Why Did Andrew Jackson Act Like A King

Andrew Jackson was a man of action not of philosophy people say. He once was a slave owner before his presidency years. He took up the matter of slavery in only a political aspect. America was supposed to be a land of the free, and yet we have slaves. On July 5, 1852 people gathered in New York to here a speech about Independence Day by an African American former slave Fredrick Douglas. He blamed Andrew Jackson for the spread of slavery in America. He saw him as a hypocritical politician and a hypocritical American. Jackson transformed millions of acres of land that Indians lived on (Indian removal act) in the south into cotton plantations. This probably would have happened without Jackson but he was the heart of this whole idea in making plantations for slaves to work on. Now if he was the man he says he is why would he want more land for African Americans to work on?

This quote by Jackson underlies the fact the he was a selfish, tyrannical ruler. He did not make decisions based on the interests of the whole nation but on his own personal benefit, in search of self- achievement. Although he was portrayed or possibly manipulated the citizens to believe that he was a president for the common man, that was simply not the way he acted. As president, he purposely ignored the power of the Judicial branch to judge laws, and strengthened the power of the Executive branch above the limits in the Constitution. He was also said to be rude and uneducated, which

Jacksonian's viewed themselves as guardians of the constitution, political democracy, individual liberties, and equality of economic opportunity. Many of his followers from that time tended to agree but a lot of people today look back and disagree with each of these assumptions. I believe that he was a keeper of the constitution and political democracy. Depending upon your outlook, Jackson was a guardian of individual liberties, even with his oppression of African American slaves, Indians, and women. His equality of economic opportunity was more towards the common man that the elite but gave that common man a larger chance for equality with the elites without allowing the elites a greater chance to increase their wealth.

Even though Jackson was very successful during his presidency, there were some events in history that really showed his “weaknesses”. Jackson was classified as a lunatic. He was feared by many, especially his opponents. Due to his temper and poor decisions, Jackson did not mind to go to war for what he believed in or did not care to remove anyone against him. He was a real savage, and I feel the country at this time of period needed this type of mentality in the presidency. A negative event that took place during his term was the Trail of Tears, which was the forced removal of Native Americans from their homeland, resulting in the death of thousands of people. He also promoted slavery and he himself owned many and showed cruelty towards them. Andrew Jackson was stubborn and only cared about himself, but I do believe he

Andrew Jackson was a well known politician back in the 1800s. He was one of many key people that helped change and impacted through their actions. Andrew Jackson fought in the revolutionary war when he was 13 years old. Andrew won the 1828 election by a landslide because after the Henry Clay scandal, Adams became very unpopular in addition, Andrew had many voters that were common people they supported him because he directly appealed to them because of the changes he said he would make when he became president.

The first reason jackson ran office more like a king then like a president was that his presidency invented the spoils system. The spoils system was a practice of dismissing government job holders affiliated with a defeated party and replacing them with supporters of the winning party. Jackson rewarded the people, family members, and friends who supported him during his campaign for president into these jobs, instead of basing these positions on the experience of individuals. A president should not hire people because they are family or friends, this is what a king would do.

At the beginning of Jackson’s first term, it was made clear that he was for the people, believing in equal rights. From the start, Andrew Jackson worried about the powers government had and often times he would become incensed if he felt certain liberties were in danger. Because he believed in power being given to the people, Andrew Jackson was angered by privileges wealthy people received in politics and at the national bank. The beginning of Jackson’s presidency as well as his beliefs gave hope to the everyday American citizens for they felt they finally had some kind of voice. Jackson was most known as the “man of the people”, so he did not always agree with or support certain laws the government tried to pass.

It is clear from the documents that Andrew Jackson acted like a king. One reason that Andrew Jackson acted like a king was because he was a slaveholder. Document 7 stated that Andrew Jackson owned about 150 slaves. Owning 150 slaves supports that Jackson acted like a king because if he was a hero of the common man, he would do his own work and not force other people to. Document 7 also claims that when Andrew Jackson became president, his slaveholding numbers shot up.

It is clear from the documents that Andrew Jackson acted like a king because of several different reasons. One reason that Andrew Jackson acted like a king was because he refused to listen to others who told him differently. Document 6 stated that Andrew Jackson's vice president Van Buren warned Andrew Jackson about Swartwout, but Andrew Jackson didn't listen and hired him anyway. Andrew Jackson gave jobs to his friends like Swartwout who then went and stole $1 million dollars, which was the biggest theft in USA history. This reason showed he acted like a king because he didn't listen to president Van Buren who warned him about Swartwout, and he gave jobs to his friends. Another reason that Andrew Jackson acted like a king was because he owned

Jackson was more like a king for lots of reasons. Like the Nullification Crisis &

It is clear from the documents that Andrew Jackson acted like a king. One reason that Andrew Jackson acted king was because he did not listen to Martin Van Buren his vice president about Swarthout's criminal past. Document 6 stated that Swarthout liked Jackson so he hired him even though what Van Buren said right. Swarthout stole over a million when he worked for Jackson and it was all because he didn’t listen to his vice president and hired a man he liked. Mr. Moore taught us that the war that he got into with the bank of the US did not do much it could of helped the poor as well .

When Jackson was President, he acted more like a King. A King is a man who holds by life tenure, and usually by heredity right, the chief authority over a country and people. The spoil system, Removal of deposits, and ignored major problems are some issues when Jackson acted like an King.

An Imperfect People with a Perfect Mission “The planter, the farmer, the mechanic, and the laborer... form the great body of the people of the United States, they are the bone and sinew of the country men who love liberty and desire nothing but equal rights and equal laws.” (Andrew Jackson) Different traits attract a voter to a candidate, some prefer a candidate with a military background, others want a middle class commoner, and others want someone with political backgrounds. Andrew Jackson fulfilled all of these categories and, not surprisingly, took the white house with a sweep in 1828. His initial climb up the political ladder, military career, and presidency, displayed how Jackson stood out from his predecessors and valued the countries

When a larger culture meets a smaller culture, the larger culture decides how to react to the smaller culture. The larger culture can leave the smaller culture alone, it can co-exist, or it can force the assimilation of the smaller culture trying to destroy it. The leader of a culture whether the smaller or larger, can abuse their power even though they mean to strengthen or simply maintain their people and culture. A smaller culture’s leader can misuse their power accidentally by trying to maintain the survival of their people, at the expense of their culture. In addition, a larger culture’s leaders can abuse their power over the smaller culture by forcing assimilation, and justifying their abuse of power. The article “From Rez Life” authored

If I lived back in the Jacksonian Era, my view of the man would be very unpleasant. These actions are something that a tyrant would do, like King Louis XIV or Muammar Gaddafi, who totally ignored their nations’ rights. I believe Andrew Jackson ignored two branches of the United States government; the legislative and the judicial branches. He vetoed laws that he believes that hurt the country, but in my eyes, the Bank was always needed, especially in their time of economic crisis. He also ignored the decision of the Supreme Court in the Cherokee vs. Georgia case, something that a President should not do. I do acknowledge Andrew Jackson’s protection of democracy and