How Democratic Was Andrew Jackson?
Jackson was born in the year 1767 to a poor family. When he was only 13 years old he was captured from the British during the revolutionary war. As he got older he found himself in the military and he was called a national hero when he fought in the battle of 1812. He served for two terms as president and Jacksonian or is followers say that he was democratic where the people are heard. But some people think differently. Therefore, Jackson is undemocratic because of the number of slaves he had at the time he was president, the Native Americans, and he thought national bank was unconstitutional.
Jackson used slaves for much of his adult life, for helping. He was firm but fair to his slaves. In document A, it shows as he was serving as president he owned about 150 slaves. And as this was taking place he was strongly against abolitionist or people who sought the immediate end of slavery. He thought these people would lead to slave revolts, sectional conflicts which means the north and south would split and possible disunion. Jackson is undemocratic because slaves are
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He disliked the bank so much that he moved all the money to all the state banks he created. In document J, it shows Jackson standing a the constitution which is ripped up to shreds. When you walk all over something you are taking advantage of it and abusing its power and this is what Jackson was doing to the constitution. He is holding veto papers in who hand which stands for vetoing the bank and a scepter in the other. He has a crown on his head that represents as the king because he is forgetting about the people and acting like a kink and a dictator. In document L it states "It sows... the seeds of jealousy and ill-will against the government of which its author is the official head." This means the bank was housed be both senete and house and Jackson didn't want
He had little political background, but was still a very promising candidate. He was a great commander, he backed his thoughts with force. Although Jackson and Clay had some similar beliefs, they had some very different ideas on how the country should be led. The Democratic party chose Andrew Jackson. Andrew Jackson feared that democracy could’ve suffered at the hands of development, the opposite was thought by Henry Clay.
President Jackson was named the president of the “common man,” However, the only way this statement is true, is if the “common man,” was a white man. President Jackson was a bigot, he said he was the president of the common man, but his actions differed greatly. Hence, the saying actions are louder than words, and President Jackson's actions truly were louder than words. In fact, he promoted slavery by removing American Indians off their land, so that he could get cotton land for white Americans. Also, He violated the first amendment by ordering Southern postmasters to stop the delivery of anti-slavery literature in the South.
In the journal article “ Andrew Jackson versus the Historians”, author Charles G. Sellers explained the various interpretations of Jackson, from the viewpoint of Whig historians and Progressive Historians. These interpretations were based on the policies of Jackson. The Whig historians viewed the former president in a negative way. They considered him arrogant, ignorant, and not fit for being president. Sellers pointed out that it was not just because of “Jackson’s personality…nor was it the general policies he pursued as president”
One example of this is that he believed the people should be the ones to directly elect the president. As stated in the source: Robert Remini, Andrew Jackson and The Course of American Empire, Vol. III, 1984 “He proceeded from the idea that all offices - whether appointed or elected - must ultimately fall under the absolute control of the people. Appointed offices should be rotated, preferably every four years. Elected offices must be filled directly by the people.
Andrew Jackson was seen as a common man the voice of the people by some. By others he was King Andrew, trampling the constitution and instigating tyranny. Jackson’s presidency impacted democracy, through his use of the veto power, and his claim of Clay creating a “corrupt bargain”, which is not a turning point for a rise in democracy despite him giving white male suffrage. During Jackson’s use of executive power weakened voice of the people.
Andrew Jackson presidency focused a lot on small government and pleasing the common man. He attempted to shut down national banks to make government smaller. Jackson also enforces things like the Indian Removal Policy, which strengthened the bond between Jackson and the common man. Jackson was the first and only president to make the country debt too. All of these impacted are government today very much as well as other governments around the world.
In the document “Jackson Battles the Bank”, it shows Jackson fighting off a monster, or the national bank, with a veto stick. Jackson was fighting to destroy the national bank. He wanted to do this because it favored the rich and not the common people. He was fighting for people to have equal rights. Instead of having no bank at all, he came up with the idea to create state banks which wouldn’t be as powerful as the National Bank.
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, being a tyrant, abused his power in his time of presidency. He was the 7th president, but before Jackson’s presidency, he had no political experience. One of the only things that really qualified him was the hardships he went through when he was younger. His father had died while Jackson was young and Jackson received the reputation as a “self-made man”, or an independent man.
Does Andrew Jackson Deserve to be on the 20-dollar bill? In my belief Andrew Jackson does not belong on the 20-dollar bill, due to the simple fact of that in 1836 Andrew Jackson tried over throwing the U.S national bank because he believed that hard currency like gold and sliver should be used. Andrew Jackson in some sense is an ironic placement on any paper currency in the United States. Although this topic is very controversial in the United States. I will try and clarify my belief about why Andrew Jacksons placement on the twenty dollar bill and why he should be reconsidered.
From what I read and what he said, I thought it sounded like he didn’t want to shut down the United States Bank. And then in Document 5, Webster acted like Jackson should put an end to the bank by saying, “It manifestly seeks to inflame the poor against the rich, it wantonly attacks whole classes of the people, for the purposes of turning against them the prejudices and resentment of the other classes.”
No living human is either entirely virtuous or wholeheartedly evil. Sometimes it can seem that way, but that’s because most of the time individuals hear want to hear what they want to hear. This concept is entirely true in regard to Andrew Jackson, who people can see as a heroic American war hero who came from nothing and stood by his beliefs or the complete opposite. People could also perceive him as an evil, tyrannical leader who forced thousands of Native Americans out of their homes. I believe Andrew Jackson was not a hero but a villain because of the way he treated Native Americans, the actions he took during his presidency, and the fact he was a slave-owner.
He started by replacing many government jobs to officials with his supporters”. This is a major reasons why Jackson was bad. He would be considered an absolute Monarch or King. An example of this is when the Supreme Court sides with the Indians against the state of Georgia, and jackson ignores the supreme court’s ruling. The “spoils system” corrupted the government because no one had a chance to get good at their
He is saying that the bank is being taken over by the rich and that the bank isn’t helping the common men at all. This shows his concern for economic equality because he cares about the common men and how they are being treated economically compared to the rich and wealthy. Jackson’s veto killed that power and by 1833 the bank was gone. Andrew Jackson also showed his concern for economic equality in 1828 when he supported the common men even though they weren't rich and wealthy. He took in their concerns and he treated both rich and poor with the same amount of respect and they respected him.
The Jacksonian Era was the time period of Andrew Jackson’s presidency. This began in 1828 when Jackson was elected president. The era is sometimes described as a time when the United States experienced the “democratization of politics.” In a democracy every citizen has an equal say in the government's decisions and actions. Some people of this time period believed that Jackson is notable for democratizing the United States during the Jacksonian Era.