January 1st, 2016

U.S. History

Megan Weller

Andrew Jackson, Hero or Criminal?

Andrew Jackson is remembered in history as a heroic military general and one of the
most influential political leaders of the 1800s. As the seventh president of the United States,
most people recognize him for being a president of the common man who was a strong leader
that expanded the powers of presidency and identified himself as an ordinary American. In
todays day and age, most known facts about Andrew Jackson are his successes in battle and in
the political world. Very rarely is the other side of the renowned president of the 19th century
brought to light. In this essay, evidence will show some reasons why Andrew Jackson was a
detriment to America.
Jacksons childhood and early life depicts a grueling underdog story that tells of his
hardships he had to face while growing up during the Revolutionary War and the turn of the
century. He became an orphan at the age of 14 and had to live with his uncle before moving to
Nashville, marrying his wife Rachel Jackson, and practicing as a lawyer. After moving he
became a wealthy plantation owner who bought and sold slaves. He later was elected into the
House of Representatives and also served in the Senate a year later for a brief period of time
before battling John Quincy Adams in two presidential elections before finally winning the
second election in 1828.
In Jacksons campaigns he talked about how he was a man of the people and that he
believed people should be able to govern themselves, but as president he abused his power. He
used his authority for his own personal benefit to give him the image of a feared and powerful
leader. He was a cruel man that treated his slaves as prisoners and punished them harshly. He
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was known for being a fiery, ill-tempered man with a strong-willed ego, and his political
opponents thought of him as self-obsessed and unfit to lead a country. During his presidency, he
made unconstitutional decisions. Jackson had been a long-time supporter of what he called
Indian Removal. To benefit the American settlers who wanted to use the Indians land to
produce cotton, President Andrew Jackson used the power of veto and his party leadership to
order the relocation of the Five Civilized Tribes from the Southeast to the Indian Country
thousands of miles away. This infamous, unconstitutional act was called the Trail of Tears due to
the difficult and sometimes fatal journey. To increase his own personal wealth and expand
settlement, he also took land from Indians that had been reserved in legitimate signed treaties.
While in office, he used his spoils system to put his preferred political friends into appointed
positions whether they were competent or not. Jackson claimed that he was a president of the
people and that he supported the farmers that were most often in debt, yet he opposed
legislation to protect the debtors. Jackson favored low tariffs, but he was controversial on the
tariff issue. When South Carolina opposed the high protective tariffs and tried to nullify them,
Jackson sent armed forces into Charleston and threatened to hang former Vice President John C.
Calhoun. He then declared nullification a treason to the United States. President Jackson
believed the national bank to be unconstitutional and dangerous. Because of this, he killed the
bank by his power of veto and put the deposits from the federal government into state-chartered
banks. This incident became to be referred to as the Bank War. The next consequential act of
Jacksons presidential career was his Specie Circular. This act required all land payments to be
in gold or silver instead of paper money, making land purchases and debt payments impossible.
Andrew Jacksons Bank War and Specie Circular later led to the Panic of 1837 which caused a
deepened depression and financial crises.

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Even though Andrew Jackson was an egotistical, strong-willed man, he let his personal
feelings influence his leadership decisions. During his life he was caught in duels, fights, and
drama between him and his fellow politicians and cabinet members. Jackson used his authority
to make unnecessarily strong statements to protect his reputation while in office. It is for these
reason that I believe President Andrew Jackson was a detriment to the United States of America.

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Bibliography
Before it's News. (2012, September 11). Andrew Jackson: Worst and Most Terrifying U.S.
President. Retrieved from Before it's News: http://beforeitsnews.com/native-americannews/2012/09/andrew-jackson-worst-and-most-terrifying-u-s-president-2443900.html
bio. (2016). Andrew Jackson Biography . Retrieved from bio. :
http://www.biography.com/people/andrew-jackson-9350991
History . (2015). U.S. Presidents-Andrew Jackson. Retrieved from History :
http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/andrew-jackson
Indian Country Today. (2012, February 20). Indian-Killer Andrew Jackson Deserves Top Spot on
List of Worst U.S. Presidents . Retrieved from Indian Country Today .
The White House. (2015). Andrew Jackson . Retrieved from The White House :
https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/andrewjackson

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