How Did Andrew Jackson A Positive Impact On The United States?

Jacksonian Democrats viewed themselves as the guardians of the United States Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of economic opportunity. However, the Jacksonian Democrats were in a catch 22. In order for them to protect the interests of the common man, they at times had to violate the very things for which they stood. By doing this, the Jacksonian Democrats stressed the importance of the power of the common man, at times by violating their own principles.

“Build a fire under them. When it gets hot enough, they’ll move”. There are many opposing opinions as to if Andrew Jackson abused his presidential power under the Indian Removal Act of 1830, and accordingly, each side can be justified. However, there is more solid evidence proving that Andrew Jackson did indeed misuse his duties as president by transforming the free movement of Indians to a forced one. Although many believed that Andrew Jackson demonstrated a genuine concern for the well being of the Native Americans, Jackson abused his power as president by unfairly enforcing the Indian Removal Act that did not authorize him to repeal treaties or force the relocation of Indians.

When it came to political matters the Jacksonians “Democrats” favored states' rights and frowned upon the Federal Government’s involvement in social and economic affairs. The Democrats portrayed and thought of themselves as the common man, a lower-class person who made his living off the land. They also promoted the idea that anyone could hold a government position. This would glorify the individual and its mind.

Supporting the Democratic Party they believed “government should adopt a hands-off attitude toward the economy and not award special favors to entrenched economic interests” (Foner, p. 380). These views were opposed by parties like the Whigs which believed that the American national government should be strengthened. Foner states “Whigs united behind the American system, believing that via a protective tariff, a national bank, and aid to internal improvements, the federal government could guide economic development” (Foner, p. 381). Jackson’s opposition to the stronger national government essentially created opposing sides to the development of America. Jackson’s strong stance on issues like the national banks and government is what accounted for hostilities that he stirred up among people with opposing views. Though these beliefs created hostility from opposing views they were also what created such a strong following from the Democratic

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.

Jacksonian Democrats help create a more democratic America and because of this, believed themselves to be many things, real and fictional. In most cases they perceived themselves as defenders of equal economic opportunity, even though they sometimes put their own interests before those of the people. They also thought of themselves as guardians of political democracy, while at the same time using class differences to their advantage and emotionalized speeches, lacking real intellectual merit, to stir support. Jacksonian Democrats felt that they were the protectors of the Constitution and of individual liberties but many times they put their rivalry with the Northeastern industry and Whig politics before these things. While Jacksonians

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

Jacksonian democracy was created during the antebellum America. The Jackson democrats made an attempt to grant power to the lower classes while decreasing the influence of the rich and potent. The Jacksonian democrats viewed themselves as saviors of the common people and ruled by the means of a powerful executive branch who attempted to destroy aristocracy in America. In reality, they were typically very wealthy, they disregarded the capability of the federal government, and they desired equality only for the white man. The Jacksonian’s view of themselves was pompous because of their political views, their animosity towards minorities, and their economic policies.

The Jacksonian Democratic Party and the Whig Party each, exemplified different beliefs on the role of the federal government in the economy and towards westward expansion in the 1830s and 1840s. However, the Jacksonian, laissez faire supporting Democrats and the economic nationalistic Whig party shared almost no beliefs except for the removal of American Indians in the areas their supporters wished to settle. The lack of similarities is because the Whigs formed their own party to oppose President Jackson’s strong-armed leadership style and policies which earned him the nickname “King Andrew.” The Jacksonian Democratic Party evolved out of the Democratic-Republican Party in the early 1800s, the core of its membership was composed of farmers, immigrants, and white Southerners. The Whigs formed in 1834 and lasted for 20 years, they were the major political party that opposed Andrew Jackson. The Whigs were created based upon the Federalist beliefs in a strong federal government and adopted many Federalist and National Republican policy ideas, including federal funding for internal improvements, a central bank, and high tariffs to protect the growth of manufacturing enterprises. Overall, the Jacksonian Democratic agrarian Party and the industrialization supporting Whig Party had different beliefs toward the role of the federal government in the economy and towards westward expansion.

The growing power of the executive branch and the imbalance of power among the common men opposes the idea that the Jacksonian Democrats protected political democracy. Despite the divided opinions, vetoing the recharter of the Second National Bank was considered a failure of Jackson’s presidency because it did not protect political democracy.

The corrupt bargain is well known, however there is no way to prove that it actually took place. Even though Henry Clay threw his support behind John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson was able to win the election in 1828 and 1832. Jackson had different ideas compared to what the American were used to, as a result, two political parties emerged. The Jacksonian Democracy, whose ideas correlated with Andrew Jackson, and the Whigs, whose wanted tariffs and internal improvements (Document H). When Jackson became president, many new ideas came into play. The Jacksonian Democracy disagreed with several American customs, including the Bank of the United States. However, the Jacksonian Democracy protected the political democracy of white male suffrage, protected the glorified liberty of the individual, and protected the economy from the Bank of the United States. Therefore, the Jacksonian Democracy was a guardian of the United States Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of economic opportunity.

Andrew Jackson also demonstrated democratic qualities through his bank veto message. This was a very important subject at the time, since slave owners were making a great deal of profit. The banks were making a lot of money, and so were the wealthy. Slaves were becoming more and more popular, and if the bank veto had gone the other way, it would have changed the economy at that time. Since slave owners were already making a lot of money, Jackson knew that if he did not veto the bank message, the wealthy people of the country would only become wealthier. “ It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes.” (Document F). In Document F, he is explaining that idea of rich people becoming richer, and that the men of the banks cannot be trusted for the sake of the people of the country. In Document G, Daniel Webster states that Jackson’s move only turned the social classes against each other, since he is claiming the wealthy men are only looking to benefit themselves. “ It manifestly seeks to

The Jacksonian economic policy held a major effect on our government developing into a democracy. The economic policy held many factors which benefited to the change. One of the first factors that the policy held, is how Andrew Jackson tried to kill the National Bank when he was in office. Jackson did not

Do you think Andrew Jackson a good president? In some opinions they say yes, in others say no. The way you see it as yes is that he helped people, the way you see it as no is he helped people in the wrong way. I seem to think he is a crazy bastard, but that’s just my opinion. Andrew Jackson was democratic because of Native American removal and nullification.

The Democrats wanted to limit the role of government in the market and wanted to resolve the tensions among the Northeast, West, and South. Also they wanted to do away with the national bank (Jackson put a lot of money into city and state bands as a result) and sell land at low rates and leave internal improvement basically to the states to deal with. The proposed government of the democrats was one centered in local affairs (one of the most important was slavery). Jackson therefore wanted weak central government within a permanent union. However soon came up the issue of Nullification with South Carolinas attempt to nullify the tariff of 1828.