Andrew Jackson A Hero

Andrew Jackson was President of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Some call his term a triumph and some a tragedy. A big part of his tragedy was the Indian Removal Act in 1830. Jackson wanted to remove the native tribes from lands in the eastern and southern United States (Stock). Jackson referred to the Native Americans as savages and supported Georgia’s efforts to seize Cherokee land and nullify the tribe’s laws (Foner).

The Indian Removal Act was a deal, which made the president, Andrew Jackson, of The Unites States authorised to resettle the Indian tribes who lived in the eastern parts of Mississippi. The deal was signed in 1829 and took effect in 1830. The main reason for why Jackson signed the deal was plain and simple. The American soldiers found huge amounts of gold in the areas of the Natives, and they wanted the Natives removed so that they could dig and search for more. A few of the tribes decided to leave peacefully, while others tried to resist Andrews unfair policy.

The Trail of Tears was a massive transport of thousands of Native Americans across America. After the Indian removal act was issued in 1830 by president Andrew Jackson, the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee, and Seminole tribes were taken from their homelands and transported through territories in what many have called a death march. The government, on behalf of the new settlers ' cotton picking businesses, forced the travel of one hundred thousand Native Americans across the Mississippi River to a specially designated Indian territory for only the fear and close-mindedness of their people. The Native Americans were discriminated against by not only their new government, but also the people of their country and forced to undertake one of the most difficult journeys of their lives.

The Indian Removal Act was signed in 1830 by President Andrew Jackson to remove the Cherokee Indians from their homes and force them to settle west of the Mississippi River. The act was passed in hopes to gain agrarian land that would replenish the cotton industry which had plummeted after the Panic of 1819. Andrew Jackson believed that effectively forcing the Cherokees to become more civilized and to christianize them would be beneficial to them. Therefore, he thought the journey westward was necessary. In late 1838, the Cherokees were removed from their homes and forced into a brutal journey westward in the bitter cold.

The era of Andrew Jackson which was nicknames the era of the “common man” certainly lived up to its name. As the seventh President of the United States, Jackson had a major effect on the life of the common man, in such a way that the life of the common man would never be the same again. Jackson’s aim, after the manner in which he was defeated in the Presidential Election of 1824, despite receiving more popular votes than John Quincy Adams who took on the office, was to reduce the power and the authority of the elite. When he came into power after the 1828 election Jackson began to carry out his proposals. Jackson expanded the voting right to all men, in accordance with the Declaration of Independence of 1776 which declared that “all men are created equal” instead of just the elite.

Is Andrew Jackson a hero or a villain? Throughout history Jackson has been viewed as both. Some see him as a war hero and the people’s president. Others see him as a racist and a political tyrant. To me, Andrew Jackson is more of a hero.

From colonial times until the end of the Indian Wars in 1890, the people in America went through a series of unfair and unfortunate events. Mainly for the Indians which are also called the first peoples. These events could have been handled with much more consideration for the Indians. There are many times when the Americans went too far including the Removal Act of 1830, the Reservation System, and the Act for the Government and Protection of Indians.

Under influence of president Andrew Jackson, the congress was urged in 1830 to pass the Indian Removal Act, with the goal of relocated many Native Americans in the East territory, the west of Mississippi river. The Trail of tears was made for the interest of the minorities. Indeed, if president Jackson wished to relocate the Native Americans, it was because he wanted to take advantage of the gold he found on their land. Then, even though the Cherokee won their case in front the supreme court, the president and congress pushed them out(Darrenkamp).

Does Andrew Jackson being a president mean he’s automatically a hero? No, during him being president he made decisions that made him viewed as a villain. Andrew tried to force indians from their land just to benefit him and some americans. Andrew Jackson was a villain and a hero but more of a villain. He got the indian removal act passed by the government so he could try to get them to give up their homeland.

Brittany Randall-Neppl APUSH Period 6 Mr. Kloster 12/19/2014 Andrew Jackson: Champion of the Common Man or Tyrant Andrew Jackson was born into a common life but overcame his mediocre beginnings to become a powerful politician; in 1828 he was elected president of the United States. However, he abused this position of power and made several choices that were detrimental to the welfare and rights of the American people. Jackson implemented the spoils system on a national scale and had unofficial members of his cabinet who did not have to answer to Congress. After South Carolinians were upset by the Tariff of 1832 he was angry toward those who did not agree with it. He also destroyed the National Bank and authorized the Specie Circular.

Andrew Jackson during his time was considered a very patriotic politician he hated the rich, he hated the Indian, and loved the idea of slavery. It has been said that he grew up not educated and had a bad up bring but still managed to get to a high political suture. Jackson at one point was general and had a very decorated portfolio, which made sense he would become president, Andrew was most well know for “The Battle of New Orleans” where Andrew Jackson, prevented the British Army and General Edward Pakenham, from seizing New Orleans nearing the end of that war.

Although Jackson was important, he was part of many terrible things. Around the 1820s there were many major indian tribes in eastern United States such as Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole. This soon came to a change. Andrew Jackson thought these Indians were in the way of eastern development, using the Indian Removal Act which the congress had approved he decided to kick them out and send them west. In 1831 the Supreme Court ruled that the Cherokee Indians had the right to self government and the United States could not interfere with that.

The time has come to make a judgement of the great Andrew Jackson, the 7th president of the United States from 1829~1837. Although some people didn’t like Jackson very well due to very few of his decisions, he made many good decisions during his presidency. Andrew Jackson should be remembered as a hero of the common man due to his unifying leadership, generous approach of governing, and concern for economic equality. The first reason that Andrew Jackson should be remembered as a hero is because of his unifying leadership.

Andrew Jackson inspired many people, showing them how you should stand for your beliefs, fight for what you believe in, along with leading the country to good. Then there is also another side of Andrew Jackson that is evil, mean, cruel, and almost iniquitous. This side of him made him act in ludicrous ways. After looking at all the pros and cons of Jackson's history i think he is a villain.

The Genocide: Trail of Tears/ The Indian removal act During the 1830s the united states congress and president Andrew Jackson created and passed the “Indian removal act”. Which allowed Jackson to forcibly remove the Indians from their native lands in the southeastern states, such as Florida and Mississippi, and send them to specific “Indian reservations” across the Mississippi river, so the whites could take over their land. From 1830-1839 the five civilized tribes (The Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole, and Chickasaw) were forced, sometimes by gun point, to march about 1,000 miles to what is present day Oklahoma.