Throughout history, the United States have clung to their founding values, such as freedom and equality, with brute force. Today, with these values still just as prevalent as they were back then it is decidedly so that the legacy Andrew Jackson left behind is not the best fit to be represented on our currency. A man who was too headstrong and selfish and wrongfully followed his own personal agenda doing whatever he pleased, including mass murder, and does not even support the idea of paper money is hardly the person qualified to personify our great country and its legal tender.
To say that Andrew Jackson was headstrong would be an understatement; he always got what he wanted. For example, he was the only president in the history of the U.S.
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Whether or not the Indian Removal Act could have been prevented or not does not change the fact that the Trail of Tears was not inevitable. Although it could be argued that the U.S. was unavoidably going to remove the Natives from their land so they could expand west, they did not need to move them so quickly. In fact, despite Jackson not being president during the Trail of Tears, it was his agreement and furthermore his persistence to President Martin Van Buren, his handpicked successor, that brought about this horror that was nothing short of a genocide. (Remini 1, 10) Above all, racism and stubbornness aside, nothing beats having Jackson on the twenty dollar bill more than the irony in the fact that he resented paper money. In fact, Jackson himself condemned bank paper as an engine of oppression and warned of the insidious "money power" and of the growing control exerted by faceless corporations over ordinary citizens ' lives. (Feller 3, 12) Imagine the reaction Jackson would have if he were to find out he represented the one thing he fought during his …show more content…
For example, Jackson is known for his success in dealing with the Nullification Crisis of 1832, but more credit may be being given than deserved. His involvement in the matter was nothing short of good, but when it comes down to it, Jackson actually played no direct role in its passage and therefore it cannot be a part of his legacy. (Feller 2, 4) Not to mention, his sternness and stubbornness that he used to stop the succession are the same qualities that in turn would lead to the trail of tears. Additionally, another thing Jackson is praised for is his birthing of the democracy. However, you can’t do whatever you want, call it the will of the people and then label it democracy. “It 's completely justified to say that Jacksonian democracy reflected this same grasping ambition of the newly expanded white voting classes at the expense of slaves and Indians.” (Dougherty, 2) The democracy we use today differs from whatever Jackson decided to postmark as democracy. In conclusion, to have Andrew Jackson on the twenty dollar bill is to commercialize genocide on our country’s currency. Whether you want to justify the actions of a murderer, racist and political fraud is up to you, but you are only fooling yourself into a false sense of security that the man you see on that $20 bill was righteous. Overall, it is hard to believe that in a country where liberty rules above all, a man like Andrew Jackson
In the summer of 1832 and Congress renewed the Bank’s charter even though it wasn’t due until 1836. Jackson hesitated to approve of the charter, so Henry Clay and Nicholas Biddle went on the offensive to attempt to persuade Jackson to pass the bill. Jackson, having had his opinion on the banks cemented by Clay’s presence in the organization, then committed to de-establishing the Second National Bank. He waged war against Biddle in particular to make sure Biddle lost power. He vetoed the bank bill, and after winning the race to be reelected, he closed Biddle’s bank. He ordered his Secretary of the Treasury to move money from the Second National Bank to smaller, state banks. When Congress returned from its summer recess, it censured him for his actions. In 1836, Bank of US was dead, and the new democratic-congressmen expunged Jackson’s censure. Because Jackson had no formal plan for managing the nation’s funds after the Second National Bank closed, it caused problems in Van Buren’s administration. He destroyed the Bank of the United States, in the main, for personal reasons. Jackson hated the bank before his presidency because as a wealthy land and slave owner he had lost money due to its fiscal policies. He believed that Congress had no right under the constitution to charter a
Replacing Jackson from the twenty dollar bill could only benefit America 's image problem. Acknowledging the injustices of history, America would reflect intolerance for hypocrisy, and a progress from the past. The replacement would show that America promotes power in both morality and justice.
Andrew Jackson signed the indian removal act in 1830. This act allowed him to make treaties with the natives and steal their lands. The Trail of Tears was a forced relocation of more than 15,000 cherokee Indians. The white men/people gave the natives 2 options: 1. Leave or 2. Stay and Assimilate (learn our culture). The natives couldn’t have their own government. There were 5 civilized tribes including the cherokees. They learned english and went to american schools and when the cherokees went to court they won.
...ral governments deposits from the bank and placed them is a series of "pet banks". This doomed the already failing bank. Jackson still won reelection in 1832, defeating Clay by a huge margin.
...s a great president in his time. He spoke out for the American people and changed U.S. History forever. Not all of his actions were what would be considered moral today, and some were questionable even during his time. Yet, he acted as no other president had done so and wanted to have a government without corruption for the people. Andrew Jackson was born out of hardship and war, but he went on to achieve greatness.
Despite the fact that America’s economy was heavily influenced by government interference and favoritism under John Quincy Adams and the American System, by 1832 Andrew Jackson, the Champion of the Common Man, jeopardized his political security in the interest of both preserving every man’s right to opportunity and upholding a nonpartisan economy. We can draw insight from Jackson’s disgust for banks, or rather for any act of government that gives a special advantage to one group over another. In Jackson’s letter to Congress justifying his Bank Veto Message, he argues, “when the laws undertake to add to these natural and just advantages... make the rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble members of society… have a right to complain of the injustices of their government.” In the preceding months, Jackson was in the midst of his presidential campaign for reelection when his opponents put political pressure on him by fast tracking the Bank Bill. Jackson, however, remained steadfast in his belief that the proposed bank was unconstitutional and thus he vetoed the bill. Not surprisingly, Jackson became the object of political slander. In his reply to Jackson’s veto, Daniel Webster complains, “[This message] raises a cry that liberty is in danger, at the very moment when it puts forth claims to powers heretofore unknown and unheard of. It effects alarm for public freedom, when nothing endangers that freedom so much as its own unparalleled pretenses.” In other words, Webster proposed that through Jackson’s overuse of the veto, he was not only holding congress hostage, but also subverting democracy. On the contrary, the establishment of Jacksonian Democracy expanded the liberties of the common
Jackson believed that the National Bank system was corrupt and unjust, so it was justifiable to withdraw federal funds. The National Bank was only useful for the rich, which were a minority in the United States. As a representer of the entire country, he needed to ensure that all systems were in favor of the general people, not just the elite. He “destroyed” the national bank by vetoing the charter that was approved by the senate. When he vetoed the charter, he lost a few of his wealthy voters, but Jackson gained votes from the common people in the election of 1832 (King Andrew and the Bank). Then, Jackson withdrew federal funds and created pet banks. This was an attempt to help the common man become equal individual of the US. Jackson’s efforts failed because these banks raised the demand of paper money, leading to inflation and an unstable economy. Even though this idea resulted in an economic downfall, it was a neither a crime nor treasonous; it was merely a poor decision. Jackso...
Andrew Jackson; war hero, president, murderer and political failure. To elaborate, Andrew Jackson was unfit to serve as the president of the United States. During his term, Jackson degraded the office of the presidency with his policies and antics.For example, Jackson caused a financial collapse that induced a depression of tremendous magnitude with the destruction of the national bank. But, perhaps his greatest offence of all are his crimes and cruelty toward the Native Americans displayed in the Trail of Tears. Specifically, Andrew Jackson should be regarded as a man iniquitous and unbefitting to the most distinguished office in the nation.
Everyone adored him, he was America’s sweetheart. He was a military genius and he was very confident of himself. Jackson added to the size of the union before he had even taken office, and was a folk hero across the land. Yet, Jackson should be remembered as one of the worst presidents in the history of the United States. He caused the largest economic crisis our young nation had ever seen, he implemented a system that fired 10% of government employees, and replaced them with his own incompetent cronies, and he defied the Supreme Court and evicted the Native Americans off the lands of their ancestors, causing the trail of tears. This evidence proves that Andrew Jackson deserves to be remembered as
Andrew Jackson was like no other president before him. The previous presidents had one thing in common, they were all part of the founding fathers or in John Quincy Adam’s case was the son of a founding father. However Jackson was a plantation owner from the west who had no connections with the government. He also had different views from other presidents that made his presidency unique. Two things that separated Andrew Jackson’s presidency from previous presidencies were he reached out to the common people and he was disapproving of the Bank of United States.
The seventh president When was the last time you looked at a twenty dollar bill? Do you know who is on it? He is none other than Andrew Jackson. Sound familiar he is the seventh president of the USA. He is a self- educated lawyer, who through hard work and perseverance became rich. He was elected in the House of Representatives and was the governor of Florida. He became the seventh president of the country and gave common man rights to vote. Considering his life and presidency, Andrew Jackson deserves to be on the twenty dollar bill because he was a war hero, He stopped the country from nullification and was the most committed president who believed in the common man. One reason Andrew Jackson deserves to be on the twenty dollar bill is because
Andrew Jackson should not be honored on the twenty dollar bill because he was cruel and an atrocious leader. First off, he ordered the killings of over 800 Creek warriors at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814. This action was exceedingly inappropriate and poor hearted. America should honor affectionate people with their currency, not cold blooded people like Andrew Jackson. Another reason Jackson should not be honored on the twenty dollar bill is he invaded the Seminoles in 1818, despite President James Monroe telling him not to. He should have listened to the commander in chief because he was voted by the people of the United States to have authority. If Jackson were a good citizen of his country he would have done what the country wanted.
Andrew Jackson’s presidency could easily be described as one of the most controversial ones of all time. Honoring Jackson by putting his face on the 20 dollar bill in 1928 was an absolute mistake for the country. Jackson does not deserve his existing place on the 20 dollar bill. His policies towards the “Spoils System”, Native Americans, and Vetoes can all establish why Jackson is so unworthy of praise. Jackson’s abuse of power throughout his entire presidency makes him the perfect target for a deserved hatred from the American people.
There were a series of insults from the senate directed at Jackson. One of the insults included the fact that the senate declined to approve the new Treasury secretary who was appointed by Jackson (Wilentz, 2005). As a result, Jackson filed a protest with the senate apparently saying that the bank had abused its power in numerous occasions. Jackson changed his efforts into convincing the people on the reasons why he was taking his actions. He expressed his desire to oppose all the monopolies of the government in order to enhance the financial stability of the country which was one of the reasons he was against the bank. Jackson once again explained that he was very proud of all the activities he was engaging and that they were for the interest of the country and the
During the course of america there were many different elected leaders during each of their respective terms, some were professional while others were controversial. Some presidents were so influential that we’ve made monuments, movies, and stories about them, we’ve even put them on our currency. Andrew Jackson is one of those leaders printed on the american 20 dollar currency item. Many people wonder why hes printed on the dollar to begin with, there was many documents talking on how great he was however probably an equal amount to how bad he was. In this 5 paragraph essay we’ll be discussing why Andrew Jackson should be on the 20 dollar bill.