Andrew Jackson: Effective Or Ineffective President?

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How did America change throughout Andrew Jackson’s presidency? Jackson, America’s seventh president, changed many things; because of him, America is run as it is today. Nevertheless, it is safe to say that all presidents make a difference in their term at some point, adequate or not. The real question is, do these differences form an effective or ineffective president? His presidency was well intentioned, and Jackson’s principles would have been successful if executed properly. Thus, throughout his presidency, Andrew Jackson was an ineffective president due to his ambition, judgement, and character.

Many of Jackson’s decisions had different outcomes. For example, when he expanded the U.S. territory successfully, Jackson killed many people …show more content…

Namely, he desired to play a role in the nation’s affairs (“Jackson”). One way he participated in the nation’s affairs was by promoting the Indian Removal Act. Jackson expressed that the Natives were “savages” and that they should be filled with “gratitude and joy” to be moved to the west,(“President”). He should have kept in mind that the Natives, who were peaceful people, would be forcibly removed from their habitats and endure an arduous journey to their new land. Jackson’s decisions were rash and impatient. If he instead had made a better decision, many lives may have not been lost in …show more content…

His character led him to brutally take over Pensacola and kill two innocent British officers. By committing this reckless action, Jackson may have even condemned America to another war (“Jackson”)! When large amounts of helpless Native Americans were dying, Jackson simply did not care at all. His temper and stubbornness led him to shut down the bank and leave the nation in a depression. Jackson should not have shut down the bank; he should have proposed another solution— a multiple amount of national banks, for example. The banks could split power and this way, there would be no monopolies. According to Kauffman, the bank was “widely viewed as successful in managing the nation’s money supply,” meaning that the bank had a lot of supporters. Not only did it have a lot of supporters, but it also had a national currency which would help the nation expand. Jackson should have known that shutting down the Second Bank would result in a depression, because that is what happened with the First Bank. After the Second Bank closed, the depression affected a numerous amount of people and many state banks shut as well. Due to Jackson’s character, once again, many people were negatively

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