Eric Foner and his credentials were mentioned in the previous source and will not be expounded upon in great detail for this source. However, his expertise in social change throughout American history is noteworthy because the book focuses on the political climate and how society influenced policy during the time period. Harry Watson received his Ph. D. from Northwestern University and currently teaches at the University of North Carolina. At the University, he is the director of the Center for the Study of the American South while specializing in the Antebellum American South and the Jacksonian America. His research interests are political, social, and cultural history, which are aligned with the primary elements of this book. Instead of focusing on Andrew Jackson, and how he shaped politics, the book focused on the political arena broadly. Watson described the two major political parties with ease and simplicity, and how they evolved over time. Watson defined the Democrat and Whig parties’ platforms, policies, and aimed …show more content…
The Bank War, problems with Indians, and slavery were all examples used in the book to depict the political climate of the time period, and how parties were transformed. The book gave an overview of the era and placed Andrew Jackson as a character within the story of the development of America, not the focal point. This perspective is insightful because it shows that while Jackson was a major contributor to the era he is not the only force that determined the course of America. Therefore, it can be said that his ideas were not solely his, but were supported by other groups, which were produced based on the political climate described in the book. However, Jackson must be held accountable for his actions since he was the one who made them, even if the majority of people within the era agreed with his decisions and
Andrew Jackson transformed from the man on the twenty dollar bill to a great commander and leader, and I learned how important this battle really was to modern America. I liked how fast paced the book managed to be, while still fully explaining the details of the war. A lot of nonfiction books tend to lose me with all of the different names and dates, but I feel that I was able to keep up with this one fairly well. I wanted to praise this book for showing that America was not a perfect place at this time, as it feels like a like of people actually believe that. For example, the depiction of the slave who had a “collar of spikes around his neck” put on him for trying to escape by an American was necessary for this purpose (88).
In the book, Cheathem described and articulated how Andrew Jackson’s life was shaped in the South. Through culture, Jackson formed his persona and ideals. It is evident that Cheathem has a vast understanding of Southern culture. Therefore, his article about Andrew Jackson Donelson’s honor, who is Andrew Jackson’s nephew, should be considered as an extension of Cheathem’s immense knowledge of the history of the South and its culture.
Jackson presidency was marked as a new era in Indian-Anglo American relations by imitating a policy of Indian removal. Before the removal, he made about 70 treaties with Native American tribes both in the South and the Northwest. His First Annual Message to Congress and some others begins in December of 1829, which contained remarks on the present and future state of American Indians in the United States. He argued that it was for the Indians own well, that they should be resettled on the vacant lands west of the Mississippi River. During the time in Congress, debates on a bill didn’t begin until late February 1830.
“The Birth of Modern Politics” is about the 1828 presidential election, which pitted Andrew Jackson vs. against John Quincy Adams. Parson’s book also discusses the events in Andrew Jackson’s and John Quincy Adams’ lives leading up to it as well. The book opens by giving background information about Andrew Jackson and his achievements. Specifically, his success in conquering the Native Americans at the battle of New Orleans and his humble origins made Jackson America’s first “man of the people” candidate for the 1824 election. However, during the 1824 election, Jackson had lost to Adams to which his followers claimed he was denied and should have won.
In the journal article “ Andrew Jackson versus the Historians”, author Charles G. Sellers explained the various interpretations of Jackson, from the viewpoint of Whig historians and Progressive Historians. These interpretations were based on the policies of Jackson. The Whig historians viewed the former president in a negative way. They considered him arrogant, ignorant, and not fit for being president. Sellers pointed out that it was not just because of “Jackson’s personality…nor was it the general policies he pursued as president”
In the article “Abuse of Power: Andrew Jackson and the Indian Removal Act of 1830,” the author, Alfred A. Cave, writes about President Jackson’s abuse of power. He is arguing that Jackson abused his power when he was enforcing the Indian Removal Act. He argues that Jackson broke guarantees he made to the Indians. He uses a political methodology and uses secondary sources.
The era of Andrew Jackson which was nicknames the era of the “common man” certainly lived up to its name. As the seventh President of the United States, Jackson had a major effect on the life of the common man, in such a way that the life of the common man would never be the same again. Jackson’s aim, after the manner in which he was defeated in the Presidential Election of 1824, despite receiving more popular votes than John Quincy Adams who took on the office, was to reduce the power and the authority of the elite. When he came into power after the 1828 election Jackson began to carry out his proposals. Jackson expanded the voting right to all men, in accordance with the Declaration of Independence of 1776 which declared that “all men are created equal” instead of just the elite.
Andrew Jackson was seen as a common man the voice of the people by some. By others he was King Andrew, trampling the constitution and instigating tyranny. Jackson’s presidency impacted democracy, through his use of the veto power, and his claim of Clay creating a “corrupt bargain”, which is not a turning point for a rise in democracy despite him giving white male suffrage. During Jackson’s use of executive power weakened voice of the people.
Andrew Jackson, being a tyrant, abused his power in his time of presidency. He was the 7th president, but before Jackson’s presidency, he had no political experience. One of the only things that really qualified him was the hardships he went through when he was younger. His father had died while Jackson was young and Jackson received the reputation as a “self-made man”, or an independent man.
With air-conditioning, skyscrapers, interstates, rural improvement to shopping malls, the new South was no more plainly separated from the rest of the country. The political, economic and social change in the South brought historical movements, belief systems and patterns into the Modern South. I will be concentrating on Modern South 's political parties, social identities, culture wars, environmental conditions and change in economic aspects in the middle of WWII and today. By the most recent years of the twentieth century, the Republican Party had turned into a noteworthy power in the South.
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.”
Others, on the other hand, believe he was far from accomplishing that. Politics are a way that expresses how the Unites States was not democratized during this time period. Jacksons animosity towards the Indians exposed his undemocratic actions during his first years of his presidency. However,
During Andrew Jackson’s presidency, he was not the best president. Some might consider him the worst. Most of Jackson’s actions during his presidency were deemed unconstitutional and illegal but were allowed due to the people’s support for Jackson. His plans for America didn’t include women, blacks or Indians. Jackson replaced all the Cabinet members with his selection friends, also known as the “Kitchen Cabinet”.
Born into a non-aristocratic poor family, somewhere in the Carolina’s on March 14, 1767, was a man named Andrew Jackson. Jackson, also called “Old Hickory” was a very bold proactive man in American history. From being a military hero and founding the democratic party to enacting the trail of tears and dismantling the of the Bank of the United States, the man and his legacy are a prominent topic for scholarly debate. Some believe he was a great president and some believe he was the worse president. But if you look at it from a moral perceptive or in the eyes of a foreigner, Jackson’s legacy was far more villainous than heroic.
Finally, it will be argued that the modern political party system in the United States is a two-party system dominated by the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. These two parties have won every United States presidential election since 1852 and have controlled the United States Congress since 1856. The Democratic Party generally positions itself as centre-left in American politics and supports a modern American liberal platform, while the Republican Party generally positions itself as centre-right and supports a modern American conservative platform. (Nichols, 1967)