Andrew Jackson Despotism

“The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism.”(The First Political Parties). George Washington, one of the most respected presidents in U.S. history, was quoted saying this, speaking out against political parties. Washington, the first president, was known as the only president with no allegiance to any political parties, a precedent that would not stand. The undemocratic actions taken by early US Presidents and Political Parties is what led to the Jacksonian Democracy of the 1820’s and 30’s.
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Jackson and his followers called the election of 1824 the “stolen election” due to the fact that Jackson had the popular vote. Andrew Jackson’s campaign then began calling the candidate the common people’s man who would look out for the voice of democracy (Case). A smart tactic due to the fact that the election of 1824 looked, to the public’s eye, a change of power behind closed doors which jeopardized American democracy. A tactic that proved useful as Jackson beat both Adams and Clay respectively in 1828 and 1832. During Jackson’s time in office he proved both himself as both a negotiator and a bold man. Jackson was a strong believer in democracy and of a strong government, ideas that made him clash with Southern representatives. The state of South Carolina felt that the taxes were too high due to an act signed by Jackson in 1832 and the state government passed the Ordinance of Nullification. An act that would have refuted the taxes set by Jackson (Case). If passed this act would set a precedent that states must only listen to the federal government when they wanted to. Jackson, being a strong believer in union, issued a presidential proclamation against South Carolina which led to an eventual compromise being met in 1832 (Case). These actions taken by Jackson both affected American’s economically by raising taxes, but more importantly it affected the relationship between state and federal government forcing the states to recognize the superior power of the national government. Jackson also affected the American people by issuing the Indian Removal Act of 1830 which gave Americans 100 million more acres of land (Case). By increasing American land Jackson raised the standard of living and boosted the economy creating more farmable land. Lastly, Jackson felt the National Bank was