Andrew Jackson was the 7th president of the United States of America and can also be considered the most controversial president in American History. As a major general in the War of 1812, Jackson became a national hero to the American people when he defeated the British in New Orleans. After Jackson was elevated to national fame, he was then recognized as the “man of the people.” Many supporters of Jackson believed that he would be a good fit for president because of his experiences with the “common man” and how he sought to view the conditions and situations of every American. Jackson then ran for president in the Election of 1824; in which Jackson and John Quincy Adams were the two who had the best chances of becoming president. Even though …show more content…
One of the keystones of why Jackson was elected president was because of his ability to embrace the role of the ‘common man’, for which Jackson was referred to as the ‘man of the people’. However, Jackson was then shown to harm many Americans during his presidency. To support this, the source Gag Rule/Pinckney Resolution discusses Jackson and his harm to the people of America by preventing Congress from any actions regarding slavery and more specifically the abolition of slavery. This supports Jackson being a non-democratic president because the Gag Rule stripped the right of the people of the United States to petition against the government. Not only this, but the Gag Rule also violated the first amendment of the United States. The historical context and causation behind the Gag Rule and it's not establishing Jackson as a democratic president are that Jackson himself used slavery as a source of wealth and wanted to protect his assets with the Gag Rule. While Jackson benefited from the Gag Rule, the American people would be harmed because many antislavery petitions were already circulating in the country. Jackson trying to put an end to antislavery for his benefit would lead to increased opposition to slavery. Slavery was one of the most important topics in the Americas during Jackson’s presidency and for president before Jackson, while Jackson’s …show more content…
It can also be argued that Jackson did serve as a democratic president because of the belief that Jackson brought changes to the government and that he was well experienced to hold the position of president. The source American Pageant supports this claim because after Jackson ran for president, many people believed that this would be a turning point in American history. They firmly believed that Jackson was the right fit for the presidency because of his democratic view. Jackson wanted the people of America to have more say in their government and wanted to increase the voice of the ‘common man’ throughout the United States. People supported Jackson as a democratic president because of his ideas of extending boundaries so that people would move out westward and Jackson wanted to run the national bank differently than before. In the Pageant, Jackson is viewed as a democratic president because he intentionally targets the ‘common man’ of the United States into believing and supporting his ideas of a democratic government. Which includes more rights to the ‘common people' such as a transfer of national power. To compare, Jackson can be identified as a democratic president because his supporters saw his inauguration as a better and enhanced revolution than the revolution of 1800 with president Thomas Jefferson. They
Jackson received harsh criticism for acting without the consent of Congress since he had gone beyond the scope of his constitutional authority. During this era of his reign, he is behaving as though he is the king and is obstructing every other thing. Jackson was the first president to declare that the president is the most important democratically elected official in the country and to greatly expand executive power. Furthermore, Jackson had engaged in the Spoils System and Rotation of Officeholders during his presidency. The Spoils System addressed a method of having favoritism towards a person or group.
Starting in 1828 the United States experienced the “Jacksonian Era”, where Andrew Jackson, the first recognized democratic president, lead our country. His time of rule is often looked at as of time of “democratization of politics.” This means that the government was becoming representatives of the people's voice, and this is exactly what Jackson believed in. He showed his democratic beliefs through many things throughout his presidency. The democratization of politics is very evident in the Jacksonian Era through things such as voting, Indian removal, and being financially in favor of the people’s wants and needs individually, rather than as a whole, because although many times he was harsh in his ways, his end goal was to ensure the people
While The Jacksonians believed they were given power by Jackson, Andrew Jackson was not democratic because of how he handled the Native Americans and the Cherokee, and how he abused his power. In document A, the Jacksonians believed that Jackson
If you were a voter in America during the period of Jackson’s presidency, he would have been the ideal candidate for president. He was known as ‘A man of the people’ as he was an ordinary man himself. He made every decision according to the will of the American people. He polled more than 56% of the popular vote that was almost twice as his opponent Henry Clay, was a protagonist; he faced the best British regulars, those who beat the napoleons and won making his country look vigorous. Andrew Jackson was a change from the past presidents, he was not from the Washington elites and was referred to as “A Man of the people”.
According to Thomas P. Abernethy, Jackson was “a frontier nabob who took sides against the democratic movement in his own state…an opportunist for whom democracy was good talk with which to win the favor of the people and thereby accomplish ulterior objectives.” Different views of Jackson continued the debate about who he really was as a leader. It was not until historian Arthur Schlesinger, took a different look at the study of Jackson. He believed that Jackson’s presidency was designed to suppress the power of capitalists, and try to help those of the lower classes. Other historians continued to disagree with Schlesinger, while others supported his idea or enhanced it, saying Jackson was almost similar to a Marxist.
Historians debate whether Andrew Jackson was Democratic or not. A common conclusion has been reached: in appearance, Andrew Jackson was a democratic president, he reasoned his actions by giving the impression that the power belonged to the people. However because he
Jackson was one of the worst presidents America has ever had and considering the pain he put the Natives through, Jackson should not be celebrated today. Jackson was a terrible and ruthless man especially towards the Native Americans. Under the Jackson administration, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee made laws forbidding the use of Indian governments. This law threatened to arrest chiefs who attempted to hold meetings and was made specifically to force Indians to
Andrew Jackson, an American lawyer, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837 was viewed as a war hero and was praised for it, people thought of him as a democratic figure in society. But I think otherwise. Andrew Jackson had claimed various times that he would listen to and benefit his citizens so they can be “free” and be treated “fair”, yet, he did not take his word. And instead of helping his citizens, he mostly only benefited himself. So, here is my perspective on Andrew Jackson and how he wasn’t that Democratic as people come to believe.
He and the Democratic Party he brought with him to Congress sought to protect the Constitution, which they strongly believed was the exact way the country needed to be run. The Jacksonian Democrats fought for a smaller and less influential federal government, that shared its powers almost equally with individual state governments and the people in charge of industry. The party upheld these standards partially, but the effects of their actions regarding them, didn’t exactly turn out the way they had intended. Ultimately, the Jacksonians may have had great intentions, but the power and greed that came with having control once it was earned twisted their views slightly, and made them more selfish, and less Democratic. They inspired the creation of new political parties and movements, which criticized them for their hypocrisy, and shaped the way modern Republicans think and act in the world
Andrew Jackson was president from the years 1829 to 1837; his presidency was seen as one of the most controversial presidencies in American history. When discussing if Jackson was a champion of the common man, we must look into what the common man of America was and what they received from Jackson’s presidency. The common man at this time was a man who had the right to vote, even if they owned land or not, and elected or nominated candidates. Socially, President Jackson strived for representation of all men and women, including slaves. Politically, Jackson was one of the first candidates to campaign for presidency.
But some people think differently. Therefore, Jackson is undemocratic because of the number of slaves he had at the time he was president, the Native Americans, and he thought national bank was unconstitutional. Jackson used slaves for much of his adult life, for helping.
He also thought that the National Bank stood in the way of opportunity for capitalists in the west and other regions. This clearly shows that Jackson had the interest of all people, the cornerstone of democracy. The article “Jackson’s Inauguration”, is another document that shows how democratic Andrew Jackson really was. This article shows how Andrew Jackson opened up the White House in celebration of his upcoming presidency. Some people saw this as a bad thing.
Andrew Jackson during his time was considered a very patriotic politician he hated the rich, he hated the Indian, and loved the idea of slavery. It has been said that he grew up not educated and had a bad up bring but still managed to get to a high political suture. Jackson at one point was general and had a very decorated portfolio, which made sense he would become president, Andrew was most well know for “The Battle of New Orleans” where Andrew Jackson, prevented the British Army and General Edward Pakenham, from seizing New Orleans nearing the end of that war.
In conclusion, President Andrew Jackson was not Democratic because he wanted everything his way, and he was very strict about a lot of things like the Bank Veto Message, his message to congress in Document 6, and the Indian Removal
One of the biggest thing that Jackson had done as a president was in 1832. Jackson vetoed a bill that would renew the second bank charter early. Jackson stated “I will kill it!”. He said this because he didn’t like the bank at all and he believed that it made the rich richer and the poor poorer. He said in his veto message “It is easy to conceive that great evils to our country and its institutions might flow from such a concentration of power in the hands of a few men irresponsible to the people.”