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An Analysis Of Andrew Jackson's Spoils System

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Imagine you are living a few years after Andrew Jackson’s presidency. You find out your money held in the National Bank is not stable. Everyone goes into a panic, and you aren’t able to focus on anything else because you are worried about your money. This actually happened to many people during Andrew Jackson’s presidency. This is one of the reasons that has led people to believe his presidency shouldn’t be admired, and I agree with those who think that. Andrew Jackson’s presidency should not be admired by our current generation because he led the United States to a financial crisis and used the spoils system. The financial crisis that occured was a big effect of Andrew Jackson’s presidency.

Andrew Jackson led the United States to a financial …show more content…

The spoils system Andrew Jackson used meant that he chose who got to work with him and be cabinet members. This wasn’t beneficial to the United States because he chose people he thought would support his needs, and didn’t choose by education and people that would word hard and contribute ideas. According to American History: Spoils System, “Appointments to office were based on the needs of the party, rather than a person's qualifications or skills to do the job… The Spoils System led abuses of political power designed to benefit and enrich the ruling party.” The spoils system only allowed the needs of Jackson’s political party to be fixed, but not any of the others. Most of the people Andrew Jackson hired were those who supported what he was doing and those who believed in the same ideas as him. The people hired started to abuse this power they were granted, and it did not benefit anyone except for themselves. The spoils system might have kicked out wealthy men that were well educated and had great ideas, and replaced them with commoners with not much education and skill in helping to run the states. By using the spoils system, it showed one way Andrew Jackson was not a strong leader to the United

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One of the most essential things that Jackson did to expand democracy was his use of the spoils system. Presidents before Jackson, like Washington, had used the system but not in a large scale. Andrew Jackson basically adopted the spoils system in an even bigger scale. One of the reasons why Jackson was so well liked by many and hated by many others was because he was a direct and blunt person. Andrew Jackson wanted the best in his cabinet and by all means Jackson would make it happen.

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While Andrew Jackson was in office, he took the spoils system to the next level. The Spoils System was a method of showing favoritism towards a person or group. The Spoils System came into play when the idea of rotation in office was mentioned. Rotation in office is the idea of everyone being able to have the chance of serving in office. For instance, this is something that Jackson demonstrated as he was serving the U.S. As Andrew Jackson was president, he used and idolized the Spoils System.

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In Spoils system document 1, there was a picture of Jackson riding a pig, only since he was elected president. Also he had to ride the pig, since he had to put people into office, except he only put his loyal supporters into office. The reason for this being an autocratic moment is, because even if he is giving jobs to the common person, it’s only to his loyal supporters. In Spoils system document 3, Jackson appointed a criminal, even though Van Buren tried to warn him about him that he was criminal, and Jackson only appointed him since he was an early supporter. The reason for this being an autocratic moment, is since he could appoint anyone, but he chose a criminal, since he was an early supporter.

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By a close shot, Andrew Jackson won the election. While under his power, Jackson began the Spoils System - also known as the Patronage System- where his political supporters were given positions in the public office. To which William Marcy remarked, “To the victor belong the spoils of the

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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.

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Jackson wrote a letter to Congress stating that the spoil system was good for the people. He believed that people who supported him should be rewarded with high position jobs. (DOC 6) When it came to making decisions or seeking for advice, he only went to people who were loyal to him. Jackson did not think that anyone would betray him or be disloyal. Samuel Swartwout stole millions of dollars from the government.

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Andrew Jackson’s key contribution to the new party system was the practice of using government patronage to reward partisan loyalty. He was the first to release large numbers of federal officeholders upon assuming the presidency. Jackson defended a new policy that civil servants should rotate rather than forming an embedded entitled class. He did not merely appoint men to supported him in the election, rather appointed those who showed great loyalty. Andrew Jackson then devoted himself to the cause of Indian removal.

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President Andrew Jackson was most famously known for being the army general in the War of 1812 and as the seventh president of the United States. Some argue that he is a national hero, but others claim he is a disgrace to society. Going into his presidency, he was a big supporter and advocate for the common man. Andrew Jackson is a hypocrite. Although Jackson claimed to support the common man, he is a hypocrite because he vetoed the bill to re-charter the Second Bank which caused inflation to surge, implemented the Tariff of 1832, and put into place the Specie Circular which eventually led to the Panic of 1837.

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He mistrusted paper money greatly, as well as believed in power to the common people. Andrew Jackson feared the Bank’s power. He was afraid of the Bank becoming stronger and lending that power to the elite without holding accountability towards them, something he believed great powers should have; accountability. Jackson specifically stated that he believed the Bank made “the rich richer and the potent more powerful.” Jackson liked the so-called farmer’s economy since it motivated people to be hardworking and independent.

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During Andrew Jackson's presidency, he enacted an abundance of policies such as expanding voting rights, extending the country's borders, and the spoils system, which benefited the common man. The policy of expanded voting rights reflected Jackson's belief that the common white man should be more involved in the democratic process. The westward expansion brought new land, resources, and opportunities for the common man, but had an unfortunate outcome for the native Americans. President Jackson favored the spoils system, which was a system where he rewarded those who were loyal to him. Thus giving the position in government to the common man instead of the wealthy.

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Have you ever thought of the real impact Andrew Jackson had on the U.S. I think he was not the right fit for the office. Andrew Jackson’s presidency was terrible. My first point is that he abused his power and acted like a king. My second point is he caused rapid inflation and my final point is he spoiled people with jobs.

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This system had been used before Jackson’s presidency, however it was during Jackson’s terms in office that the name “Spoils System” became popular, and Jackson overused it for personal gain. The pedestal on which the statue of the pig rests has a plaque with the quote from Senator William, “To the victor belong the spoils”, however the quote on the statue is quoted from “A. Jackson” rather than Senator

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Spoils Document three explains how one of the men who was hired via the spoils system, stole one million dollars from the government and it was known as one of the most conniving theft stories yet. The document states that Jackson’s advisors tried to remind him of this thief’s history, but he refused to listen. This act of theft is another example of autocratic power, because Andrew Jackson did not listen to the people or his advisors, then lost one million dollars to a thief in

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Because of these infringements on the rights of the people, Andrew Jackson was not a champion of the common man; the nickname “King Andrew,” from his opponents was accurate. When he was elected president, Andrew Jackson felt that he needed to remove John Quincy Adams’ appointees from office. To him, the clear answer was to replace them with his own followers and friends, creating a government where only one political party was effectively represented by presidential appointments. This use of the spoils system put people who were not qualified in powerful positions simply as a reward for supporting Jackson. He also had thirteen unofficial members in his cabinet to advise him.

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President Jackson is credited with the creation of the spoils system; this system put Jackson’s friends in positions of power despite their lack of knowledge of politics. He, like Roman, believed in rewarding his friends for their support however it ultimately led to considerable corruption (ushistory.org). The Miller Center at the University of Virginia informs that Jackson placed his old Army comrade as tax collector of New York City despite warnings from all; this same man fled the country with one million dollars before he was caught by the law (Feller). The spoils system defined 1800’s politics until the civil service reform of the 1880’s, but similar and less significant cases exist to this day. Such as Roman, while unintentional, falling into the trap of the spoils system

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