Antebellum Presidents Dbq

A flock of sheep, can 't function without their shepherd. Whether they like him or not, their life relies on that shepherd and his actions. This alludes to the United States from the time period of 1789-1860.Within that time period our first 15 antebellum presidents, or presidents before the civil war, were elected in office. With every action each president presented whether it was good or bad, it affected those around him, and the country as a whole. George Washington was the best antebellum president based off of his attentive actions when he established justice , formed a better union, economically managed finances, and his ideal skills vs him practically setting things in stone within the United States.

To explain how and why George

practical skills, and establishing justice, 7 other chiefs exhibited performance in at least one, no more than two of the stipulations required to be classified as an average president.While John Quincy Adams was in office, he created the Erie Canal that flowed into the Great Lakes. Due to the creation of the canal, things like wheat, whiskey, and fruits we able to be traded with the Eastern markets to make a profit. Although the Erie Canal allowed him to economically manage the U.S, He wasn’t good at practically implementing specific tasks. John Quincy Adams planned to give the Native Americans land in the West, yet failed to do so because he did not receive enough of support from Congress. James Polk, another average president, ideally set goals that he wanted to achieve while in office. The goals were, “cut tariffs, reestablish an independent U.S. Treasury, secure the Oregon Territory and acquire the territories of California and New Mexico from Mexico” ( History.com Staff -James Polk). Polk accomplishing those goals displayed his practical skills, and how he economically managed the U.S yet, also showed how he lacked to , create a more perfect union; as far as slavery. Polk himself, had slaves too,as the president. James Madison, a mediocre president, did not show any performance in any of the

Even though George Washington met all the requirements to be the best antebellum president. Andrew Jackson and Thomas Jefferson performed exceptional during their presidency in office. Thomas Jefferson was the founding father of the Declaration of Independence. He economically managed the U.S by cutting the budget of the Navy and Army investments,cut the tax off whiskey in unpopular areas and decreased debt nationally. Everything Jefferson planned to do, he made sure it happened.He even aimed and tried to establish a more perfect union by sending his men to fight off the Barbary pirates who were harassing the U.S commerce.”He also sent a naval squadron to fight the Barbary pirates, who were harassing American commerce in the Mediterranean” (Frank Freidel). Purchasing the Louisiana Territory, displayed Jefferson expanding America into a better union. “At more than 820,000 square miles, the acquisition (which included lands extending between the Mississippi River and Rocky Mountains and the Gulf of Mexico to present-day Canada) effectively doubled the size of the United States” (History.com - Thomas Jefferson). The only thing Jefferson lacked was being fair to all, or establishing justice. Andrew Jackson attempted to establish a more perfect union, when he used everything accessible to the best of his ability. “Jackson made it clear that he was the absolute ruler of his administration’s policy, and he did not defer to Congress or hesitate to use his presidential veto power”