Andrew Jackson's Presidency

Jackson Andrew Jackson was a memorable president, but not for the right reasons. He was the first to call himself as a “Democrat”. Jackson became president through his popularity which he gained by presenting himself as a common man. He was poorly educated and inexperienced unlike the past presidents. As a result, he made some poor decisions that affected the United States negatively. During Andrew Jackson 's presidency, the United States had a bad economy, abused presidential power and Native Americans were tortured. Jackson showed authorianism by vetoing many bills and his use of unprincipled federal powers shows that Jackson was not the best president. “Jackson made the veto a substantial presidential power by using it far more frequently

In the Worcester vs. Georgia Supreme court case, the Supreme court said Georgia land did not extend to the Cherokee Nation. However many agreed treaties made granted land to the Indians. Jackson refused to enforce the decree and believed the Indians should move west. In 1830, the Choctaws agreed to the Indian removal act because the U.S would give land, transportation and grants if they moved west. “Working on behalf of white settlers who wanted to grow cotton on the Indians’ land, the federal government forced them to leave their homelands and walk thousands of miles to a specially designated “Indian territory” across the Mississippi River”(History.com Staff.). The Cherokees of Georgia tried to accept new customs and fought against the removal in court. After Jackson’s signed the Removal Act, in 1838 (under President Van Buren), 7000 soldiers sent to force 15000 Cherokees west. It was This difficult and dangerous journey is known as the Trail of Tears. The Cherokees had to leave everything behind and on the journey 4,000 had died. Jackson ignored that the Indians had lived on that land for many generations and were being forced to give up their homes.

Jackson can be denounced as a fraud and an opportunist who wrecked the U.S economy in the 1800s. He did not hesitate to use his presidential power and he was often referred negatively as “ King Andrew I” for his autocratic behavior. Indians were treated unfairly even when they tried to adopt American customs. Even though his name was associated with “Jacksonian Democracy” - the expansion of democracy, his vetoes showed that he made decisions based on his beliefs rather than what was best for the country. He may have presented himself as a common man but he was no different from an