Freedom, Liberty, and Independence

Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States and founder of the Democratic Party, was elected President in 1828, after he lost in the election of 1824 because of the Electoral College. He was a believer in true democracy, built a party that was representing what the people wanted and did everything he could to close the deep divisions between rich and poor. But he was not always correct in how he acted. In some ways, Andrew Jackson was like Thomas Jefferson: He never really liked the Bank of the United States. When it was time to renew the Bank’s charter, he sent a veto message saying that the Bank needed to be abolished. Jackson thought that it was not a good thing to have the national’s financial strength in a single institution, that the Bank only helped the rich people to become even richer, and that it had too much control over members of the Congress and favored the northeast over the southwest. Jackson was

Andrew Jackson wrote a letter to Congress on July 10, 1832, saying the “rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes" (Doc. F). Jackson is talking about the national bank in this letter to Congress and it was very well known from his close friends that he had “always been afraid of banks... [and called bankers} ‘“vipers and thieves’” (Shi, Tindall, 324). He thought that the national bank caused the government to have too much control over the people, but the way

A cartoon created by the Whigs during the election of 1832 portrayed in Document E illustrates how Jackson has taken on so much power and becomes a tyrannical ruler. He stands with the veto power in one hand and a scepter, symbol of authority in the other. In addition, Jackson is also stepping on the U.S. Constitution under one foot and two important creations of Congress, Internal Improvements and The Bank of the United States. Taking all the details together, we can tell that Jackson is thwarting Constitutional democracy. Document F, Jackson’s Veto Message to Congress explains how the rechartering of the National Bank could hurt the nation. Of the twentyfive directors of the bank, five are chosen by government and twenty by the citizen stockholders. Thus,the rich might “bend the acts of government for their selfish purposes.” The evidence shows that Jackson wanted to benefit the rich class instead of the nation as a whole. Jackson’s veto was undemocratic because he did not let the citizens have a say in the workings of government. By vetoing the recharter bill, it would create conflict which would weaken the

President Andrew Jackson veto against the bank bill is truly a communication to Congress but it is also like a political manifesto. He states that the privileges possessed by the bank are unauthorized by the Constitution, subversive of the rights of the States, and dangerous to the liberties of the people.

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

In his veto message, Jackson wrote, "It is to be regretted that rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes." This was true, since the bank was used to provide for the interests of the rich and not the common men such as the small farmers and urban workers.

Although Jackson was a hard money supporter, he was sensitive to his many soft money supporters, and made it clear that he would object to renewing the charter of the Bank of the United States, which was due to expire in 1836. When Jackson could not legally abolish the Bank of the United States before the expiration of its charter, he weakened it by removing the government’s deposits from the bank. Jackson fired two of his secretary of treasury when they refused to carry out the order because they believed that such an action would destabilize the financial system. Jackson got Roger Taney to carry out his order. Taney took the deposits out of the Bank of the

To begin, Andrew Jackson was determined to get the people more representation in all branches of government. This was most likely because of the corrupt bargain that had so angered him due to the lack of democracy in the presidential election.

Nicholas Biddle proved great opposition to President Jackson. He wanted to re-charter the National Bank; however, many people were against Biddle’s decision. This was particularly true of people in the west. They were still wary of a national bank, after the Panic of 1819, which involved mishaps in land speculation. Jackson shared the predominately western opinion that several small banks would be a better service to the nation than one, large bank would. A major problem with a national bank would lie in it’s willingness only to make loans to the wealthy. This would be of no use to the middleclass. Jackson would not allow Biddle to gain any more power than he already had.

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.

Jackson resented banks because he was a man who came from a family of poor farmers who paid with goods and crops. He saw banks as only useful to the wealthy, so when Henry Clay proposed “The Bank Bill”, which was in favor of the recharter, Jackson vetoed it. Andrew Jackson only thought about himself, and people who were like him, poor farmers. In total, vetoed twelve bills during his presidency, which was more than all of the preceding presidents combined. Again, Jackson set his mind to do something, and it was done.

The validity of President Andrew Jackson’s response to the Bank War issue has been contradicted by many, but his reasoning was supported by fact and inevitably beneficial to the country. Jackson’s primary involvement with the Second Bank of the United States arose during the suggested governmental re-chartering of the institution. It was during this period that the necessity and value of the Bank’s services were questioned.

Andrew Jackson believed that the US bank placed too much control into the hands of a wealthy few. He believed the Bank of the United States was a tool of the rich to get richer and he believed it gave private bankers the power over the nation's economy. Due to this fact, Jackson vetoed the bank’s recharter in 1832, and he declared the monopolistic bank unconstitutional. In attempt to benefit the lower, working classes, he placed the federal money in “pet” state banks. This attempt destabilized the national currency, decreased currency in markets, and displayed favoritism in Jacksonian policies.(page 286) Also, the Specie Circular in 1836 a complete disaster.

The Bank of the United States was technically the second bank of the U.S. since the first bank’s charter ended in 1811. The second bank held a monopoly over federal deposits, provided credit to growing enterprises, issued banknotes that served as a dependable medium of exchange, and used a restraining effect on the less well-managed state banks. Jackson didn’t trust the bank and thought it had too much power, so Jackson sought out to destroy it. There were two different groups when it came to opposition, “soft-money” and “hard-money”. Soft money supporters were progressive, they believed in economic growth and bank speculation. They supported the use of paper money and were mainly made up of bankers and allies to bankers. Hard money supporters were against expansion and bank speculation. They supported coinage only and rejected all banks that used paper money, which included the federal bank. Jackson was a hard money supporter although, he felt sympathy to the soft money supporters. Jackson could not legally end the bank before its charter expired. By removing the

Liberty and Power: The Politics of Jacksonian America by Harry L. Watson, examines the newly introduced political system America creates, and how it ever-so-slowly contributes to the rise of one of the greatest nations. Unfortunately, due to the recent dismemberment from an empire who ruled using a