How Democratic Was Andrew Jackson?
Andrew Jackson as a president cannot be ignored; his larger-than-life personality and policies shaped American policies, making him one of the most fascinating and divisive figures in our nation’s history. He is the seventh President of the United States. Born in humble circumstances and rising to fame as a military hero, Jackson's leadership as president was marked by a deep commitment to expanding democracy and empowering the people. He was known for his charismatic personality and forceful leadership style, which earned him both loyal supporters and fierce critics. To Jackson, democracy meant that all branches of the government, including the supreme court, national bank, and congress, must pay attention
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He was a representative of the common man and wanted to expand the voting rights for all white men, regardless of their status as property owners. Jackson's influence and the cartoonist's opinion of him are depicted in a political cartoon that ran during the 1832 presidential election. With a veto stamp in his palm, Andrew Jackson stands on the Constitution as a symbol of democracy (Doc 3). This evidence portrays Jackson as a hero of democracy. His frequent power to veto was a necessary tool he used to protect the will of the people against special interests and political elites. This cartoon emphasizes Jackson’s populist appeal and his commitment to democracy; in a way, he is depicted as a defender of the constitution and the people's right to governance and self-governance. He believed that the president should have the power to prevent Congress from passing laws that he deemed unconstitutional or harmful to the interests of the American people. While Jackson's use of the veto power was controversial at the time, this cartoon reflects the view that his actions were motivated by a deep commitment to democratic principles and a desire to empower ordinary …show more content…
The rechartering of the Second Bank of the United States in 1823 was one of Jackson's best-known vetoes. In his Bank Veto Message to Congress that he wrote on July 10, 1832, he wrote, "It appears that more than a fourth of the stock is held by foreigners and the rest is held by a hundred of our own citizens, chiefly of the richest class" (Doc 4). This evidence helps Jackson explain why he saw the bank as an undemocratic institution because it favored the wealthy over the common people. It hurt individuals and did not support the common man, thus not supporting democracy, so he vetoed the rechartering of the bank in 1832 and undermined its influence during his presidency. Furthering his commitment to democratic ideals, Jackson also believed that the Bank was corrupt and had acted against the interests of the American people. In vetoing the bank bill, Jackson was protecting democracy since he could see that the bank was only controlled by the rich and wealthy, who are just a small portion of
His reasons as to why he tried to veto a national bank were that the wealthy people would try to change how the government runs just because they were selfish (Document 4). Jackson thought that he had the power to veto the bank just because he was the president. Even after Congress passed a bill to re-charter it Jackson attempted to veto it. Daniel Webster replied to Jackson’s letter saying that Jackson was trying to separate the social classes and make them fight against each other (Document 5). This made it seem that freedom was in danger under the head of the government (Document
In Jackson's Bank Veto Message, he states that his principal reason for his veto was that he wanted to prevent the existence of monopolies. This is a fine reasoning that also goes along with is political views. The objection to this is that he was warned on how it would be detrimental to the United States economy but still went through with it. It cannot be overlooked that he had to fire two different secretaries until he finally appointed a close friend to agree with him. This is an obvious abuse of power, seeing as he fired two people simply for telling him that his idea would not work.
Accessed October 12, 2015. http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm? smtID=3&psid=3923. “President Jackson 's Veto Message Regarding the Bank of the United States; July 10, 1832.” Yale Law School Lillian Goldman Law Library The Avalon Project.
This document also states, “Jackson’s victory accelerated the transfer of national power from the country house to the farm house”, meaning that the federal power was now held by the common people. This proves that Jackson was a democrat because with his presidency came the political equality of the wealthy and poor social classes. In summary, Andrew Jackson was a democrat because he ensured that the federal power was held by all people, as opposed to state legislatures or the wealthy social
With all the heavy attacks against the Bank in the press many would call it an obsession, so naturally Jackson vetoed the Bank Recharter Bill when it came to his desk. He even went as far as ordering the federal government’s deposits to be removed from the Bank of the United States and put into state banks. Surprisingly to Biddle and his supporters, the people were with Jackson in the decision to vetoing of the bill, and he was overwhelmingly reelected to a second term when the next election came around in 1832. Biddle tried to retaliate by making it extremely difficult for businesses and other people to get the money they needed, which caused an economic decrease at the end of 1833 and into 1834.
Across the country, rallies and conventions were held in opposition of Jackson. During an anti-Jackson Convention in Richmond, Virginia, members expressed their concern: “... we are unanimous, and unhesitating in the opinion, that Andrew Jackson is altogether unfit for the Presidency, and that his election would be eminently dangerous …” (Anti-Jackson Convention, 1828). The members stood in solidarity in their opinion, demonstrating their fear for the Republic as well as how outraged many were at Jackson’s past actions: “... disobeying the orders of his superiors, trampling on the laws and constitution of his country, sacrificing the liberties and lives of men, has made his own arbitrary will, the rule of his conduct (Anti-Jackson Convention, 1828). Jackson’s character was questioned throughout the campaign, motivating those against him to use the information to demonstrate why he should not be president.
Like this veto, Jackson has vetoed multiple times and was the first president to show the power of vetoing to the nation. Federal officials such as congress members and other politicians saw this as a great disadvantage for Jackson since he basically stood against how much he says that he respects democracy and majority rules. Inferring to a cartoon posed by the opposite party in the presidential election of 1832 from Library of Congress, Jackson seemed like a monarch since Jackson was shown as wearing a crown. The Veto scroll in Jackson’s hand represents the excessive use of veto he used during just his first presidency. He poses to stand or step on the torn apart sacred documents of the United States which show his tendencies to be a tyrannical
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.
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
Between the 1820s and 1830s, democracy ruled American politics. In the ideology of democracy, people were sovereign and independent. When Andrew Jackson was elected as President in 1829, he became a symbol for the democracy of the era. As a matter of fact, the years between 1830 and 1840 were called The Age of Jackson, and his politics Jacksonian Democracy. Andrew Jackson was supported by influential state leaders like Clay Calhoun (in South Carolina) and Martin Van Buren (in New York).
Jackson 's push to abolish national banks other wise known as "the bank wars" was one of his more well known pushes for small government. In 1832, Jackson had vetoed a bill calling for an early renewal of the Second Bank’s charter, but renewal was still possible when the charter expired
Andrew Jackson was one of the greatest presidents who made very difficult decisions for our country. Although his choices were not always the popular decision, he made choices that were always promoting democracy. The things that make a good democracy are: giving people a say in government, having a good leader that you can trust to make wise decisions, peace and stability between each country and other states, and having equal power in the government (checks and balances). Andrew Jackson came into office with a popular vote and great support. His supporters viewed him as a man of the people.
Jackson 's presidential activism was resulting not only from his superior self-confidence and personal charisma, but was also based on his contention that he was the most legitimate representative of the people, having been elected nation-wide, and therefore by definition was allowed to operate with few restrictions. Once he assumed office, he took the unprecedented measures of removing out a significant percentage of well-established bureaucrats and replaced them with some of his supporters, with party strengthening implications for the smaller Democratic Party. Toward the end of his first term he completely replaced his cabinet. People in opposition of Jackson thought of his behavior as tyrannical authority. Jackson 's era is frequently viewed as the age of democracy.
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.”
The bank was immensely beneficial to a small group of individuals, and harmful to the rest of the nation. Therefore, Jacksons action were due to his promise to defend and support the “common man” of the nation in order to withhold American values and his own ideals of