ipl-logo

Was Andrew Jackson A Paradoxical President?

1264 Words6 Pages

Many people argue that Andrew Jackson was one of our best presidents. Others argue that he proved to be more trouble than he was worth with his inconsistent ways. Many situations occurring throughout Andrew Jackson’s presidency strengthened the argument that Andrew Jackson was a paradoxical president, including “The Eaton Affair”, Trail of Tears, and the conflict over the Second Bank of the United States. Andrew Jackson should be considered a paradoxical president due to his absurd decisions and his self-contradictory attitude toward problems and his own conflicting discourse.

One situation that showed Andrew Jackson’s paradoxical ways was “The Eaton Affair”. During his first term, Andrew Jackson’s Secretary of War was John Eaton. Conflict arose after the marriage of John Eaton and Margaret Timberlake, due to Timberlake’s questionable past. Timberlake had been just previously widowed by her husband's death at sea, which led to extreme controversy. The other cabinet members and their wives refused to deal with Margaret Eaton, which led to Andrew Jackson defending her position. Jackson felt he had to defend Mrs. Eaton because John Eaton had defended his wife, Rachael Jackson, previously. This angered many of the cabinet members, which led them to …show more content…

The “Eaton Affair” showed that Jackson would help solve one problem, by creating another. The veto of the Maysville Road Bill seemed vacuous, but proved to be positive in the long run. The Trail of Tears and the Indian Removal Act started out fair, but then turned into a tragedy with one poor-planned decision. The Second Bank of the United States controversy created many enemies, but also earned Andrew Jackson re-election. Lastly, Jackson’s reaction to the rejection of Martin Van Buren by the Senate proved to be an opposing statement. All of these reasons help support the argument on why Andrew Jackson should be considered a paradoxical

Show More
Related

  • How Did Andrew Jackson A Corrupt Bargain

    285 Words  | 2 Pages

    They concluded that the actions Jackson took as president were reasonable and justifiable. During his presidency, Jackson made bold actions. After he was elected president he allowed Democratic followers to have jobs in the government. This choice led to what many called the “Spoils System”. Jackson also despised the Bank of the United States and to make

    Read More

  • How Did Andrew Jackson's Persuasion Corrupt

    313 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thus Jackson had pitched himself the champion of the people, he had won the popular vote, but the people’s mandate had been usurped by an allegedly corrupt political elite. Furthermore, whilst president, in 1832 Andrew Jackson faced the renewal of a banking institution deemed to be counter to the interests of the people: the Second Bank of the United States. In the event that the Bank be reinstituted, the Bank would receive exclusive privileges in the legislature granted in favour of financial interests over public interests. Consequentially, this move was viewed by Jackson as counter to the people’s interests, and he executively opposed the bill by vetoing its approval.

    Read More

  • Thesis For Andrew Jackson By Sunn Wilentz

    426 Words  | 2 Pages

    Andrew Jackson When one first hears the name Andrew Jackson, a $20 bill pops in your mind. But with the book called Andrew Jackson, by Sean Wilentz, a professor at Princeton University goes into depth of Jackson’s life that makes one forget that he is just a face on the bill. This book has a different perspective than most about Andrew Jackson. Throughout this essay, it will go into detail about the author’s thesis, historiography, and the book bibliography.

    Read More

  • How Did Andrew Jackson Rise To Fame And Fortune

    1044 Words  | 5 Pages

    Although they would not have children of their own, Jackson adopted a child and named him Andrew Jackson Jr. In the 1790s, Jackson would help lay out the foundation for the state of Tennessee. He later became Tennessee’s first member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and was selected to be its U.S. Senator. However, Jackson would soon resign his seat due to financial troubles. When the war of 1812 was started, President Madison was offered Jackson’s services, but were rebuffed because of his association with Aaron

    Read More

  • Andrew Jackson, The National Bank, And The Nullification Crisis

    455 Words  | 2 Pages

    While Andrew Jackson may have believed he was helping the common man and ruling for the majority, his unfair and inconsistent presidency was reflected in his treatment of Native Americans, the National Bank, and the Nullification crisis. Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law in order to move Native American’s out of their own land to move in American settlers. For one, the Natives had no rights and no real way to reason with the US government, making it easy to remove them from any land East of the Mississippi. Jackson wanted to help the majority of Americans, but did not speak for the majority of Native Americans, who he considered savages and uncivilized. Jackson’s role in the nullification crisis was very important, as he helped increase sectionalism in the South.

    Read More

  • Andrew Jackson Vs The Historians Analysis

    513 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Andrew Jackson: One Of America's Greatest President?

    865 Words  | 4 Pages

    But Andrew Jackson contributed so much to this country, it is hardly fair to condemn him for one horrible

    Read More

  • Andrew Jackson Dbq Essay

    862 Words  | 4 Pages

    Through his presidency, he made efforts to preserve the union of the nation through any means necessary, as explained himself in his Proclamation on Nullification. Such qualities may be revered as honorable ones—and yet, it is impossible to ignore the horrid acts that Jackson also enacted while serving. The written piece, for example, includes a description of Jackson’s persistent use of the ‘Spoils System,’ which is labeled as being filled with “inefficiency in competency, and outright corruption.” A more harrowing example, however, comes in a letter written by a soldier, John G. Burnett, who was involved in the expulsions of Native Americans onto the Trail of Tears following the Indian Removal Act of 1830, giving him credibility in his interpretation of the event. Burnett describes the act—an act heavily promoted and signed into law by Jackson—as the “most brutal order in the History of American Warfare.”

    Read More

  • Andrew Jackson Tyrant

    790 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Why Was Andrew Jackson A Bad President?

    510 Words  | 3 Pages

    Andrew Jackson was a tough man. He even went by the name of ‘Old Hickory’. Andrew Jackson was a terrible president, but also a good president. There are many reasons why Andrew Jackson was a bad president. These are only the few reasons that we all already know or they are major events stated in US history.

    Read More

  • Andrew Jackson Good Or Bad

    516 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jackson ignored the Supreme Court. He continued forcing indians out the west. This journey is known as the Trail of Tears. One-fourth of indians died from this journey. Just because Jackson was put on the $20 bill doesn’t mean he did not do bad things.

    Read More

  • Andrew Jackson A Hero

    1012 Words  | 5 Pages

    The time has come to make a judgement of the great Andrew Jackson, the 7th president of the United States from 1829~1837. Although some people didn’t like Jackson very well due to very few of his decisions, he made many good decisions during his presidency. Andrew Jackson should be remembered as a hero of the common man due to his unifying leadership, generous approach of governing, and concern for economic equality. The first reason that Andrew Jackson should be remembered as a hero is because of his unifying leadership.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Andrew Jackson An Autocrat

    360 Words  | 2 Pages

    Another reason to support why Andrew Jackson is an autocrat is that in Daniel Webster's Reply to Jackson's Bank Veto Message July 11, 1832 Jackson's message seeks to provoke the poor against the rich. It deliberately bombards entire classes of the people, for the purposes of turning against them the prejudices

    Read More

  • Andrew Jackson Veto The Maysville Road Bill

    746 Words  | 3 Pages

    Andrew Jackson was a contradictory president who had many constitutional and unconstitutional arguments when it came to using his executive power, such as when he vetoed the Maysville Road Bill and the Second National Bank, which was either based on his own personal bias, or how beneficial it would be to the United States. Therefore justifying whether he was vetoing a bill based on actually analyzing the institutions and effects of their removal or result of arbitrary decisions with little analysis is based on ones perspective. The vetoing of the Second National Bank and the Maysville Road Bill is great example of how he used his vetoing powers and in what regard. The vetoing of the Maysville Road Bill is controversial.

    Read More

  • Andrew Jackson Legacy Essay

    1018 Words  | 5 Pages

    Born into a non-aristocratic poor family, somewhere in the Carolina’s on March 14, 1767, was a man named Andrew Jackson. Jackson, also called “Old Hickory” was a very bold proactive man in American history. From being a military hero and founding the democratic party to enacting the trail of tears and dismantling the of the Bank of the United States, the man and his legacy are a prominent topic for scholarly debate. Some believe he was a great president and some believe he was the worse president. But if you look at it from a moral perceptive or in the eyes of a foreigner, Jackson’s legacy was far more villainous than heroic.

    Read More

More about Was Andrew Jackson A Paradoxical President?

Open Document