Andrew Jackson Research Paper

Ian Hunter

Mr. Gazette/Mrs. Abrams

American History/English

March 30, 2014

The Jacksonian Era

Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767, at his Uncle’s house in Lancaster County, South Carolina. Jackson’s father died before he was born. Some of the things Andrew Jackson is most known for, besides being the seventh president, is abusing the Spoils System, displacing thousands of Indians from their homelands, and taking down the American Bank which ultimately caused a depression (en.wikepedia.org/wiki/Andrew_jackson). Andrew Jackson was a Major General in the Revolutionary War (www.americapresidents.org). Andrew Jackson was nicknamed old hickory because he had a tough and aggressive personality and, even though his soldiers in command pretty much worshiped him (en.wikepedia.org/wiki/Andrew Jackson); he took advantage of too many things. He took advantage of the Spoil System, the American Army, and his legislative power. Because of these three things, the only possible conclusion is that Andrew Jackson does not belong in the President’s Hall of Fame.

First, Andrew Jackson abused the Spoil System by firing every one that was in office during Washington’s Presidency, and put his friends, family, and party loyalists into office. Andrew Jackson put people without any prior training or knowledge in this field into office (en.wikepedia.org/wiki/Andrew Jackson). This was a dangerous decision that President Jackson made and something he should not have had enough power to enforce. Jackson could put in office anyone that he wanted; there really was not any requirements since he got in as president and he did not have any form of education. (en.wikepedia.org/wiki/Andrew Jackson).

Part of Jacksons political Agenda was to remove the Native Tr...

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...rastically increased credit and stocks. President Andrew Jackson was then censured because of this, Henry Clay was at the head of this censure. Jackson then said that Clay was as “reckless and as full of fury as a drunken man in a brothel”. In 1836 Andrew Jackson issued the Specie Circular or an Executive order that required any one that wanted to buy government land such as the new Indian Territory, must pay in gold or silver bullion. The problem was though these smaller banks did not have that kind of money; gold was worth a lot of money and banks just did not have the kind of money to spend on gold bullion which would soon become the normal currency. This soon led to the Panic of 1837, which threw the economy into a depression. Hundreds of banks and businesses failed. Thousands of people lost their lands because they did not pay in gold or silver for their land.