ipl-logo

Argumentative Essay: Was Andrew Jackson Democratic?

1217 Words5 Pages

Was Andrew Jackson Democratic? Script for Con Side

Intro Argument: Andrew Jackson promised a new stage of democracy to the people. However, did he really follow on this promise? Overall, Jackson did not practice democracy with his numerous offences. The definition of a democracy is the population votes as a whole and everyone is equally represented. By modern standards however, America was far from democratic during Jackson’s presidency. Women could not vote and were legally controlled by their husbands, slavery was growing in southeast states, and Native Americans were forced out of their own rightful land. No action was taken to resolve any of these issues by Jackson. In other words not everyone benefited equally from Jackson’s presidency. Tyranny is defined as a cruel and and unreasonable use of power, which is exactly what Jackson employed. Andrew Jackson did not …show more content…

He pretended not to be of his era, only stopping to help natives and African Americans when it benefited him and his views. He only helped black people when he knew there was a possibility that they would die in a war he created. He worked to destroy the very government he was appointed to, which, if he succeeded, he would have caused a collapse in American society, and the possible destruction of the entire country.This goes against the definition of democracy, the population votes as a whole and everyone should be equally represented. If a president today were to rip people from their homes, forcing them into a tiny amount of land, calling them savages, there would be protests on every corner. Though times were different back then, that doesn’t excuse us today justifying his actions. The common man, it seems, were only shattered bits of mirrors, reflecting himself back onto the

Show More
Related
526 Words | 3 Pages

How Democratic Was Andrew Jackson? Jackson was born in the year 1767 to a poor family. When he was only 13 years old he was captured from the British during the revolutionary war. As he got older he found himself in the military and he was called a national hero when he fought in the battle of 1812. He served for two terms as president and Jacksonian or is followers say that he was democratic where the people are heard.

Read More
274 Words | 2 Pages

President Andrew Jackson was a very popular president and did a lot of things during his presidency. But in my opinion, I think he was not democratic because he wanted everything done his way or no way, like during the Indian Removal act in Document 10. He wanted the Indians land so he had his soldiers move them \west into the Indian territory. One way that President Andrew Jackson was democratic was his Bank Veto Message to Congress in Document 4.

Read More
764 Words | 4 Pages

Others, on the other hand, believe he was far from accomplishing that. Politics are a way that expresses how the Unites States was not democratized during this time period. Jacksons animosity towards the Indians exposed his undemocratic actions during his first years of his presidency. However,

Read More
465 Words | 2 Pages

The founders of the United States did their best to create a government that would not allow erroneous decisions to greatly harm the nation. They set a percent of presidents being politically sound and well-known; their beliefs for how the nation should be handled were essential to their campaign. President Andrew Jackson, however, did not follow this system, instead winning primarily by his personality and popularity amongst the common American. While his actions in office often appeared to be for the people, most had a hidden selfish side to them that he easily covered up. With the election of 1828, Jackson radically changed American politics, focusing them more on public appearance and personal character than on intelligence and political views, making personality just as, if not more important than the actual politics of a political term.

Read More
790 Words | 4 Pages

In conclusion, there is much evidence to support the idea that Andrew Jackson was a tyrant and vastly abused his power in presidency. Jackson was a cruel ruler for his actions, some including the Indian Removal Act, his overuse of vetoing, and his temper and personality. Overall he was just not right for the position of a political

Read More
480 Words | 2 Pages

One example of this is that he believed the people should be the ones to directly elect the president. As stated in the source: Robert Remini, Andrew Jackson and The Course of American Empire, Vol. III, 1984 “He proceeded from the idea that all offices - whether appointed or elected - must ultimately fall under the absolute control of the people. Appointed offices should be rotated, preferably every four years. Elected offices must be filled directly by the people.

Read More
513 Words | 3 Pages

In the journal article “ Andrew Jackson versus the Historians”, author Charles G. Sellers explained the various interpretations of Jackson, from the viewpoint of Whig historians and Progressive Historians. These interpretations were based on the policies of Jackson. The Whig historians viewed the former president in a negative way. They considered him arrogant, ignorant, and not fit for being president. Sellers pointed out that it was not just because of “Jackson’s personality…nor was it the general policies he pursued as president”

Read More
817 Words | 4 Pages

He also thought that the National Bank stood in the way of opportunity for capitalists in the west and other regions. This clearly shows that Jackson had the interest of all people, the cornerstone of democracy. The article “Jackson’s Inauguration”, is another document that shows how democratic Andrew Jackson really was. This article shows how Andrew Jackson opened up the White House in celebration of his upcoming presidency. Some people saw this as a bad thing.

Read More
1012 Words | 5 Pages

One of the biggest thing that Jackson had done as a president was in 1832. Jackson vetoed a bill that would renew the second bank charter early. Jackson stated “I will kill it!”. He said this because he didn’t like the bank at all and he believed that it made the rich richer and the poor poorer. He said in his veto message “It is easy to conceive that great evils to our country and its institutions might flow from such a concentration of power in the hands of a few men irresponsible to the people.”

Read More
514 Words | 3 Pages

There has been a lot of controversy of Andrew Jackson, whether he was a good president or one that destroyed the office of the presidency. However, Andrew Jackson is not guilty. He was a good president and should not be accused of degrading the office of the presidency. The first aspect which people accuse Andrew Jackson of wrong doing is what everyone calls The Spoils System. Andrew Jackson came into office, and designed a rotation.

Read More
589 Words | 3 Pages

To become president Jackson had to exploit his opponents, and bribe his supporters by allowing them to maintain government positions. Once Jackson became president he exceeded his presidential powers through unconstitutional means. Andrew Jackson was a lying, unconstitutional, racist murderer who covered up his evil deeds by stating everything he did was for the well-being of the United States. Many citizens of the United States sided with

Read More
446 Words | 2 Pages

Andrew Jackson was seen as a common man the voice of the people by some. By others he was King Andrew, trampling the constitution and instigating tyranny. Jackson’s presidency impacted democracy, through his use of the veto power, and his claim of Clay creating a “corrupt bargain”, which is not a turning point for a rise in democracy despite him giving white male suffrage. During Jackson’s use of executive power weakened voice of the people.

Read More
461 Words | 2 Pages

Andrew Jackson was a wealthy slave owner and infamous Indian killer. Proponents of Jackson claim he broke up some networks of privilege among his rivals. That may be true — but it also entrenched amateurism in civil service and a new system of patronage politics (with their own unearned privileges) which would define American government for several generations. "If a single drop of blood shall be shed there in opposition to the laws of the United States, I will hang the first man I can lay my hand on engaged in such treasonable conduct, upon the first tree I can

Read More
1960 Words | 8 Pages

The era of Andrew Jackson which was nicknames the era of the “common man” certainly lived up to its name. As the seventh President of the United States, Jackson had a major effect on the life of the common man, in such a way that the life of the common man would never be the same again. Jackson’s aim, after the manner in which he was defeated in the Presidential Election of 1824, despite receiving more popular votes than John Quincy Adams who took on the office, was to reduce the power and the authority of the elite. When he came into power after the 1828 election Jackson began to carry out his proposals. Jackson expanded the voting right to all men, in accordance with the Declaration of Independence of 1776 which declared that “all men are created equal” instead of just the elite.

Read More
530 Words | 3 Pages

In the final analysis, there are many reasons as to why I believe Andrew Jackson acted more like a dictator than a president. My opinion is that Jackson was a dictator given that he appointed Swartwout to be collector of the Port of New York, his cruel treatment of Native Americans, and the elimination of the National

Read More

More about Argumentative Essay: Was Andrew Jackson Democratic?

Related Topics

Open Document