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Andrew jackson's influence
Challenges for Andrew Jackson
Andrew jackson's influence
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Throughout his presidency, Andrew Jackson was regarded as both a tyrant (Document E) as well a democratic rembrandt. However, by the conclusion of his rule, Andrew Jackson’s America had emerged as a pseudo democracy, strongly supported and advocated for, but falling short and ultimately failing. The drastic reforms during the Age of Jackson brought about radical changes to the young nation that would be felt throughout the country and would set the foundation for politics today. President Andrew Jackson reformed the American voting system, made significant moves against the National Bank, sparked the beginning of democratic reform movements, and most importantly gave the Common Man a voice in the government. These democratic initiatives, however, were not seen everywhere as America was slowly divided by differing views on contentious topics and individualistic ideals. Jacksonian America, did not promote the democratic …show more content…
South Carolina’s decision to invalidate the federal law and deem the tariff unconstitutional was the first blatant disregard for the centralized government. The United States, under Jackson’s presidency, did not unite and support one another in the face of the economic tariff and hardships. Instead, the states nullified (South Carolina in particular) and the individualistic ideals and motivations of the states were exposed. State opinions, such as that of South Carolina were focused solely on their own personal benefit and how they would survive the hardships of the tariff. During the Age of Jackson, there was no unification between the states. The ideals of Jacksonian America were flawed by the growing sectionalism and individualistic ideals. The total equality and unification that Jacksonian America attempted to create was no longer an option. Jacksonian America failed, and in result, did not promote the unified democracy in the United
Andrew Jackson, revered as the first common man to become President, symbolized the average citizen having the opportunity to climb the ranks within America 's democratic system. However, the profits of Jackson 's administration succeed in concealing his immoral procedures and behavior. Jackson 's methods worked accordingly to the reasoning of the father of political science, Machiavelli, who said, “The end justifies the means”. He achiev...
All hail King Andrew Jackson. In the election of 1824, presidential candidate Andrew Jackson had lost to John Quincy Adams, son of former president John Adams, in a brutal campaign war. Jackson sought revenge and did everything to sabotage Adams term as president, including branding his presidency the “corrupt bargain”, and giving his wife so much grief that she died. When Jackson finally became president and defeated Adams in 1828 his mantra was that the voice of the People must be heard, however many felt that he did not live up to his mantra. This raises the question: How democratic was Andrew Jackson? The term democratic can be defined as a government ruled by the people. Andrew Jackson was not democratic because of his mistreatment of the Native Americans, the decision of the bank, and his abuse of power.
Topic: Jacksonian Democrats viewed themselves as the guardians of the United States Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of economic opportunity.
America’s most influential political figure during the 1830s, Andrew Jackson left a permanent imprint upon American politics and democracy. Born on the border of North and South Carolina, Jackson was left to confront the world on his own after the death of his parents. By the age of 29, he got involved in law and politics as he was elected as Tennessee’s first representative in the U.S. Senate. Jackson’s first successes came from war, specifically when he commanded American forces in the defense of New Orleans against the British in 1815. In 1824, Jackson decided to make his first run for the President of the United States and won both electoral and popular votes. Jackson is often connected to a new spirit of democracy that swept over the United
In 1824, Andrew Jackson lost the presidential election to John Quincy Adams, but he won, if you only consider the popular vote that is. Jackson managed to obtain 42.16% of the popular vote, more than any other candidate, per David M. Kennedy and Lizabeth Cohen’s book The American Pageant, but he fell short in the electoral college. Whenever an election cannot be decided by the electoral college it is sent to the House of Representatives, which, in 1824, elected John Quincy Adams on the first ballot. This would not be the last time a president who did not win the popular vote would win the election, but this election was different. The “Corrupt Bargain” of 1824, as it is now referred to, is what won John Quincy
The election of Andrew Jackson as President of the United States changed the customary politics. President Jackson focused on the common man, which was unusual for a president to care more about the common man than the ongoing trend toward a greater voter participation. Jackson’s election was revolutionary because he met a different criteria for president rather than previous presidents, he increased the rules and overall power of the President, also given his popularity for focusing on the common man throughout his term his actions as President did little to nothing to aid the common man.
The way Jackson ran the government is the first reason why Andrew Jackson was not very democratic. It was great at first, but slowly went downward. In document 2, people traveled five hundred miles just to see him, thinking he'll save the country from danger. No one has ever seemed anything like it before. In document 3, a cartoon appeared in the presidential election of 1832. The cartoon is Andrew dressing up as a king than a president. On the sides of the cartoon it says, "Born to command", "King Andrew the first", and etc.
The 1820’s and 1830’s mark an era when the Jacksonian Democrats reigned supreme in American government. Led by President Andrew Jackson, the Democrats appealed to the common man and worked towards helping the general populace. The Jacksonians regarded themselves as the guardians of the Constitution and individual liberties, however, the Jacksonian Democrats did not act accordingly. They infringed upon the Constitution, exploited political democracy, tainted individual liberties, but at times defended economic opportunities.
However, critics of Jackson and democracy called him “King Andrew I” because of his apparent abuse of presidential power [vetoing]. These critics believed he favored the majority so much that it violated the U.S. constitution, and they stated he was straying too far away from the plan originally set for the United States. Because of the extreme shift of power to the majority, the limiting of rights of the few [merchants, industrialists] and the abuse of power under Jackson’s democracy, the foundational documents set in the constitution was violated, and the work of the preceding presidents were all but lost. During the construction of the new Constitution, many of the most prominent and experienced political members of America’s society provided a framework on the future of the new country; they had in mind, because of the failures of the Articles of Confederation, a new kind of government where the national or Federal government would be the sovereign power, not the states. Because of the increased power of the national government over the individual states, many Americans feared it would hinder their ability to exercise their individual freedoms.
One of the things that made Andrew Jackson unique and contributed to the style and tone of the new political age was his commitment to the idea of democracy. By democracy, Jackson meant majoritarian rule. “The people are the government”, he said, “administering it by their agents; they are the Government, the sovereign power”. In his message to Congress he announced his creed: “The majority is to govern,” he declared; and he repeated this commitment at every opportunity. He felt that the electorate should select all its officials in Washington, starting with the President. Jackson advocated a single term of either four or six years for the chief executive and he proposed this change to Congress. Jackson also felt that Senators should be elected to four-year terms by the people, not by the state legislatures. He would even have the electorate select its federal judges for terms of seven years which indicated his commitment to rotation of office as a means of democratizing the government. (Schlesinger pp.314, 402-406)
Andrew Jackson’s time as president marked a major historical shift for the United States. According to Jackson’s biographer James Partin, populist technocrat was not among the contradictions exhibited by his subject. In the eyes of the historians interviewed, advanced a more far-reaching role for the federal government was not one of Jackson’s key accomplishments. In addition to all the popularity, he gained, advocated more democracy in the realm of voting rights was not a reason Jackson remained controversial. Jackson was viewed during his lifetime as the most popular living president due to the fact that he resolved current issue that the people at that time were experiencing. He made executive decisions based on his personal beliefs and
For the first time in American history, a presidential election was the focus of public attention. Jackson's election in 1828 marked a new direction in American politics. Jackson’s early presidency was unlike many others because his general vision was to bring American people into the presidency. The Age of Jackson was the widespread desire for equality of opportunity, born of the conviction that no one should have special privileges at the expense of anyone else (pg. 132). He had faith in the American people to know what is in the best interest of the nation. He spoke on behalf of ordinary people and against established elites. The Age of Jackson is a period in history referred to as the rise of political democracy in America through the creation of the Democrat party. President Andrew Jacksons goal was to reform the government by reestablishing the Spoils System, where he fired anyone that was not a loyal Democrat and replaced them with new federal workers for partisan reasons. Jacksonians’ believed that the role of the government was to fulfill the country’s destiny by looking after the economic
Following the war of 1812, there was much growth, expansion, and social change occurring within America. This was especially true during the passing years of 1820s to 1830s. Andrew Jackson (old hickory) was a hero during this time, because he had succeeded in winning the battle of New Orleans, making him incredibly popular among the people. Andre Jackson decided to run for the office of President of the United States. Jackson believed himself to be a spokesman of the common man and thought that the government should be for, and ran by the farmers, and urban workers. His many followers, known as Jacksonian democrats, held this same opinion. Together, they felt themselves to be the guardians of the Constitution, political democracy, individual
In between the election of 1824 and the election of 1828, Jackson and his supporters created the Democratic political party. According to the textbook, “This new party, they promised would would represent ordinary farmers, workers, and the poor, not the rich and well-born who had taken control of the Republican Party” (Hart, 2005). During the election of 1828, many new democrats voted. Previously, only educated men who owned property were allowed to vote. Now, the common people, like farmers from the west, were also given the right to vote. For this reason, the amount of voters significantly increased. Also, Jackson introduced the United States to the idea of mudslinging which is still used today. Mudslinging is a campaign strategy that consists of outing your opponents down in order to get more votes. Additionally, democrats replaced the caucus system with nominating conventions. So, instead of congress committees choosing political candidates, delegates from the states chose them. Furthermore, Jackson exchanged federal employees with democratic supporters. As stated in the textbook, “Rotating people in office was more democratic than lifetime service, he said, because it gave more people a chance to serve their government” (Hart, 2005). This was called the spoils system, it returned the government to a democracy, and made it equitable. Moreover, a bureaucratic government was introduced. This is a form of government that is still used today where non-elected officials can hold office positions. Though one may argue Andrew Jackson’s spoil systems resemble tyrannical acts, his intentions were to ameliorate the government. Prior to this, the government was overpowered by republicans; president Jackson returned it to impartiality. This is significant because Jackson and his supporters created a major political party that is still standing to this day. Likewise, the majority of the population were common
Jackson responded to the people of South Carolina, “The law of the United States must be executed… disunion by armed force us treason.” (“Andrew Jackson” 6). Jackson was given permission by congress to use military force in South Carolina because they refused to obey the law. A compromise was also made to the tariff that South Carolina nullified. South Carolina accepted compromise and repealed the nullification. Jackson prevented a crisis and established that federal law ruled over state law. The question of whether federal government had more power than state government would cause more problems in the future for the United States with slavery, and more recently gay marriage. However Andrew Jackson tried to establish early on in American history that the federal government had more power, and if people accepted this, many problems could have been avoided with the advice of Jackson (“Andrew Jackson” 6).