Is Andrew Jackson a hero or a villain? Throughout history Jackson has been viewed as both. Some see him as a war hero and the people’s president. Others see him as a racist and a political tyrant. To me, Andrew Jackson is more of a hero.
In the final analysis, there are many reasons as to why I believe Andrew Jackson acted more like a dictator than a president. My opinion is that Jackson was a dictator given that he appointed Swartwout to be collector of the Port of New York, his cruel treatment of Native Americans, and the elimination of the National
There has been a lot of controversy of Andrew Jackson, whether he was a good president or one that destroyed the office of the presidency. However, Andrew Jackson is not guilty. He was a good president and should not be accused of degrading the office of the presidency. The first aspect which people accuse Andrew Jackson of wrong doing is what everyone calls The Spoils System. Andrew Jackson came into office, and designed a rotation.
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. One way that President Andrew Jackson was democratic was his Bank Veto Message to Congress in Document 4.
In conclusion, there is much evidence to support the idea that Andrew Jackson was a tyrant and vastly abused his power in presidency. Jackson was a cruel ruler for his actions, some including the Indian Removal Act, his overuse of vetoing, and his temper and personality. Overall he was just not right for the position of a political
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” In fact, many of them approved of some of Jackson’s policies. It was due to the fact that many of these historians came from wealthy northern families or those in the middle class. Their families had control over politics before the Jacksonian period. When Jackson became president
Whether Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Policies were ethical has come of debate from the time they were enacted and before. The time that Jackson was president has been fittingly named the Jacksonian Era. One of the iconic images of this era is a political cartoon that depicts President Jackson as “King Jackson the First” as he steps on the constitution and the Albany Plan of Union. I think that Jackson’s actions were not ethical.
Although Jackson was important, he was part of many terrible things. Around the 1820s there were many major indian tribes in eastern United States such as Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole. This soon came to a change. Andrew Jackson thought these Indians were in the way of eastern development, using the Indian Removal Act which the congress had approved he decided to kick them out and send them west. In 1831 the Supreme Court ruled that the Cherokee Indians had the right to self government and the United States could not interfere with that.
One of the biggest thing that Jackson had done as a president was in 1832. Jackson vetoed a bill that would renew the second bank charter early. Jackson stated “I will kill it!”. He said this because he didn’t like the bank at all and he believed that it made the rich richer and the poor poorer. He said in his veto message “It is easy to conceive that great evils to our country and its institutions might flow from such a concentration of power in the hands of a few men irresponsible to the people.”
He believed Jackson needed a reality check. The Indians were there first, it was their land. He force the Natives to move away from their homeland, with brute force. He believes Jackson could not justify his actions just because it was for America’s benefit. He also stated Jackson refused to listen to many people, and he refused to let Indians live.
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.
He also thought that the National Bank stood in the way of opportunity for capitalists in the west and other regions. This clearly shows that Jackson had the interest of all people, the cornerstone of democracy. The article “Jackson’s Inauguration”, is another document that shows how democratic Andrew Jackson really was. This article shows how Andrew Jackson opened up the White House in celebration of his upcoming presidency. Some people saw this as a bad thing.
Others, on the other hand, believe he was far from accomplishing that. Politics are a way that expresses how the Unites States was not democratized during this time period. Jacksons animosity towards the Indians exposed his undemocratic actions during his first years of his presidency. However,
My opinion on Andrew Jackson is that he was a brave man, great spokesmen, and he was intelligent. Jackson had a great military success along with a knowledgeable success in the law field and in time leading up to presidency. People know Jackson from leading his army and defeating the British, along with becoming a great and honorable leader.
Although Andrew Jackson ended up killing people, he was doing what he thought was best for the nation. Even though Jackson tried giving the Native Americans land elsewhere, they fought back, causing the Seminole wars and the trail of tears. Though Jackson had commendable intention multitudes of Native people were killed along with the culture. “[Forced] removal of 20,000 Cherokee from their ancestral lands”1 was probably one of the worst decisions Andrew Jackson could have enforced. Evaluating Andrew Jackson’s decisions we can try and get inside his mind, figuring out why he made the choices he did and what ethical backing he had behind it all.