How Did Andrew Jackson Appear On The $ 20 Bill

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Andrew Jackson was considered both an American hero and scoundrel who led our nation in creating a new system of government. After the War of 1812, Jackson was praised as a courageous leader for his victory at the Battle of New Orleans. Andrew Jackson was part of the common people, which means he wasn’t born into a rich or “well-born” family. This is significant because once he was inaugurated as president, he was claimed to be the first “self made man.” Because the common people received the right to vote in the 1820s, Andrew Jackson won the election and promised that the government would finally be returned to the people. However, during his term, Jackson made several bad decisions that led him to be considered one of the worst presidents …show more content…

He also destroyed America’s original national bank, and was a ruthless slaughter who murdered thousands of Native Americans. Due to these reasons, Andrew Jackson should not be on the $20 bill, because he wiped out the Natives in an unfair way, had a negative attitude, and doesn’t deserve to be shown on paper money when he clearly destroyed the national bank. To begin, Andrew Jackson should not appear on American money because he massacred and removed numerous Native Americans from their territory east of the Mississippi River. During Jackson’s term, this insensitive president, along with many other Americans, wanted the Natives off their territory, and in 1830, Jackson persuaded Congress to pass the Indian Removal Act. According to the textbook, it states, “The law did not say that the Indians should be removed by force, and...An angry Jackson disagreed. Groups that refused to move west voluntarily were met with …show more content…

When senators Henry Clay and Daniel Webster tried to use the bank against Jackson, and apply early for a new charter, their plan backfired. According to the textbook, Jackson stated, “The bank, Mr. Van Buren, is trying to kill me. But I will kill it!” (Appleby, 2000) This led to Jackson vetoing the bill, and to the senators’ dismay, a lot more citizens agreed with Jackson. This made Andrew Jackson become president for another term, and he then killed the national bank by withdrawing all of the government deposits. In addition, Jackson had all the money be placed in the state banks, and then the national bank was gone. This is significant because this shows that the national bank, which a lot of people worked hard to support and create, was demolished just by Andrew Jackson. America needed this bank in order to make relations and negotiations with other countries. However, Andrew Jackson, the people’s president, chose to destroy it. Some opponents of this claim might state that he did this simply because he thought it was unfair to the poor, but why would we want to put the president who destroyed the national bank on our American currency? That doesn’t make sense. Therefore, this reveals that Andrew Jackson, the president who had too much power, should not be shown on the $20