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Jackson Administration's Policy Case Study

Decent Essays

1. Analyze the Jackson administration’s policies (both positive and negative - 2)
Jackson’s presidency and administrational procedures, while constantly debated among historians as to whether they brought prosperity or harm upon the nation, certainly marked a transformation of American politics.
Jackson’s authoritative rule from his presidential throne greatly expanded executive power and brought the Union under one solid, governing agent. However, without Jackson’s time in the office of president, the chief executive of the United States today would most likely enjoy significantly reduced authority than Jackson’s presidency set the precedent for. For example, Jackson amplified executive power when he legitimized the usage of the veto power …show more content…

A less assertive president, such as John Quincy Adams, may not have been able to command the respect and authority to bring such a decisive end to a development as Jackson did. In his boldness, Andrew Jackson prevented all states from following South Carolina’s example of nullification and consequently prevented the dissolving of the Union and the federal government’s power over the states. If this had not occurred, the United States would be in a position similar to when they had been governed by the Articles of Confederation with a federal government incapable of uniting the states under one authority, trampled and made dysfunctional by states governments gaining the power to nullify federal law when they saw it appropriate. Jackson also gave the common man a greater voice in the government’s operation. In a day when governing a country was mainly overseen by a class of bureaucratic “gentlemen,” Jackson opened the presidential mansion to the common man, both figuratively and literally (at his inaugural ball). Jackson gave a voice to the majority of American citizens who felt they were not heard in government, similar to how pre-Revolution colonists may have felt under “virtual representation” …show more content…

In fact, an entire political party, the Whig party, was created in opposition to the severe amount of authority Jackson commanded during his tenure in office. Jackson was seen as a tyrant by many, abusing the powers granted to him by the Constitution and taking liberties that he should not have been allowed to take. His tyranny was such that he was coined “King Andrew I” by his enemies. Jackson’s goals of minimizing federal involvement in state affairs took a bad turn when he decided to wage war against the national bank. Some of Jackson’s financial policies, especially his veto of renewal of the national bank’s charter, directly contributed to the Panic of 1837. While Jackson preached that “every man is as good as his neighbor,” he did not seem to consider the Native Americans “men” in his definition as he fought fervently to force them off land that was rightfully theirs. Jackson again showed his tyrannical nature when he fought off the Supreme Court’s three separate rulings that the Cherokee Indians were entitled to their land on account of treaties that were made between American and Cherokee governments. Jackson advocated the uprooting of more than 100,000 Indians

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