Andrew Jackson's Abusing Democracy

Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States of America, can be debated as either a good president or bad president. But if one were to weigh out the positives and negatives of Andrew Jackson’s presidency, one would realize that his positives outweigh his negatives for a variety of historic facts. Andrew Jackson was a good president because he represented the majority of America’s people by being a common, prevented a civil war when South Carolina threatened to secede from the nation, and because he technically found or instigated the two major parties used in America today (Democratic and Republican). Many Jackson oppositionists despise him because of he is a hypocrite, however America was founded on hypocrisy so as an

Andrew Jackson was undemocratic because of his cruel actions concerning the Indians. Jackson was inevitably trying to drive the Indian tribes out of their land. This kind of communication with people portrays Jackson as an undemocratic person. Within a message that was sent to Congress in December of 1829, Jackson elucidates, “This emigration should be voluntary

This act required for the Indians to be removed in a peaceful, and voluntary manner but this was ignored by Jackson’s government and many were forced to walk long distances without water, food, or basic resources and left lands they had lived on for generations behind. The Cherokees took their case to the Supreme Court to fight their relocation, but despite their best efforts, they were forced to leave and engage in a torturing, and deadly, 1,200 mile trail to Indian territory. The Cherokees lost 5,000 people on their long cruel and inhumane journey which is why it is called. “ The Trail Of Tears”. All of this brutality towards the Natives was caused by a man, Andrew Jackson, who will go down in history as a President who led America down a dark murderous

In fact, he was the foundation for the formation of the modern Democratic Party. British visitor to the United States Harriet Martineau described this in Document D (Society in America), “I had witnessed the controversies between candidates for office on some difficult subjects, of which the people were to be the judges.” Furthermore, when Jackson first entered office, he used the “spoils system,” or rotation of major governmental officeholders, as a legitimate use of political democracy. He supported his veto of the Bank charter, although unconstitutional, by pointing out that the Bank directors were not chosen democratically. Instead, as Document B (paragraph 3) illustrates, the government chose five directors and the a few, wealthy citizen stockholders chose the remaining 25. These directors were obviously not chosen in a democratic manner; and when Jackson “killed” the Bank, he also got rid of this undemocratic election process. Yes, Jackson did make sure to protect white male suffrage, but rather than conferring with the popularly elected officials, he listened mainly to the advice of close friends and unofficial advisers, also known as his “Kitchen Cabinet,” including Amos Kendall and Francis P. Blair. This almost defeated the purpose of popular elections. Although he protected political democracy in the above manners, Jackson

Jackson also encouraged the spoils system, which gave jobs in public office to the supporters of the successful political party. Was this democratic of him? As

The Indian Removal Act was not a peaceful transition for the Native Americans. This act was not fair for both the Native Americans, and the American citizens. Document 9 states, "…badly supplied with food and water... All our neighbors...would speak a language totally different from ours, and practice different customs..." This shows that Andrew Jackson was being very harsh to the Native Americans.

Whereas some women in some states made some strides under Jackson's rule, Native Americans and African Americans did not. Jacksonian Democracy had nothing to offer these two minorities.

Born in 1767, Andrew Jackson came into a world where oppression ran through the streets by the orders of the monarchy of the time. This new world would have been in a period of discovery, and revolution as the people of the land attempted to free themselves. Jackson would grow up a stubborn child in this world, with a wild streak. His poor background contributed to a political campaign, for the people, that would span decades. As a result of his poor background and strategic campaigning, he was seen as a representative for the common folk, and lovingly referred to as “King Mob”. Yet to analyze the success of this impactful presidency, the question of whether Andrew Jackson was truly democratic, truly a representative of the people - must

Also, Jackson’s Indian removal acts showed complete ignorance towards the individual liberties of Native people. The removal of Cherokee people from Georgia to Oklahoma, meant the death of thousands of innocent people (Document G). This was a segment of the population completely “off the radar” of foreign visitors like Harriet Martineau (Document D) and completely goes against Jackson's idea for being the guardian of individual

One example of this is Jackson's veto of the recharter of the National Bank. In addition he directly overruled a supreme court decision on the case Cherokee Nation vs. Georgia; The supreme court ruled that the Cherokee Nation was to be left alone as they were an independent entity and that they should even have a seat in the House of Representatives. However, Jackson merely laughed at their decision and shipped them off to Oklahoma, saying that if the Supreme Court wanted their decision upheld they would have to enforce it themselves something that they cannot do. In other ways, too, Jackson expanded the scope of presidential authority; he dominated his cabinet, forcing out members who would not execute his commands. In two terms he went through four secretaries of state and five secretaries of the

Andrew Jackson was the seventh president, serving from 1829-1837. Nicknamed "Old Hickory," he left an indelible imprint on the nation that extends beyond his face adorning the twenty dollar bill. Jackson split the preexisting Republican Party into the Whig and Democratic Parties, establishing the dual-party structure that exists today. He was the first president who came from a rural, deep Southern background (he was born in the rustic woods of South Carolina) and his impoverished country upbringing informed his presidential policies. As someone who also captained the premier national political position, Jackson is responsible for bringing the experience and voice of the common man to the federal government. This essay will explore three of the most salient aspects of Jackson's presidency: the Nullification Crisis of 1832, the National Bank episode of 1833-34, and the treatment of American Indians and slaves.

Democracy, as a form of government, is the idea of spreading political power to the people, while still supporting the “common man” rule. The idea behind democracy is to unify the people, and allow common citizens to have a say in their government. This idea erupted after the Jeffersonian era came to a close in 1800, the Jeffersonian era changed how exclusive America should now be. Andrew Jackson specifically played a major role in shifting America from a two party government, known as the articles of confederation to a democracy. In 1824 the Democratic Party had split into Jacksonian Democrats and Nationalist-Republicans, the split of parties allowed Andrew Jackson to fully share ideas, through his own democratic party. When the newly elected

Jackson’s version of democracy was in fact a democracy. He was not a very wealthy man, he owned a home and some land. Which was more than could be said about most Americans at the time. About ten percent of the Americans living there at that time owned enough land to vote. There was a law, stating that only white males with a good portion of land could vote in the presidential election. Andrew Jackson thought this system was so unfair, he created a new way to govern the citizens of the newly formed United States.

America’s history is rich and full of countless heroes, scandals, and incredible stories. Perhaps one of the most interesting of those stories is that of Andrew Jackson’s. To some, he was a hero, but to others, he was their worst enemy. Being raised in the mountains of the Carolinas, he became the first “backcountry president” of the United States (Wilentz, 13). His fame, though, began years before his presidency.

Jacksonian democracy was created during antebellum America. The Jackson democrats attempted to aggrandize the puissance of lower classes poor while decreasing the influence of the rich and potent. Economically, they benefited from governing during a time of paramount advances in transportation, which boosted commerce and helped the common man. Politically, they invested power into an overwhelmingly powerful executive branch. The Jacksonian democrats portrayed themselves as saviors of the common people and ruled via a powerful executive who attempted to destroy aristocracy in America.