship with Native Americans, and his beliefs in Manifest Destiny would influence his politics later in life.

The effect that the Fort Mims massacre had on Jackson was positive in regards to his own personal wishes, and later, for his career. Jackson had a history of violence, stemming from loss due to war and duels fought, that led him to wanting the US embroiled in more conflicts. While he almost had a chance in the war against Great Britain, he was eventually dismissed from his campaign. It was in 1813 when Red Sticks, a faction Creek

Although this idea wouldn’t officially be known until 1845, Jackson would use the general theme in his time as Major General and later as President. His vision of Manifest Destiny was to drive out the Native Americans, like he did with the Creek tribe. He would do this again in Florida when forcing the Seminal Indians out after they had sided with the Spanish, and again with the Cherokee. The conquering belief was that Florida and Georgia and the rest of the continent was already the property of the US. To Jackson and many others, Indigenous peoples had no autonomy or legal recourse to own land. The case of Cherokee Nation v. Georgia would prove how insignificant Georgia officials and President Jackson cared about the rights of Natives. The only time Jackson would allow Native Americans legal power was when tribes signed away their land to the US, like in the Treaty of New Echota. To Jackson, Native peoples were an obstacle to be rid of and an opportunity to take military