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Who Was Andrew Jackson A Tyrant?

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When Jackson first ran for president in 1824, he got the most popular and electoral votes, but sadly not the majority. So, by default, the House got to choose the president and it ended up being John Q. Adams. Jackson ran again in 1828, and he finally won. Was Andrew Jackson a democratic supporter, someone who believed in political and social equality for everyone, of the people, or a tyrant, a cruel and oppressive leader? Andrew Jackson was a tyrant because he disregarded the principle of checks and balances, treated Native Americans brutally, and enforced unfair tariffs. The first reason Andrew Jackson was a tyrant is because he disregarded the principle of checks and balances. As document 6 clearly states, in the Worcester v. Georgia case, the Supreme court ruled that the states have no right to pass any laws concerning the Native Americans. Jackson responded to the court by telling them that they could not do anything to enforce it. He then proceeded to pass the Indian removal act, pictured in document 5, completely ignoring the Supreme court’s decision. This evidence helps to explain why Andrew Jackson is a tyrant because it shows him violating the principle of checks and balances, …show more content…

In document 5, the illustration shows Native Americans being seized and held at gunpoint by soldiers ordered by Jackson. Additionally, a woman who was present at one of these Indian round-ups claimed that the soldiers stole a mare from her and drove her out of her home, forbidding her to carry anything with her. This evidence helps explain how Andrew Jackson is a tyrant because he was the one who enforced this removal and treatment, which proved that he did not care about what happened to the Indians, that he wasn’t a supporter of the people nor did he care about them. It showed that all he cared about was what he was going to gain from the land left behind by the Indians, just like a tyrant

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