Andrew Jackson, the Tyrant That Plagued American Democracy
When America turned away from the tyranny England placed on America for centuries to go for more people’s freedom and a democratic county with the constitution, there were issues with the constitution and the new Democratic society that plagued early America. The one group of people that had a say in the government were rich white males that owned land could vote on laws and the legislative voted on the president. In both cases of voting, however, the power of voting was often abused. One example of this abusive power was the election of 1824. When the presidential candidate, Andrew Jackson lost the election due to Henry Clay giving John Quincy Adams his votes to win the election, Jackson
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An example is when Jackson vetoed the bill to recharter the Second Bank of the United States. He claimed that he was protecting the democracy, saying that the liberty and corruption of the bank was harming America (Doc F). Jackson was a person who saw what the Second Bank did in the Panic of 1819. It caused many farmers who supported him and were like him to go into debt and poverty of the economic slump. While he was trying prevent corruption in reality, he feared that bankers like Henry Clay would campaign against him and he used it for his and his followers own personal reasons. Jackson was trying to prevent another Panic of 1819 from happening again by using his power to veto this law to help his campaign for president in 1832 and his farm followers. Jackson faced another issue with the Nullification Crisis when South Carolina voided the tariff of 1828 that caused economic issues for them. Jackson was a believer in Democracy and the ideas of Thomas Jefferson where the states decided if they obeyed a certain law. However, Jackson realized the importance of the tariff to protect American industries from cheap foreign imports by using force and his political power to enforce the tariff on South Carolina. In order to protect the economy of the United States, Jackson had to disobey his own ideas of democracy and letting the people decide to become a tyrant and abuse his …show more content…
The only group of people that received equality was white farmers. Many people saw it as a political change was the country house to farm house and Jackson as a dirt farmer hero (Doc B). The reason people viewed him like this was that Jackson was a small farmer too who understood the issues and ideas needed to benefit them. When Jackson became president, farmers viewed it as a way to receive their wants, and that is what Jackson did. He only gave democracy and freedom to farmers who supported him while others like slaves, still faced oppression. Jackson argued that slaves were the farmers’ economy, not humans and they should not be treated like humans. Jackson himself owned slaves before and during his presidency and during his presidency, tripled in size over a 15 year period. (Doc O). The reason Jackson owned slaves was he grew up on a small farm in the south around the institution of slavery and owned farms when he was president. Like his neighbors and his democratic white farmers, Jackson bought slaves and used them to work his plantation to make profits, creating the idea that Jackson had the same ideas and desires the farmers wanted . When the north argued that he should remove slavery, he viewed it as a threat to sectionalism and to his Democratic party. That caused him to ignore the wants of the north to continue his following around the
Andrew Jackson should be remembered as a president known for creating crises because he was the reason for the Trail of Tears and killing the B.U.S. In 1820 thousands of Native Americans were peacefully living east of the Mississippi River. That was until white settlers wanted to expand by taking over Native American land. The Worcester v. Georgia Supreme Court was a discussion of the Cherokee’s land. Andrew Jackson and the Supreme Court differed on the Cherokee’s claims of their lands. According to Document B; “John Marshall has made his decision… now let him enforce it”, John Marshall was supporting the Cherokees to keep their lands. This quote refers to Jackson ignoring John Marshall’s ruling and sending troops anyways. In 1830, Congress
The Age of Jackson, from the 1820 's to the 1830 's, was a period of American history full of contradictions, especially in regard to democracy. The period saw an immense increase in voter participation, nominating committees replaced caucuses, and electors began to be popularly elected. Yet, all of these voting changes affected only a minority of the American people: White, Anglo-Saxon males. So, though one can easily tell that White, Anglo-Saxon males were gaining
In the span of 20 years, 42 states elected by the people, and 27 states elected by the legislature. (Document 1). The election of Jackson was considered a “revolution,” because of its peaceful transfer of power. This revolution was different from any other, because it was achieved by ballots rather than bullets. Jacksonians cried, “Shall the people rule?” and the answer was, “The people shall rule!” Andrew Jackson was so notable that people have come 500 miles to see him and think that the country is rescued from some dreadful danger. It is said Jackson’s victory accelerated the transfer of national power from the country-house to the farmhouse, from the East to the West, and from the snobs to the mobs. If Jackson was a hero of the gentleman farmer, he was surely a hero of the dirt farmer. Jackson was democratic because he granted all men equal rights, and believed that the common man is just as good as the wealthy. This is how he got all his support, most of which came from the common man. We must also consider that he was a common man who became successful as president. He disagreed with the wealthy, who tried to empower the common man/farmers, and was a large supporter of wester farmers, low tariffs, and pet banks, rather than a national bank. (Document 2).
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.
A democratic society was on the rise and many Americans believed in equality but ignored enslaved African Americans. Government moved out of the houses of rich men and into the houses of the middle and lower- classes; education improved, suffrage laws were enacted, and newspapers were increasingly circulated. The political parties greatly changed; third parties began to rise, four candidates were chosen for one party, and Andrew Jackson lost his first election to John Adams. Adams lost his reelection to Jackson; both of whom created smear campaigns for each other, this improved voter turnout. Jackson represented the common man, throughout his presidency he served
Andrew Jackson supported the oppressed people in the United States by allowing the power of the government to switch from national power to the power of the people.
Andrew Jackson ran for president during the 1824 election. Due to the Corrupt Bargain, Jackson lost to Quincy Adams. However, the next election, Jackson won. When he took office, the Spoils System would take place. Government officials when George Washington was president had been fired because they did not have the same views as Andrew Jackson. In addition, he set up a Kitchen Cabinet of informal advisors to assist him. In 1833, Jackson vetoed the Bank Bill because he felt like the bank only benefitted the wealthy residents. This veto and all of his other vetoes, he would veto more bills than all the presidents before him would. During his presidency, he would use a lot of power while changing the view of a president.
Andrew Jackson’s path to presidency was unique. In the election of 1824, there were four main candidates, John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, William H. Crawford, and Andrew Jackson. Jackson gained the most popular votes of the four Democratic-Republican candidates, but not the majority of electoral votes to win the election. Henry Clay, who was eliminated from the election, held a decisive position as the speaker of the House of Representatives. Clay was in a position to throw the election to the candidate of his choice. Clay threw his support behind Adams since he had led some of the strongest attacks against Jackson. Rather than the nation’s presidency go to a man he abhorred, Clay secured the White House for Adams. In return Adams named
President Jackson acted undemocratically because of his actions against the national bank. On July 10th, 1832, Jackson sent a bank veto message to congress. The message was sent to remove the US National Bank because it was only helpful for a wealthier class for things like investments. Citizens from wealthier classes were outraged by Jackson’s actions. Former senator Daniel Webster replied to Jackson message saying, “It manifestly seeks to
The Jacksonian democracy of the 1820s-1830s is often associated with an expansion of the political influence, economic opportunities, and social equality available to “the common man,” a concept of the masses which President Andrew Jackson and his newly founded Democratic party came to represent. The new administration certainly saw gains for the majority; namely, public participation in government increased to unprecedented levels, and several economic decisions were made to favor the people over monopolies. Beginning with their exaggerated portrayal of the “corrupt” 1824 election however, the Jacksonian democrats also left a legacy of substantial miscalculations
In addition to creating a more democratic country, Jackson also tried to establish equal economic opportunity for the people of America. The best example of this is the vetoing of the charter of the Bank of the United States. The bank was a huge monopoly. It was ran by aristocrats, most of which were from England. Nicholas Biddle, who was the president of the bank, often used funds from the bank to lend money to the members of Congress, thus wining their support.
In addition to creating a more democratic country, Jackson also tried to establish equal economic opportunity for the people of America. The best example of this is the vetoing of the charter of the Bank of the United States. The bank was a huge monopoly. It was ran by aristocrats, most of which were from England. Nicholas Biddle, who was the president of the bank, often used funds from the bank to lend money to the members of Congress, thus wining their support.
Despite this, Andrew Jackson still supported the tariff due to his underlying political beliefs of Jacksonian Democracy. Richard Ellis comments, “Of all the major issues confronting Jackson during his first administration, the one he had the most difficulty formulating a policy on was the tariff. The economic, political, and constitutional issues raised by the tariff were in congruous with his democratic and states' rights values. As a result, Jackson found the tariff to be an unclear and confusing issue. He issued statements on it which were vague and ambiguous, and he adopted policies that were equivocal and, to a certain extent, even inconsistent.
Jackson’s veto against the bank was his primary action in office. Jackson appealed to the south, which also formatted on the beliefs of simplicity. Additionally, Jackson attempted to prolong tariffs, which the south was unsupportive of, as much as possible and in 1833 contributed to the nullification. Without the power of presidency, Henry Clay went through great measures to enhance America with his American System. “ He (Clay) argued over and over that banking was not dangerous, that paper money helped the while society to prosper, and that n economy based on barter and specie alone brought poverty, not liberty, to the farmers of Kentucky.”
Democracy in the United States became prominent in the early to mid 19th century. Andrew Jackson, the 7th president of the United States, was inaugurated in 1829 and was best known as the person who mainstreamed democracy in America. Because he came from a humble background, he was the “genuine common man.” (Foner, pg. 303) He claimed he recognized the needs of the people and spoke on behalf of the majority [farmers, laborers]. However, critics of Jackson and democracy called him “King Andrew I” because of his apparent abuse of presidential power [vetoing]. These critics believed he favored the majority so much that it violated the U.S. constitution, and they stated he was straying too far away from the plan originally set for the