When you look at the presidency of Andrew Jackson, some might see a man with a fiery passion who had the will to do what was necessary for the betterment of America. However, Andrew Jackson was a man with vicious tendencies and a lack of morals when it came to his decision making. He was ruthless and did whatever it took to get what he wanted. Being a psychopath can have side effects such as shallow emotions, lack of empathy, […]
Many events have shaped the United States. They carved our society, laws, and beliefs. For starters, before Europeans and other peoples set foot on American soil, it was inhabited only by Native Americans, or Indians. These indigenous people built towns, hunted, and some even farmed. However, when the Spanish, Europeans, and others broadened their horizons into America, the Native Americans were forced to conform to the ways of others, or die. Andrew Jackson’s decision to remove these humble peoples, via […]
A professional writer will make a clear, mistake-free paper for you!
When the topic of Andrew Jackson is discussed, many people think of controversy. People were either for Andrew Jackson or against him. Whether you agree with his beliefs and decisions or not, no one can deny that Andrew Jackson will forever be remembered for having a lasting impact on the United States of America. He did what he thought was the best for this country. In his disputable 78 year life, he was a Senator, President, Lawyer, Representative, and Judge. […]
Andrew Jackson was a war hero, served as a general in the United States military, and was elected as the seventh president of the United States. In what is known as the Jacksonian Era, Andrew Jackson was praised by some and hated by others. Despite these views, multiple decisions and events led to a controversial presidency. In what started even before he was elected as president, I will cover the major issues that led to such a debatable presidency. Right […]
When Jackson was twelve years old, he was captured by a British soldier during the Revolutionary War and was slashed by a sword above the eye which left a scar that stayed there for the rest of his life. He also fought in the War of 1812 in the Battle of New Orleans. With all of this experience, Jackson decided to run for office in the presidential election of 1824. Unfortunately, Jackson won the popular vote, but it did not […]
Andrew Jackson was known for many important and eventful life.I will be talking about both the highs and the lows of his two terms as the president of the united states from 1829-1837. The issues that I will be using and discussing are The states rights, The tariff, The Indian Removal act, and mostly how he did before and after his time in office. Andrew Jackson was born on March 15th, 1767 in South Carolina. Very close after Jackson was […]
Andrew Jackson once said, the goal is to strive for a poor government, but a rich people. Born into poverty and orphaned at the young age of 14, Andrew Jackson was not born into the category of rich people he claimed to idealize in his presidency. Spoken of as the common man, Jackson was said to exemplify the characteristics that the general populist would desire. Jackson was, in a sense, a man of the people. However, there were those who […]
Everyone in this world have the good and evil faces. They will be known for the good deed by a as well as the bad deeds for certain group of people. Andrew Jackson AKA Old hickory and the hero of New Orleans was the 7th president of the United States of America. He was known to be caring and was associated with many good things during his supremacy such as providing the people with laws that they wanted instead of […]
Before being involved with politics, Andrew Jackson was a wealthy Tennessee lawyer. By 1812, he started to be more involved with politics when war started between the US and Great Britain called the War of 1812. Andrew Jackson purchased “The Hermitage” in 1804. During that, he owned nine slaves. As the years go by, Andrew Jackson had about more than 100 slaves in total through purchase and reproduction. Some of his well known slaves was a woman named Hannah and […]
In the election of 1824, Andrew Jackson had won the popular vote against John Quincy Adams but did not win the presidency as there was no clear majority in the Electoral College vote which allowed the House of Representatives to choose the next President. When Jackson did not win, his loyal followers called fraud, as they believed that President Adams had negotiated with the then Speaker of the House Henry Clay, in an effort to ensure that Adams would get […]
On March 15, 1767, President Andrew Jackson was conceived across from Lancaster, South Carolina to his parents Elizabeth and Andrew, alongside his two more seasoned siblings, Hugh and Robert, who moved from Ireland just 2 years prior. Jackson’s father died shortly after he was born, leaving his widowed mother in the Waxhaws settlement to raise him. His mom had desires for him to turn into a minister. However, Jackson immediately minimized those expectations with his penchant for tricks, reviling and […]
Imagine being forcefully removed from an area you once called home. A place where time went by at a leisurely pace. A place where everything you knew and had been there, your people, family, and friends. Imagine all that torn apart, taken away, and relocated to an area of no knowledge. Everyone’s pain, anger, and confusion. All because of some greedy Americans who wanted their land back. As harsh as it may seem it has happened and what I’m talking […]
Jackson was the seventh president of the United States of America. He was president from 1829 to 1837. While running for presidency he ran as a representative for the common man. Andrew Jackson became a lawyer he then went on to become a Tennessee representative and later on served on the senate. Andrew Jackson was a major general in the war of 1812 and became a hero when he defeated the British at New Orleans. This and his other military […]
What is an american? That is a question many ask and none can truly answer. What is an antebellum american? Now that is a question we can answer. An antebellum american believed in the great outdoors. They believed in the expansion the expansion towards the west and government that took them into consideration. They were the generation that had seen the end of the American Revolution and had lived through the War of 1812. They were passionate about their country […]
Andrew Jackson was a very respected president who during the 2 terms he served was apart of major controversies of how he handled and followed through with the land disputes with the Cherokee Nation and other Native tribes in Georgia. With all of this starting with the United States finding gold in Georgia which ultimately led the U.S to want to recognize it as a state. But the problem with this was that many Native Americans inhabited Georgia but the […]
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States of America. He served two terms as President from 1829-1837. Martin Van Buren replaced Jackson as president and was his chosen successor. Before Jackson was a president he served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate representing the state of Tennessee. The author of this book, Jon Meacham, was born and raised in Tennessee. President Jackson and his legacy were valued and I could pick up on […]
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States. President Johnsons impeachment was extremley important during the Reconstruction. His impeachment was the first one to happen in United States presidential history. He was impeachment was caused for political reasons, not constitutional. Johnson was differnt because his political stance was extremely rare, he was a southern democrat, who supported the union. The Impeachment was the consummation of a lengthy political battle, between the moderate Johnson and the “”Radical Republican”” movement […]
Andrew Jackson was a Lawyer and a landowner. He was the first person from the west to be elected as a member of the Senate and later the president of the United States. As many individuals know he became a national war hero after defeating the British in the battle of New Orleans during the war of 1812, which is what gained him his following. The question has risen if whether Andrew Jackson was really “”democratic””, I believe the answer […]
Andrew Jackson was a unique president. When Jackson was twelve years old, he was captured by a British soldier during the Revolutionary War and was slashed by a sword above the eye which left a scar that stayed there for the rest of his life. He also fought in the War of 1812 in the Battle of New Orleans. With all of this experience, Jackson decided to run for office in the presidential election of 1824. Unfortunately, Jackson won the […]
Did Andrew Jackson really create a Democratic government or was he more for himself than for the people? Andrew Jackson was born to a poor family between North and South Carolina in 1767. In 1828, Andrew Jackson was elected the seventh president of the United States. Before he was president, Andrew Jackson was an army general and was known well for coming victorious from a battle against the Creek Indians. However, it was not until the Battle of New Orleans […]
Andrew Jackson personified the common man.[1] In Jackson we can see strengths as well as weakness, throughout his presidency. We will be looking at the common man. Andrew Jackson recognized as the Indian fighter[2], he showed he could and would remove the natives[3], backed by the people, for the people. During an era that was new in its democracy, that was social as well as political.[4] In Andrew Jackson we see a breaking from the past. Under Jacksonian pressure, state […]
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham is a biography about the seventh president of the United States. In this paper, the primary and secondary sources used to create this detailed life story will be broken down and analyzed to better understand the origins and possible biases. The following sources are in no particular order. The first source is a book written by Alfred A. Cave called Abuse of Power: Andrew Jackson and the Indian Removal […]
Andrew Jackson the seventh president of the united states and one of the most controversial president. Andrew Jackson had become popular in 1812 when he led the British to succeed against the battle of New Orleans. Many thought Andrew was a great military leader which led to suggestions of him running for the presidency. Throughout the years every president has changed the united states for the better Jackson has changed it for the worst. Although Jackson was a valiant war […]
INTRODUCTION A man with such a basic life, but such big ideas and dreams. From being a prisoner of war, to President. Andrew Jackson had a very rough childhood, but was a well rounded leader in both military, and Presidency. All of his actions had great impact on the Americas during his life span and after. Childhood/Early Life Jackson’s life all started march 15, 1767. There is no record of a place of birth but both North and South Carolina […]
America has had many influential leaders over the past 200 years, including the most famous Andrew Jackson. Jackson has been seen as a very important figure in the United States history and was well known even before becoming president. Jackson was born in the Carolinas in 1767. Andrew was the youngest of three boys, raised by his Scotch-Irish immigrant parents. Jackson became a part of the army at the age of thirteen, which at that time was during the American […]
Born on March 15 1767, Andrew Jackson was a American soldier as well as a statesman. He later moved up to become General in the Army. From 1829 to 1837, Mr. Jackson was president of the United States. During Andrew Jackson presidency, he wanted as well as actually changing a lot of things. One of the first things he wanted to change was the right of the “”Common Man””. Before he became President he felt that the people in congress […]
Thomas Jefferson was one of the founding fathers of the United States (Library of Congress. 1). He wrote the Declaration of Independence and ruled the nation as the president since 1801 and died in 1826. On the other hand, Andrew Jackson introduced electoral reforms after winning the presidency in 1829 (Freidel & Sidey 1). Jefferson democracy was very popular before the 1820s and highly emphasized by Thomas Jefferson (Cameron 1). It recognized property ownership and wealth as a prerequisite condition […]
The battle of New Orleans is of a significant chronicled importance as it was the last a showdown that existed between the Americans and the British. The battle that began the eighth and finished 26th of January 1815. It occurred after the conflict of 1812. Andrew Jackson who drove the Americans to this battle had not gotten the data with respect to the Treaty of Ghent that was marked fourteen days sooner. This settlement finished the conflict. The Americans won […]
Prior to the year 1820, there was no such thing as the democratic and republican parties. The current year is 2018, and the United States now has a better-developed party system. The world has evolved since the nineteenth century, but the United States politics would not be what it is, without the cultivation of the Whig party and the Jacksonian Democrats. Both the Whig party and Jacksonian Democrats had their differences that made the two parties what they were. The […]
The first uses of Manifest Destiny was believed to be in the colonialism era. Americans believed that their empire had set the standards of how an empire should be. The ideal of what is called exceptionalism was due to America’s longing for political independence from British rule, which help contribute to America’s expansion westward through the ideology of Manifest Destiny. A big percentage of Americans during that time period considered Manifest Destiny was the key to creating a successful standing […]
Andrew Jackson, the 7th president of the United States, is viewed as either the champion of the common man or a tyrant who ignored the democratic system for personal gain and achievement. Though Andrew Jackson viewed himself as the champion for the people; however, his actions, along with his methods, hurt the common man, increased the division in the country, and lessened the value of the constitution that was written for the people, therefore, making Jackson a tyrant rather than a defender of the common man. To understand why Jackson was a tyrant, it is necessary to know the time and how he became such. The policies of Jackson and his demeanor as a leader began to develop at a young age.
Andrew Jackson was born on March 15th, 1767, near the North and South Carolina border. (Remini) Jackson’s education was very poor, only briefly taking an interest in reading before he dropped it in favor of hobbies he found more interesting. This lack of a formal education stuck with him his entire life as he never formally studied law or politics despite eventually becoming a lawyer and a politician. The part of Andrew Jackson’s childhood which truly shaped his personality and early ideals was the Revolutionary War. He was nine years old when the declaration was signed, and soon the war reached his family. Andrew Jackson’s hometown, Waxhaws, was massacred by the British as he sought shelter in the Waxhaw church. The Waxhaw massacre led both Jackson and his brothers to join patriots fighting the British.
The war for independence eventually led to the death of all his brothers, along with their mother. This developed a personal hatred for Great Britain and Europe from Andrew Jackson. As Spencer Tucker states, “These events no doubt influenced Jackson’s subsequent hatred for the British.” [footnoteRef:1]The hardships Jackson faced in the revolution led him to become the stubborn idealistic leader he came to be and his step ladder into the military and the political world.
Andrew Jackson started his career in law and politics in Tennessee along with a plantation with around 150 slaves. However, he soon found himself leading a Tennessee militia during the War of 1812 and The Creek War. The Siege of New Orleans established Jackson as the war hero now known as Old Hickory.[footnoteRef:3] Jackson was gaining power fast, and people began to worry; as Remini puts it, “In some political circles, there was a genuine fear that the country had produced another Napoleon who would in the future extinguish liberty and abrogate the rights of American Citizens.”[footnoteRef:4] As a result of his new status, President Monroe entrusted the task of dealing with the slaves escaping to Florida along with the Indians, which continued to cause problems for Georgia and The Mississippi territory.
Jackson did what he was tasked with and captured East Florida. Yet Jackson also executed two British nationals and, while conquering East Florida to deal with the Seminoles, additionally set up military offices and provisional governments, which were not authorized by The United States, thus preluding Jackson’s tyranny. This created an international crisis between Spain and the United States of America (USA). This crisis was only the prelude to Andrew Jackson’s tyrannical actions and abuse of power. Washington planned on returning Florida to Spain, which infuriated Andrew Jackson, who soon found himself a rival in Henry Clay. President Monroe and John Quincy Adams managed to negotiate a deal with Spain and bought Florida from Spain after Jackson was awarded the governance of Florida for his actions, but soon after, Jackson set his sights on the presidency.[footnoteRef:5]
Jackson deviates from protector of the American common man to a power-hungry tyrant with a misguided and stubborn agenda in this search for power. [3:. Meacham, 27-32] [4: . Remini, Robert Vincent. Andrew Jackson. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998), 160] [5:. Remini, 157-174]
Jackson ran for the US Senate as a representative of Tennessee to prepare for his run as President. However, when the Election of 1824 came, Jackson could only secure a plurality. Thus, the election had to go through the House of Representatives, putting Jackson and the other 3 candidates on equal ground. Jackson’s rival and his adversary for the presidency, Henry Clay, began to rally support for presidential candidate John Quincy Adams leading to the House electing Adams as president-elect. Jackson was fine with this until he learned Adams appointed Henry Clay. Jackson immediately condemned this as a corrupt bargain. Furious, Jackson immediately started prepping for the election of 1828.[footnoteRef:6] Jackson began to support a tariff to rally support from voters of the western states. By doing so, Jackson betrayed the party and the people he was representing in the southern states.
The southern states vehemently opposed the new tariffs, but this didn’t concern Andrew Jackson as he knew they would not vote for the opposing party. His support for this tariff is a perfect example of how power-hungry Jackson became in his pursuit to force his stubborn agenda on America. Jackson also formed an alliance with Calhoun and his party to help secure the White House. This coalition shows hypocrisy on Jackson’s side as he previously called Clay’s appointment a corrupt bargain despite also being an alliance under the democratic system that Jackson claimed to be fighting for.[footnoteRef:7] According to Meacham, “The force driving Jackson … a belief in the primacy of the will of the people over the whim of the powerful.”[footnoteRef:8] But Jackson had become powerful and would force his whims and ideas on the people, for better or worse. [6:. Meacham, 39-46] [7: . Meacham,42-46] [8: Meacham, 46]
Jackson was victorious in the election of 1828; he gave much power to the common man and carried through on his campaign promises; however, these changes from the tyrant hurt the common man more than they aided them. The campaign of 1828 also had a cost to it; defamation of each candidate’s personal life was brought to a whole new level. A tradition that would scar the political environment with defamation in America for many subsequent elections. This defamation wasn’t just about the other candidate; it got into those around the candidate as well. Jackson’s wife was the target for much of the campaign as they wed while she had vows to another man.
This affected Rachel Jackson’s health dramatically until she eventually died of a heart attack. Andrew Jackson pinned the blame of her on Clay and his defamation of her, and as a result, Jackson became less trusting and more tenacious. Another problem Jackson brought to the White House was severe patronage. He rewarded those who supported him in the election with federal posts, qualified or not. This reward system, which Jackson called rotation in office, made the government-run with less efficiency and affected the common man in a negative fashion.[footnoteRef:10]
Another issue that arose during Jackson’s administration was his veto of the National Bank of the USA. Jackson kept a personal vendetta for the National Bank since the panic of 1819, which hurt the common man because of the loose monetary policy that caused price chasing for land. However, the loose monetary policy was mainly the fault of the State Banks as the National Bank was only recently granted its 2nd charter at the time. Andrew Jackson did not want to adhere to the democratic system and wait until the charter of the National Bank expired. Instead, Andrew Jackson abused his power as President to take all the currency out of the National Bank in September 1833.
That act, along with the National Bank’s retaliation, led to another economic crash for the United States as the state banks took power again with a loose monetary policy. The common man suffered economically from this direct action of Andrew Jackson.
The strong division in America was deepened by the actions of Jackson’s policies during his presidency, making Jackson’s position as the defender of the common man all the weaker. Because of the tariff of 1828 that was supported by Andrew Jackson, a crisis of nullification was started. South Carolina could not keep up with the tariff because of the Panic of 1819. The tariff that Jackson supported profited the rich factory owners in New England on the hardships of The Southern states, according to Calhoun and the South Carolina government.
As a result, South Carolina planned on using the power of nullification to void the tariff or possible secession. Despite Andrew Jackson being an advocate for the common man and the power of the states, Jackson opposed the nullification believing it would cause disorder. The crisis was avoided by Andrew Jackson’s strong opposition and threat of war, along with Henry Clay quickly presenting a compromise. However, the nullification crisis exemplifies how his policies did not benefit the common man, along with his hypocrisy toward the State’s rights.[footnoteRef:12]
Following Andrew Jackson’s tyranny. His Indian Removal Act of 1830 created another deep scar within the nation that would have lasting effects. Andrew Jackson himself calls the removal a “… benevolent policy of the government … .”[footnoteRef:13] This benevolent policy created the event known as the Trail of Tears, where 4,000 Cherokee refugees died, making the journey to the relocated land forever scarring the United States with their deaths. To make matters worse for Jackson, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Cherokee Indian’s right to stay in their land; However, Jackson defied the checks and Balances in the Constitution and did not enforce the Supreme Court’s decision.
The disregard of the law for the people made by the founding fathers can make Jackson nothing but a tyrant, let alone a defender of the common man[footnoteRef:14] [12: Shi and David, 438-439] [13: Spencer C. Tucker ‘Andrew Jackson, Indian Removal Messages to Congress, 1829–1830.’ In The Encyclopedia of North American Indian Wars, 1607-1890: A Political, Social, and Military History, 2011)
From stark beginnings, Andrew Jackson began his rise to the top in pursuit of the defense of the common man and for the sake of the country. Through self-learning and determination, Jackson climbed to the top as a war hero and eventually the President. Yet, in the pursuit of power to achieve his goals, Jackson began to abuse his power and reputation to achieve what he thought must be done and blinded himself from how it affected the common man he was supposed to represent. Bringing them to an economic crisis, the stubbornness of the National Bank, the increased division in the nation because of his lust for power causing the Nullification crisis, and his abuse of power and disregard for the constitution in the Indian Removal Act makes it clear that Andrew Jackson was not a defender of the common man, but a tyrant who only saw fit to achieve his goals.
