Analysis Of Andrew Jackson And Henry Clay

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Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay came from very similar backgrounds, yet they considered each other total opposites in regard to politics and morals. Both men became the leaders of two political parties: The Democrats, headed by Jackson, and the Whigs, headed by Clay. The main topics of debate between Jackson, Clay and their respective parties focused their arguments on the core principals of Clay’s American system, which were subsidies for internal improvements, protective tariffs and most importantly, the National Bank. The two men also had different ways of handling the Nullification Crisis. The debates of these two men impacted the still young nation by bringing up the struggles between democracy and development.
The Beginnings of the Two Great Men The early lives of both Jackson and Clay had a tremendous impact on their later lives and political viewpoints. Jackson was born in 1767 in Waxhaw, an area on the boundaries between North and South Carolina to parents who were protestant immigrants from Northern Ireland. Shortly after Andrew Jackson’s birth, his father died. In his teenage years Andrew Jackson and his older brother joined the local guerillas who had been created to resist the British. Soon after his brother and his mother both perished leaving Jackson completely alone. He started studying under an attorney in North Carolina. His friend was appointed as Superior Court judge for Davidson County and Jackson was appointed attorney general. The two men then moved to
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