The founders of the United States did their best to create a government that would not allow erroneous decisions to greatly harm the nation. They set a percent of presidents being politically sound and well-known; their beliefs for how the nation should be handled were essential to their campaign. President Andrew Jackson, however, did not follow this system, instead winning primarily by his personality and popularity amongst the common American. While his actions in office often appeared to be for the people, most had a hidden selfish side to them that he easily covered up. With the election of 1828, Jackson radically changed American politics, focusing them more on public appearance and personal character than on intelligence and political views, making personality just as, if not more important than the actual politics of a political term.
Jacksonian Democrats beliefs are more similar to the Populist party’s beliefs than different in political, economic, and social ways. Their limited differences are based on the time periods and problems they faced respectively.
President Andrew Jackson was a very popular president and did a lot of things during his presidency. But in my opinion, I think he was not democratic because he wanted everything done his way or no way, like during the Indian Removal act in Document 10. He wanted the Indians land so he had his soldiers move them \west into the Indian territory.
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.
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. Andrew Jackson promoted democracy well. This is true because he kept peace and stability between the nation and he provided people equal rights.
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. Because of these infringements on the rights of the people, Andrew Jackson was not a champion of the common man; the nickname “King Andrew,” from his opponents was accurate.
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.
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 Andrew Jackson- like Henry Clay- was a supporter of increased democracy and economic development, he and his supporters still tended to believe that the growing wealth and power of
Andrew Jackson is the epitome of a villain. If portrayed in a movie Jackson would be seen as the cruel murderous man who everyone couldn’t help but dislike, but somehow he still managed to be on the twenty dollar bill. Jackson was born into a poor family in 1767. From there on Jackson was a rebellious teen who happened to be imprisoned at the age of thirteen. Once Jackson grew up he experienced a great number of occupations from a lawyer, to a general, he finally chose to enter the world of politics. To become president Jackson had to exploit his opponents, and bribe his supporters by allowing them to maintain government positions. Once Jackson became president he exceeded his presidential powers through unconstitutional means. Andrew Jackson was a lying, unconstitutional, racist murderer who covered up his evil deeds by stating everything he did was for the well-being of the United States.
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.
Today, Andrew Jackson is known far and wide in the United States as having been a large advocate of democracy. He proclaimed himself a Democrat, and while running for president, he campaigned that he would change the system to help directly represent the people instead of through representatives. Being a Democrat running against a Republican, most people would think that Andrew Jackson would be the most anti-republican person ever. However, that was not entirely the case. Jackson was neither anti-republican nor the most Republican person one can imagine. On a scale of -5 to 5, with -5 being anti-republican and 5 being extremely republican, I would rate Jackson as a -1. According to Rimini, “Jackson himself was fiercely committed to democracy.”
Andrew Jackson believed that he was a guardian of the Constitution .He was fixing the faulty interpretation of the constitution put forth by his fellow congress men. Jackson saw the banks as “monopoly of foreign and domestic exchange” he believed the wealthy people were using the banks to line their pockets with more money. One of Jackson’s opponents, Daniel Webster of Mass. . He believed that Jackson had no true facts on his assessment, in fact he saw the veto as alarming. In westers view, Jackson was using the constitutional argument to support his own grab for power. The Whigs, that where like the federalists that where years before them, viewed the national bank as both necessary and constitutional.
Andrew Jackson’s presidency is one of the more debated presidencies in American history. Many see him as a hero while others view him as opposite. Depending on which history book is read, portrayals of him are sometimes of “the common man,” who attacked a political system that ignored the will of the common citizens. Other texts would portray Jackson as tyrant, one who disrespected many of the institutions outlined in the Constitution. He is usually celebrated by some because he defended the rights of the common people. Others, however, look down upon his removal of the Native Americans, a movement known as the Trail of Tears. Both of these conclusions are correct in the judgement of Jackson’s presidency. Many events that occurred while he was in office helped the development of our nation while at the same time led up to the events prior to the Civil War.
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. In the end, it is my belief that Jackson has to be looked at from a non-biased perspective. As Sellers pointed out, interpretations that Whigs and Progressives have about him are not wrong. There is just a need for more information on the topic. As Sellers pointed out at the end, the Jackson era is filled with controversy and the multiple viewpoints from historians “suggests that we are poor in the data by which our hypotheses must be