Andrew Jackson Legacy Essay

Andrew Jackson was birthed March 15, 1767, in a region between North and South Carolina. Jackson’s parents were Andrew and Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson, who emigrated from the country of Ireland in 1765. While growing up, Jackson stayed with a large extended family and received a very rocky education, which put him in a lot of tough predicaments. When Jackson reached the age of 13, he went as a courier in the Revolutionary War. Jackson had a brother named Hugh who died by heatstroke in the Stono Ferry Battle in 1779, and afterwards, Jackson and his other brother Robert got captured by the British.

Andrew Jackson rose to the office in an unprecedented way, unlike all his predecessors Jackson did not work in national politics and had very little experience with the legislative branch of government. Andrew Jackson instead rose to the national spotlight as the hero of the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812. Jackson’s status as a national hero combined with his self-made man image helped him establish a connection with the American people in a way no other president had previously done. Andrew Jackson was elected after political reforms in the 1830s that changed

According to Thomas P. Abernethy, Jackson was “a frontier nabob who took sides against the democratic movement in his own state…an opportunist for whom democracy was good talk with which to win the favor of the people and thereby accomplish ulterior objectives.” Different views of Jackson continued the debate about who he really was as a leader. It was not until historian Arthur Schlesinger, took a different look at the study of Jackson. He believed that Jackson’s presidency was designed to suppress the power of capitalists, and try to help those of the lower classes. Other historians continued to disagree with Schlesinger, while others supported his idea or enhanced it, saying Jackson was almost similar to a Marxist.

As Andrew Jackson slowly rose to the complete power of president, controversy over his motives arose as well. Born in 1767 in South Carolina to a poverty-ridden family and an absent father, Jackson became one of the most debated presidents ever. His hot temper and self-reliance seemed to appeal to the people, yet his inability to take criticism and advice did not go unnoticed by the country’s government. To the bare eye he was a war hero, but if you dug deeper, you would discover he was a murderer, he was the common people’s choice, yet he seemed to not care about any other race besides his own. With these opposing characteristics, Jackson became the center of many debates and conflicts, hero or villain?

General Thomas Jackson (1824-1863) is a war hero and a general during the Civil War. He had a difficult childhood, but graduated from the U S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. Later, leaving the military, he began a teaching career. Jackson’s hometown, Virginia, seceded and he joined the Confederate States of America. Serving under General Robert E. Lee, he was in many significant battles.

Jackson developed the economy in a way that no man had too much but every man were financially stable. Jackson built new roads and made other infrastructural improvements especially in the south that were of benefit to the more working class “common man”. Jackson also introduced many Acts and Movements that would help to improve the United States and improve the lives of all US citizens. Andrew Jackson, a former orphan and a war hero, was a popular choice when he was elected seventh President of the United States in 1828. This was based on the fact that Jackson did not hail from a wealthy or “elite” background but from the working class western state of Tennessee.

Through his presidency, he made efforts to preserve the union of the nation through any means necessary, as explained himself in his Proclamation on Nullification. Such qualities may be revered as honorable ones—and yet, it is impossible to ignore the horrid acts that Jackson also enacted while serving. The written piece, for example, includes a description of Jackson’s persistent use of the ‘Spoils System,’ which is labeled as being filled with “inefficiency in competency, and outright corruption.” A more harrowing example, however, comes in a letter written by a soldier, John G. Burnett, who was involved in the expulsions of Native Americans onto the Trail of Tears following the Indian Removal Act of 1830, giving him credibility in his interpretation of the event. Burnett describes the act—an act heavily promoted and signed into law by Jackson—as the “most brutal order in the History of American Warfare.”

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.

Some of Jackson’s military feats include defeating the Creek Indians, who were threatening the southern border while allied with Great Britain, and the Battle of New Orleans, where he forced stationed British troops to evacuate the city. Jackson lost the presidential election of 1824 to John Quincey Adams, due to a “corrupt bargain” between John Adams and Henry Clay. However, Jackson won the 1828 presidential election by an electoral vote of 178 for Jackson to 83 for Adams. I believe that Andrew Jackson was a bad president for America because of some of his questionable choices for the young country, such as how Jackson handled the Nullification Crisis and the Indian Removal Act. These are by no suggestion the only choices Jackson picked that were questioned in the future.

Jackson ignored the Supreme Court. He continued forcing indians out the west. This journey is known as the Trail of Tears. One-fourth of indians died from this journey. Just because Jackson was put on the $20 bill doesn’t mean he did not do bad things.

When he was 13 he served as an Orderly during the American Revolution. Jackson and his brother were captured following a battle. At the prison camp a British officer ordered Jackson to clean his boots, when Jackson refused he was slashed with a sword, leaving a prominent scar on his forehead and left hand. By the time the war had ended, Andrew Jackson was the only remaining member of his family.

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.

Have you ever wondered about if one of the most popular presidents in the united states, Andrew Jackson was actually a hero or a villain? Jackson was born on the border of between north and south Carolina in 1767. Jackson was not an easy child to take care of, Jackson was a tough kid who enlisted in the revolutionary war at 13. Jackson was known as a war hero in the battles of 1812, but later on, Jackson was involved in the study of law. In the year 1828, Jackson became president and created an era of real democracy where more people could vote in America.

Jackson left behind his popular nickname. He inspired bravery into his men like great leaders before him. He was an amazing commander and he was the “human representation” of the south. He overcame his struggles as a child and proved to his step-father he could become a real man. Even though he fought a losing battle his whole civil war career, he still needs to be remembered for his Honor, Bravery, Tenacity, and supreme military leadership.

Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States (1829-1837), was one of the most controversial presidents in the American history. His followers saw his election as the arrival of the true democracy, the coming to power of the “common man.” On the other hand, his opponents considered him the instigator of the “Trail of Tears” since he enforced the Indian Removal Act in 1830. In the age of Jackson, he represented major developments of his era, a self-made man, the market revolution, the westward movement, and the growth of democracy. Andrew Jackson was a symbol of the self-made man.