Kali Forsythe
History 1301
November 5, 2015
Renee Celeste
The Never Ending Quest Andrew Jackson is mostly known as the 7th President of the United States, but in the book Andrew Jackson and the Search for Vindication, the reader learns that he was so much more than that. The author, James C. Curtis, repeatedly points out Jackson 's flaws. He also recognizes Jackson 's strengths and gives praise for his actions when necessary. In the book the reader gets to see what made Jackson the way he was and how his past affected him throughout his life. Jackson struggled his whole life with anxiety and insecurities, due to his childhood memories. Both his father and mother died at a young age along with his brother, leaving Jackson an orphan at just the age of fourteen. Curtis states, "No record of his exact thoughts exists, but his subsequent behavior suggests that he was
…show more content…
Curtis does a magnificent job with telling the reader how determined Jackson was. Once he saw something he wanted, he fought for it with every bone in his body. Curtis states, "Jackson would meet nullification as he had met previous challenges, with determination to defend himself and his principles. He fully recognized the risk. 'I will die for the Union, ' he said fearlessly"(145). He refused to let it go and kept pushing the issue regardless of people 's opinions. The reader can tell that the author admires Jackson for this quality. Throughout the book, Curtis states Jackson 's strengths and weaknesses but really states his opinions towards the end of the book. He states, "...Andrew Jackson now symbolizes presidential greatness. Founder of the national party system,champion of the common man,and creator of the strong presidency are but a few of the accolades history and historians accord him"(184). He obviously thinks very highly of Jackson. The reader can assert that Curtis wrote this book so people can sympathize with Jackson, and even though he was not perfect, he always did the best that
“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.
Watson’s book further describes that Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay mainly had political differences, morals, and characteristics. Although Andrew Jackson- like Henry Clay- was a supporter of increased democracy and economic development, he and his supporters still tended to believe that the growing wealth and power of
James C. Curtis’ “Andrew Jackson and the Search for Vindication” was actually a well thought out and interesting book. Curtis obviously does his research, and the story is very detailed. It is very easy to get lost in the story. Although some parts were really boring and some sentences were run on sentences, but for the most part it was a good story. Curtis wanted the readers of this book to have the whole perspective of Jackson’s life, and where he comes from.
Andrew Jackson When one first hears the name Andrew Jackson, a $20 bill pops in your mind. But with the book called Andrew Jackson, by Sean Wilentz, a professor at Princeton University goes into depth of Jackson’s life that makes one forget that he is just a face on the bill. This book has a different perspective than most about Andrew Jackson. Throughout this essay, it will go into detail about the author’s thesis, historiography, and the book bibliography.
Major Events, Ethics, and Women in Andrew Jackson’s Life Many famous people have lived in America over time. Some were known for being war heroes and some were born for being political masterminds. Few were blessed with the gift of both. In James C. Curtis’s novel, Andrew Jackson and the Search for Vindication, Curtis goes into detail over Jackson’s life.
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.
The founders of the United States did their best to create a government that would not allow erroneous decisions to greatly harm the nation. They set a percent of presidents being politically sound and well-known; their beliefs for how the nation should be handled were essential to their campaign. President Andrew Jackson, however, did not follow this system, instead winning primarily by his personality and popularity amongst the common American. While his actions in office often appeared to be for the people, most had a hidden selfish side to them that he easily covered up. With the election of 1828, Jackson radically changed American politics, focusing them more on public appearance and personal character than on intelligence and political views, making personality just as, if not more important than the actual politics of a political term.
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.
He believed Jackson needed a reality check. The Indians were there first, it was their land. He force the Natives to move away from their homeland, with brute force. He believes Jackson could not justify his actions just because it was for America’s benefit. He also stated Jackson refused to listen to many people, and he refused to let Indians live.
In the document “Jackson Battles the Bank”, it shows Jackson fighting off a monster, or the national bank, with a veto stick. Jackson was fighting to destroy the national bank. He wanted to do this because it favored the rich and not the common people. He was fighting for people to have equal rights. Instead of having no bank at all, he came up with the idea to create state banks which wouldn’t be as powerful as the National Bank.
Brittany Randall-Neppl APUSH Period 6 Mr. Kloster 12/19/2014 Andrew Jackson: Champion of the Common Man or Tyrant Andrew Jackson was born into a common life but overcame his mediocre beginnings to become a powerful politician; in 1828 he was elected president of the United States. However, he abused this position of power and made several choices that were detrimental to the welfare and rights of the American people. Jackson implemented the spoils system on a national scale and had unofficial members of his cabinet who did not have to answer to Congress. After South Carolinians were upset by the Tariff of 1832 he was angry toward those who did not agree with it. He also destroyed the National Bank and authorized the Specie Circular.
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.
Does Andrew Jackson Deserve to be on the 20-dollar bill? In my belief Andrew Jackson does not belong on the 20-dollar bill, due to the simple fact of that in 1836 Andrew Jackson tried over throwing the U.S national bank because he believed that hard currency like gold and sliver should be used. Andrew Jackson in some sense is an ironic placement on any paper currency in the United States. Although this topic is very controversial in the United States. I will try and clarify my belief about why Andrew Jacksons placement on the twenty dollar bill and why he should be reconsidered.
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.”
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”.