All hail King Andrew Jackson. In the election of 1824, presidential candidate Andrew Jackson had lost to John Quincy Adams, son of former president John Adams, in a brutal campaign war. Jackson sought revenge and did everything to sabotage Adams term as president, including branding his presidency the “corrupt bargain”, and giving his wife so much grief that she died. When Jackson finally became president and defeated Adams in 1828 his mantra was that the voice of the People must be heard, however many felt that he did not live up to his mantra. This raises the question: How democratic was Andrew Jackson? The term democratic can be defined as a government ruled by the people. Andrew Jackson was not democratic because of his mistreatment of the Native Americans, the decision of the bank, and his abuse of power. 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 …show more content…
He made the Native Americans feel unwelcomed in their own country by taking their land and shipping them off were they would not bother a white man. Jackson also changed the voting system to benefit his own needs while in office. He was also overwhelmed by the amount of power he possessed and eventually succumbed to the temptations of selfishness. Although President Andrew Jackson was certainly not democratic, he allowed future presidents to learn from his mistakes so that history does not repeat itself. His time as president offered guidance to the true democracy America uses today in its
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.
Before Andrew Jackson became president, he had a rough life. His parents died when he was young so he grew up without guidance. Jackson was in all the fights he could pick and to many, a wild child. By age 17, he calmed down and began planning his life. It wasn’t until after he had enrolled in the war of 1813 and showed great leadership and strength, that he was in the spot for presidency. (BG Essay) Many people believe in a Democratic nation. Not everyone follows one though. In a democratic nation, the voices of the people are heard. The leader(s) listen and make changes the people want done. Throughout Andrew Jackson’s time in office, he showed his country many undemocratic actions. He made some great changes and some not so great friendships. How democratic was Andrew Jackson? In the eyes of some, Jackson was not democratic. In many of his actions, he is shown to take one side of two things and do anything to make sure that side
To begin with , Andrew Jackson was democratic and this can be proven in political ways. Andrew Jackson was a guy that supported the people and the
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
America has many presidents who are still remembered with their legacies, but President Andrew Jackson’s presidency is a history of which the Native American will never forget. Jackson’s democracy was not in support for women to vote, and black men to join in armies. The people who paid the greatest price through his presidency were the Indian tribes, whom he forced to move from their land which belonged to their ancestors.
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
Andrew Jackson may just be a former president to many people, but when viewing the political history of the United States of America, it is apparent that Andrew Jackson’s legacy has been affecting the United States from before his presidency, and it continuously effecting this country today. Some key parts of Jacksonian Politics are Jackson’s platform and his log cabin appeal. Jackson built compassion in voters by fighting for his country during the War of 1812, by having the common man log cabin appeal, and by fighting the common trend of the wealthy benefiting the wealthy by standing up for the greater good of common men. To fully understand Jacksonian politics you must understand the timeline in which he held presidency, as well as the
Andrew Jackson’s influence on the politics of his time was remarkable. He was the only president to have an era named after him. He also changed the way this country was run and expanded the country’s borders. He changed much, but the four most important aspects of this era, in chronological order, were his victory over the British, his defeat in the presidential race of 1824, his successful presidential campaign in 1828, and his decision to remove Native Americans to land west of the Mississippi. His victory over the British in the Battle of New Orleans lifted his popularity exponentially. He was a newfound American hero, and this pushed his political ambitions towards the White House. In 1824 Jackson was defeated in a close presidential race, dubbed the corrupt bargain by his supporters. He was not a man who liked to lose, especially when he felt that the people wanted him as president. Consequently, he ran a successful campaign in 1828, becoming the seventh president of the United States. One of the most important decisions Jackson made in office was the removal of Native Americans to lands west of the Mississippi River. These four aspects of Andrew Jackson’s life and presidency shaped this era into the Jacksonian Era.
Democracy in the United States became prominent in the early to mid 19th century. Andrew Jackson, the 7th president of the United States, was inaugurated in 1829 and was best known as the person who mainstreamed democracy in America. Because he came from a humble background, he was the “genuine common man.” (Foner, pg. 303) He claimed he recognized the needs of the people and spoke on behalf of the majority [farmers, laborers]. However, critics of Jackson and democracy called him “King Andrew I” because of his apparent abuse of presidential power [vetoing]. These critics believed he favored the majority so much that it violated the U.S. constitution, and they stated he was straying too far away from the plan originally set for the United States. Because of the extreme shift of power to the majority, the limiting of rights of the few [merchants, industrialists] and the abuse of power under Jackson’s democracy, the foundational documents set in the constitution was violated, and the work of the preceding presidents were all but lost.
Overall, I do think Andrew Jackson was democratic, but had his flaws. His overall ideas
Andrew Jackson never considered Native Americans as citizens, even when they indicated their rights. In Jackson’s message to Congress, he was misleading in saying that the Native Americans were leaving because of “persuasion” and that the “ . . . emigration should be voluntary”(Document 8). The Native Americans were forcibly moved from their homelands and traveled great distances to reach their new shared territory in Oklahoma. Jackson continued the removal of Natives favoring with the white people’s cry for more land to plant cotton. Jackson benefited by removing the Indians to please the common farmers making him more popular and well liked. Cherokee’s wished to stay on their homelands with “a perfect and original right to remain . . .” (Document 9). Native Americans wanted rights like white men, even some of them grew accustomed to Americans ways of civilization such as farming and owning slaves. Moving to the west would be an unknown territory to them that supplies little necessities like food and water. Each tribe did not want to decrease their population due to the lack of food and water, or even lose their sacred cultures and languages. Native Americans wished to stay...
Many actions taken by Jackson did reinforce the new Jacksonian Democracy (an increase in popular participation in government).1 He also displayed strong goals for a strengthened national government and his actions were those of a great leader. He had no affliction with vetoing bills he did not lik...
In the 1820-1830’s, Andrew Jacksonian Democrats boasted their glorious actions to defend the American people. Andrew Jackson claimed to be “the common man,” but some of actions seemed more like a king. Andrew Jackson’s opponents tried to exploit his overassertion of authority. Some of Andrew Jackson’s actions and policies promoted the common people, while his other actions exploited the people and created an ineffective democracy.
Andrew Jackson has committed numerous poor decisions that have negatively impacted America and its citizens throughout the past. Jackson’s decisions led to the death of 4,000 members of the Cherokee tribe, he ruined the economy of our new and growing nation, and killed Charles Dickinson when his pride was damaged. Many of his decisions were made out of improper judgement and resulted in many people losing their jobs and lives.
For the first time in American history, a presidential election was the focus of public attention. Jackson's election in 1828 marked a new direction in American politics. Jackson’s early presidency was unlike many others because his general vision was to bring American people into the presidency. The Age of Jackson was the widespread desire for equality of opportunity, born of the conviction that no one should have special privileges at the expense of anyone else (pg. 132). He had faith in the American people to know what is in the best interest of the nation. He spoke on behalf of ordinary people and against established elites. The Age of Jackson is a period in history referred to as the rise of political democracy in America through the creation of the Democrat party. President Andrew Jacksons goal was to reform the government by reestablishing the Spoils System, where he fired anyone that was not a loyal Democrat and replaced them with new federal workers for partisan reasons. Jacksonians’ believed that the role of the government was to fulfill the country’s destiny by looking after the economic