Andrew Jackson Dbq Essay

The United States has a history of holding its leaders in high honor. Since the birth of the country, statues have been instituted, monuments built, and names of locations dedicated—all in an effort to display the reverence associated with such important individuals. No leader is without their flaws, however, and this becomes a pertinent issue when taking into account the brutal history of the nation. The debate over whether we should honor our flawed leaders or not is fundamental as the U.S. wrestles with its past. Given the atrocities that many committed, no, we should not honor our flawed leaders—however, it is inevitable to do so as each leader throughout history has their flaws. Instead, we must honor the good in leaders while simultaneously

Through his presidency, he made efforts to preserve the union of the nation through any means necessary, as explained himself in his Proclamation on Nullification. Such qualities may be revered as honorable ones—and yet, it is impossible to ignore the horrid acts that Jackson also enacted while serving. The written piece, for example, includes a description of Jackson’s persistent use of the ‘Spoils System,’ which is labeled as being filled with “inefficiency in competency, and outright corruption.” A more harrowing example, however, comes in a letter written by a soldier, John G. Burnett, who was involved in the expulsions of Native Americans onto the Trail of Tears following the Indian Removal Act of 1830, giving him credibility in his interpretation of the event. Burnett describes the act—an act heavily promoted and signed into law by Jackson—as the “most brutal order in the History of American Warfare.” The image of “helpless Cherokee arrested and dragged from their homes” is strikingly horrifying to him (Source H). Through the summation of these instances, we can understand the breadth

For example, the first president of the United States and thus, one of the most revered and commemoralized individuals of the nation, George Washington. Though Washington was undoubtedly incredibly influential in positive ways, it is also true that he enslaved a large number of people at his home in Mount Vernon. The same is true of Thomas Jefferson, the man credited with the Declaration of Independence, the very incitement of our country. Even relatively more recently, Franklin Delano Roosevelt led the rescue of the U.S. from the Great Depression, a notably monumental act—however, he also enacted the executive order which took Japanese-Americans out of their homes and sent them to internment camps in the middle of the western United States. All of these are undoubtedly inexcusable, inhumane decisions which should be given the denunciation that they deserve. However, it would be an entirely unachievable feat to remove each of their legacies from the honor that America has given them. Washington, Jefferson, and Roosevelt’s advancements are all inextricably tied to U.S. history, and thus from a practical perspective it would be an unimaginably large undertaking to erase the statues, monuments, city names, money, paintings, and more all dedicated to each of them. We must be able to examine each individual and tread carefully in the glory bestowed to them, so as not