Have you ever thought about what if one of the most influential presidents of the United States was taken off of currency because of controversial topics? This is the dilemma facing the government as they choose to take Andrew Jackson off of the $20 bill. Though Jackson was revolutionary in politics and ideas, that’s not necessarily a good thing. Andrew Jackson became president in the election of 1828. Jackson started the spoils system and he relied on the help of trusted friends rather than the presidential cabinet. He started the mass removal of Native Americans and despised the banking system. Andrew Jackson should not stay on the $20 bill because though he did a lot of good, his bad outweighs it. Andrew Jackson handled the “Nullification …show more content…
Jackson didn’t handle the Nullification Crisis very well. The Nullification Crisis started when Congress raised the taxes on imported goods. The southern states protested, but most of them accepted it. South Carolina opposed these taxes more than the other states. South Carolina tried to nullify the taxes. Nullification is a right that the states have that lets them nullify laws passed by the federal government that they have deemed unconstitutional. They threatened to secede from the United States and be their own country if the taxes were not removed. When Andrew Jackson heard about this, he was outraged. At first he slightly lowered the taxes, but when South Carolina didn’t stop he got Congress to pass the Force Act. This allowed him to use the federal army to collect taxes. At the same time of this bill, Congress was lowering the taxes. South Carolina chose to stop protesting and accept the taxes. This is important because it shows that if things aren’t going well, Jackson would resort to violence rather than find a peaceful agreement. Though he started peacefully, he would switch to violence …show more content…
Jackson had no sympathy for the Native Americans and during his presidency, it became a national policy to remove them by force. After independence, the United States created treaties with the tribes so there would be less conflict. Despite these treaties, Native Americans were still being pushed off. “The law did not say that Indians should be removed by force, and in 1831 the Supreme Court ruled that Indians have a right to their land. An angry Jackson disagreed. Groups that refused to move west voluntarily were met with military force, usually with tragic results.”(Hart, 2005) This quote shows that Jackson would do what he wants even if it isn’t right. When the Native Americans tried to defend their land cruelty occurred. Under president Martin Van Buren, more than 17,000 Cherokee were taken from their homes in Georgia and were sent west. “A soldier who took part in the Cherokee removal called it ‘the cruelest work I ever knew.’”(Hart, 2005) This shows that even some of the people that took part in it thought that it was cruel. Though this was not while Jackson was president, he was the one that started the mass removal of Native Americans so he was to blame for the cruelty that ensued after his presidency. Some might argue that Jackson was only trying to get more land for the settlers and that the Native Americans had a long time to
Many lower to middle class men voted for Jackson in the hopes of him extending democracy and fighting for the average man. He was the first president to ride on a train, almost get assassinated, and also to serve in both the revolutionary war and the war of 1812. His presidency included the creation of the Whig party following the demise of the federalists and also the ending of the charter of the first national bank. During the Jackson administration from 1829 to 1837, democracy extended primarily due to work on shrinking the wage gap. Meanwhile, democracy seemed to take steps backwards due to Jackson’s interactions with Native Americans.
It is clear from the documents that Andrew Jackson acted like a king. The most important reason is, he used the power to veto for himself, not the USA. In document 4 it show that he is holding the veto power in his hand and standing on the constitution. This means that he is breaking the rules of the constitution and acting like a king. Also, he is standing on the Supreme Court ruling against the Indian Removal Act.
It is clear from the documents that Andrew Jackson acted like he was a king. One reason that Andrew Jackson acted like a king was because he was unconstitutional. Document 4 stated that Jackson didn’t listen to the supreme court when they said the Indian Removal Act violated the Constitution, so he tried to give himself more power by doing this. This supports that Andrew Jackson acted like a king because ignored those who were meant to keep his power in check (the supreme court). By ignoring the supreme court, he took away power from them and gave it to himself because he didn’t like their opinion and wanted to do what he wanted, just like how a king does what he want. Mr. Moore taught us that President Jackson gave president more power over
Although Jackson didn’t hate the Indians, he thought that the government should treat them as wards. Wards didn't have any or much political power. Jackson also thought that white people and native wouldn't get along. Today in society many different races actually do get along and work together. Later in 1828 Georgia passed a law that gave the Cherokee Indians no legal protection if the state took their land. Giving the Indians no protection of there homes causes many problems for the Indians. If the state took their land then the Indians would have to pack up their families and move to a new place. Although today's people see it was very wrong of them, in that time Jackson must of believe that it was the right action against the Indians,
He was infamous for wielding his presidential power to veto bills that he didn't like. For instance, he vetoed four internal improvement bills in 1830, as well as the charter for the Second National Bank in 1832. He vetoed more bills in his first term as president than all other presidents combined. Jackson pushed through bills against objections, including the Indian Removal Act of 1830 against Supreme Court objections. Another example is the Nullification Crisis, a crisis caused by the 1828 and 1832 high tariffs enacted to protect American industry, but threatened southerners economy.
Andrew Jackson was a self-proclaimed advocate of the common man, and his terms as president from 1828 to 1836 were characterized by many positive and negative changes, often concurrently. The Jacksonian period marked both an economic recession and opportunity, and simultaneously an attempt to champion the rights of the common man, with the concrete evidence of greater voter percentage, but less political rights regarding those officeholders. The economy changed when a relatively stable economy was plunged into the Panic of 1837 and the recession, while the west opened up to white settlement after the Indian’s forced removal. The political rights of the common man largely stayed the same from before to after the period (though rights decreased
“Scott threatened to use force if the Cherokee did not leave.” (Appleby, 2000). This proves that Andrew Jackson had no right to remove the Natives from their land like that. It was already ruled by Supreme Court that the land was rightfully the Natives and Georgia could not interfere, but Jackson literally said he will ignore it. The Trail of Tears was torture for the Natives and it was filled with cold, hunger, pain, and tears.
Andrew Jackson was definitely not your average, normal president. He was very informal and dressed as a common man. The question really is “Was Andrew Jackson a good enough president to be on our 20 dollar bill?”. My answer to this question is yes.
America has been shaped and reshaped in various instances throughout its history; some of the men that played vital roles in achieving the status we now possess have been immortalized in our currency. President Andrew Jackson, is one of the few American leaders that was chosen to live on forever; however, many now argue whether or not Jackson truly deserves the honor to be represented in the 20 dollar bill--- arguing that there are other better qualified people to take his place; an example being Harriet Tubman. I believe that President Andrew Jackson should stay on the 20 dollar bill. Although many of his personal beliefs contradict many of our current beliefs and values, we shouldn’t judge him on them; rather, we should judge President Jackson on his actions as a president and how he impacted the nation as a leader. Thanks to the hard decisions that President Jackson had to take America was able to advance the way it did. We wouldn’t be the United States of America we are today without President Jackson.
In the year 1828 Andrew Jackson was elected as president. This was seen as a victory for the common man because Jackson was originally born into poverty and did not go to college. This victory was called the Jacksonian Revolution. He opposed special privileges and wanted the people of the country to be in power. Except many of Andrew Jackson’s policies contradicted with Thomas Jefferson’s policies. These are the differences.
Andrew Jackson should not be honored with a monument because he abused the power of the presidency for his own gain. Firstly, Jackson refused to listen to the Supreme Court, abusing his constitutional power. During Jackson’s presidency Congress gave the bank a charter to do business for 20 years, because after the War of 1812 the U.S. had suffered a lot financially. After the bill had passed through the House and the Senate, Jackson as the president vetoed it stating that it favored the wealthy and well-educated. President Jackson also believed that the bank was unconstitutional and, “...did not acquiesce in the Supreme Court’s ruling that the Bank was constitutional” (President Jackson’s Use of the Presidential Veto Power, Doc. 3). Clearly
Andrew Jackson is an american president that has been surrounded by controversy since the late 1820s. And though he may have meant well with his actions as president, those actions had consequences that affected many and benefited few.
From George Washington, America’s first president, to Benjamin Franklin, the discoverer of electricity, America’s most esteemed and important presidents and figures grace its dollar bills. Today’s twenty-dollar bill depicts a profile of Andrew Jackson, the controversial seventh president of the United States of America. Jackson’s upbringing in a lower class western family significantly differed from the upbringing and social class of his preceding presidents resulting in new ideas and perspectives from the oval office. Many of Jackson’s decisions and policies had roots in prejudice and racism, instead of factual justification, such as the Indian Removal Act. Furthermore, Jackson, in pursuit of achieving his goals of Indian removal, neglected
Andrew Jackson has gone down as one of the best presidents in United States history and that’s because he did many great things to improve the United States. Throughout his presidency he constantly abused his power as the president and did many things that expanded the powers of the president. One of the biggest things that President Jackson did while in office was pass the Indian Removal Act. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was when Jackson forced all the Indians to move to the land acquired in the Louisiana Purchase, while the Supreme Court declared this unconstitutional. Many of the Indians went peacefully, but many of the Indians also decided to protest and take it to the Supreme Court (Darrenkamp). While the court did side with the Indians Jackson and Congress forced the Indians to give up their land. The federal troops were called in to escort the Indians to their new land. Fifteen thousand Indians were forced to move and while on their way about a third of the Indians died, and this event became to be known as the Trail of Tears (Darrenkamp). Jackson had
The year is 1838. You have been forced to leave the land your family has lived on for hundreds of years by the president of a nation that has only existed for 50 years. Your people are dying from starvation and exposure. On a daily basis, you face racism and violence from the soldiers escorting you. The government promised your people the right to stay on their land, but now they make you leave. This is what happened to the thousands of Native Americans forced to relocate during Andrew Jackson’s presidency. Andrew Jackson’s presidency should not be admired by our current generation because he dehumanized multiple ethnic groups and he showed disregard for American laws. Jackson proved himself to be the kind of man who didn’t care how things got done, as long as they were done. He ignored other government officials, dehumanized thousands of Americans, and broke the law. Over the course of his two terms as president, Andrew Jackson attempted to tear away the rights of anyone who was not a white man.