John Caldwell Calhoun was born in Abbeville, South Carolina on March 18, 1782. John's parents had came to the United States with the wave of Scottish-Irish immigrants because of the Great Potato Famine. His father died merely two years after settling in on the eastern seaboard, leaving Mrs. Calhoun widowed with five children: four boys and one girl. Some years later, John's sister followed suit and passed away as well. Earlier, at the age of 13, John had been sent to live with his brother-in-law, Mr. Waddel, to receive an education. However, following the deaths, he discontinued the school out of grief. Through these hard times, John found solace in learning and reading. His early education was received at home and in 1802, Calhoun was accepted into Yale College where he studied law for 2 years. In 1804 Calhoun received his diploma and was admitted to the bar.
In the same year, Calhoun had started his own firm and quickly became noted as one of the best in his profession. It was speculated that if he had continued on with his occupation as a lawyer, he would have obtained high standings and done very well for himself. However, the young lawyer aspired for a career in politics. The offices fulfilled by Mr. Calhoun started with the House of Representatives, then on to the US Senate, and eventually to office as the Vice President of the United States.
Like his President, Andrew Jackson, Calhoun was an avid proponent of states rights. He believed that the federal government was to have minimal control over the states, and that each one had the right to null and void any federal law that they saw as unconstitutional or detrimental to their state. Although Calhoun and Jackson may have agreed on certain issue politically, they ...
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"Andrew Jackson: The Defender of the Union." PBS.org. University of Virginia. Web. 6 Jan 2014. .
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Parsons, L. H. (2009). The Birth of Modern Politics: Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and the Election of 1828. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Throughout the course of American political history rarely has there ever been a rivalry as fierce and contested as that of the one between Tennessee’s Andrew Jackson, and Kentucky’s Henry Clay. During their extensive political careers the two constantly seemed to cross paths differing in terms philosophically and ideologically. Simply put, these two men profoundly shaped the American Antebellum period, specifically involving the 1820’s to the 1840’s. Their notions of what was best for the country became the basis for their respective parties and consequently their differences in methodology facilitated countless battles in the American political atmosphere. The most significant issues that centered on these types of political skirmishes involved
The Disquisition of Government by John Calhoun was written as a document to primarily defend the ideologies of the South. It was a work of that elaborated on John Calhoun’s Political Theory, which mentions the idea of a “concurrent majority”, which is that a concurrent majority on an issue is one composed of an agreement of the most important minority interests in a society. He believed that a constitution having a majority behind it would protect people against the numerical majority. Calhoun tries to show in the Disquisition of Government, that a majority rule by equal and competent individuals counterbalances a minority rule for a society that has a balance of liberty, rights and power.
Andrew Jackson is a strong independent man who makes decisions for himself and others no matter the consequences. However, Jackson has a polarizing personality that makes him hard to understand when it comes to his thought process. Andrew Jackson, a man of many colors shows his sensitive side around women and some can say his slaves, examples being his love for his wife and the way he sticks up for the integrity of Peggy Eaton. As a slave owner, he was a good master and only punished those that tried to escape his land and even then he would sell the slave off to another. Moreover, he is not afraid to show his tough exterior to enemies or to those he is acquainted with, as long as, he is fighting for what he believes is the best for the people
The Jacksonian Democrats had at least one misconception about themselves; they did not strive to guard the individual liberty of all Americans. They were yet to break away completely from the old beliefs that one race was superior to another. However, they did have some clear perceptions of the purpose they served. They protected the Constitution and the rights it gave to Americans by promoting equality of economic opportunity and by advancing political democracy.
Andrew Jackson, Southerner, by Mark Cheathem, is an in-depth book on President Jackson’s life and ideologies. Cheatham is a professor at Cumberland University, which is located thirty minutes away from the Hermitage, Jackson’s mansion. His knowledge of the period, lifestyle, and specifically Andrew Jackson’s life while at the Hermitage is astounding. The bulk of his works and article dove into the Jacksonian period and America’s early republic. From the rise of the Democrats to the life of Andrew Jackson’s nephew, Cheathem is a historian who studies ninteenth century history. However, bias was present in the book, since he depicted the South in a positive light. Perhaps, it is because he is from the South. At any rate, slight bias is present within the book, and should be noted when taking into account Jackson’s background, and its effect on Jackson’s
Defender, . "Andrew Jackson: A Life The Defender of the Union." PBS. Red Hill Productions and Community Television of Southern California, 11 Aug 2007. Web. 16 Jan 2014. .
Andrew Jackson was an autocratic president who exerted his authority like the “first king” of the United States. Jackson’s power went from single handedly vetoing the National Bank charter, to ignoring the separation of the branches of government, placing unfit men into important official job holdings and forcing Native Americans off their homeland.
Jackson continually kept the people in mind during his choice decisions, not wanting the aristocracy to rule over America and its growing financial empires across the country. He believed everyone deserved a fair chance at life and at making money. For this reason, Jackson also wanted the federal government to have more overall power than each individual state. In 1832, the state of South Carolina argued that the state could defy Congress, and within its boundaries not abide by laws presented through the federal government, if the state did not like them. Jackson was outraged by the state’s lack of respect and refusal to come to terms with the federal government. As stated in Document E, Jackson finds the power to annul a law of the US “incompatible with the existence of the Union…”. His reasoning for not allowing South Carolina to go through with nullification is he feels a lack of unity will develop among the states if they think they can simply change or ignore a law if they feel it not fit for their specific state. With this, the federal government is left to shambles as well. Jackson continues his beliefs as shown through Document C and the Bank War of 1832. Once again his thou...
"Andrew Jackson : Good, Evil & The Presidency . Andrew Jackson: A Life . The Defender of the Union | PBS." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Red Hill Productions and Community Television of Southern California, 2007. Web. 03 Apr. 2011.
Andrew Jackson’s actions could be interpreted both as a defender of the common man or as a powerful ruler that exploited the rights and wills of the people. Throughout this time while America was finding its identity, many people disagreed with the way Jackson was governing the new nation. Some of Jackson’s actions supported the common man, while his other actions manipulated the people’s rights and created a democracy against the people’s will.
Andrew Jackson also known as, “The people’s choice,” was a self made man. He represented the South and the Western frontier expansionism. He was a strong military leader, a superior Court judge, and an Indian fighter. Jackson represented the common man. The United States of America benefitted greatly from the actions of Andrew Jackson.
It is agreeable that the Jacksonian Democrats perceived themselves as strict guardians of the United States Constitution. It is not agreeable with how they went about preserving the political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of economic opportunity they stood for. While trying to create this balance, Jackson used tactics favorable only to his opinion. Jackson’s main idea was to rid of aristocracy, giving the power to the poorer classes, standing against rich white men. The flaw in their scheme was that the people who came up with this idea were all rich white men.
To some people Andrew Jackson is remembered as the, metaphorically speaking, “People’s King” and is accused of dictator-like political moves. However, Andrew Jackson was quite the contrary, he was exalted amongst the people for being the new era of democracy: instilling a political revolution, the protection of the American people, and social equality among the masses. Therefore, Andrew Jackson was a precedent of democratic rule in the United States.
B. J., Jackson as a President: Yesterday and Today. Planet Papers. Retrieved June 14, 2009,