How Democratic Was Andrew Jackson Dbq

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The election of Andrew Jackson in 1828 brought a new wave of political ideas, especially since he created the Democratic party and their symbol. Jacksonian Democrats saw themselves as guardians of the Constitution, political democracy and individual liberty (aka social freedoms). I believe that this was not the case for the decisions made in Jackson’s presidency, and he was more of a “King Andrew” than a man of the common people. To begin, Jacksonian Democrats believed that they were guardians of political democracy, and with that they guarded the Constitution as well. With the situation of the Acts and Resolutions of South Carolina, the decision was made with the belief that it wasn’t beneficial for other states to “print, publish, and distribute newspapers, pamphlets, tracts and pictorial representations calculated and having an obvious tendency to excite the slaves of the southern states” (Doc F). While this may have prevented conflict at the moment, this was a clear betrayal of the very 1st amendment, which calls for freedom of speech, and of the press. These unalienable rights …show more content…

This reminds of the real reason Andrew Jackson was so passionate about vetoing the bank, which wasn’t that, “the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes,” (Doc B). During this time of Jackson’s presidency, the election was soon to come, and his opponent Henry Clay wanted to renew the bank charter well before it was due, in order to better his position to run. Andrew Jackson took this as an offense, and started a personal war with the bank’s president, Nicholas Biddle. In reality, it was Jackson with the “selfish purposes” to veto the bank in the first

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