Andrew Jackson was elected in 1828. He was known as Old Hickory because of his tough and stubborn personality. There are many positive and negative attributes used to describe President Jackson.
Pick one negative or positive action that Andrew Jackson took part in and explain why it was looked at in that light.
Be sure not to duplicate someone else!
Mrs. Demmel
Under Andrew Jackson's presidency, voting rights were granted to all white men, regardless of financial or social status. This is characterized as a positive contribution because of that the fact that it made the pool of democratic representation bigger and more just. Based off the government the Founding Fathers built, a voice of the people is to run it, and by expanding the suffrage criteria, he did just that. Moreover, this was a step towards further expanding the suffrage criteria to women, and eventually every one.
ReplyDeleteOne negative action that Andrew Jackson took was his absolute lack of action toward the case of Georgia v. Cherokee Nation when the Cherokee Nation was expelled from their native lands in Georgia. He refused to support the Supreme Court ruling that Georgia had no legislative control over Native American lands. Ultimately, the Cherokees had to evacuate to Arkansas, marking the infamous Trail of Tears. This relocation also resulted in thousands of death. Thus, Jackson's lack of standing on this matter can be justified as a negative action on his part.
ReplyDeleteThat is the same illustration used on the cover of the Jackson book I have what a coincidence. What a man.
ReplyDeleteFollowing the shameful Trail of Tears incident, Jackson continued his removal of the native peoples with the "Black Hawk War" in 1832. The conflict took place when the Sauk and Fox native tribes, led by a tribesman named Black Hawk, attempted to resist removal and return to their native lands in Illinois. The movement frightened settlers in the region who then demanded military action, leading to chase and battle between federal troops and the Black Hawk band. One of the last actions made by President Jackson in his efforts to remove the native peoples in the 1830s, the Black Hawk resistance was no more controversial than the Trail of Tears. For supporters of American expansionism, as Jackson was himself, the riddance of the native population came as a welcome clearing of obstacles in westward expansion. Settlements were still conflicting with native tribes following the American Revolution (as Jackson himself had experience with), so many people, in fact, welcomed the support of military force in dealing with the remaining native American tribes.
One negative action he took part in was his opposition to the National Bank. Like Jefferson, he believed in a republic based on agriculture, and felt that the Bank was only beneficial to commercialism and financiers. He succeeded in destroying the Bank in 1832, and withdrew funds in 1833. This left the nation without a central bank capable of monitoring the nation's money supply, and along with issuing the Specie Circular, or Coinage Act, threw the national economy into a deep depression. For removing U.S. funds from the Bank of the United States, he was also censured by the Senate.
ReplyDeleteOne positive action that Andrew Jackson was responsible for was the complete payment of all of the United States' national debt. As a land speculator in Tennessee before his presidency, Jackson had once fallen deeply in debt, and had learned to hate it. Because of this, one of Jackson's goals in his presidency was to eliminate the national debt. To accomplish this, Jackson started selling all the western land the government owned and vetoing as many spending bills as he could. After 6 years of his presidency, the national debt was completely eliminated and the government was actually earning a surplus of money.
ReplyDeleteOne positive thing that Andrew Jackson did was his stance on South Carolina. South Carolina was possibly going to secede from the Union due to the Nullification Crisis when tariffs were put on the state. This was stopped by the senate and stopped South Carolina. If Jackson didn't stop the Tariffs, the Union may have been jeopardized.
ReplyDeleteOne positive attribute of Andrew Jackson that was looked at positively by society was his intelligence. At the age of 17, Jackson decided to become a lawyer after briefly teaching school. Andrew Jackson moved to Salisbury, North Carolina. He apprenticed with prominent lawyers for three years and in 1787 received his license to practice law in many backcountry counties. To earn more money, he also worked in general stores in the small towns he lived in. Andrew Jackson was a very intelligent man and everyone saw that as one of his positive attributes that made him such a good leader.
ReplyDeleteA controversial action of Andrew Jackson’s that was seen in a negative light was his support of Peggy Eaton, the wife of his secretary of war, John Henry Eaton. John Eaton’s marriage to Ms. Eaton was very controversial at the time. It was rumored that Ms. Eaton had been John Eaton’s mistress and that Mr. Eaton was not the only man Ms. Eaton had ever been attached to. Jackson, recently widowed, was reminded by this smear campaign of how his own wife was never fully accepted by the high society of Washington because it was rumored that she married him before being divorced by her first husband. With this in mind, Jackson began a chivalrous, if maybe misguided, campaign to force the wives of his administration to accept Ms. Eaton. After they all refused, he called their husbands, “henpecked.” Understandably, this comment was seen in a negative light and alienated most of Jackson’s cabinet. Especially displeased was John C. Calhoun, the vice president whose wife, Floride Calhoun was prominent in the campaign against Ms. Eaton. Another way in which Jackson’s efforts for Peggy Eaton were seen as negative is that they ended the small role that women had played in Washington up until then. Although well meant, Andrew Jackson’s attempts to force the elite of Washington to accept Ms. Eaton were seen as one of the negative aspects of his presidency.
ReplyDeleteSources:
DeleteFaragher, John M., Mari J. Buhle, Daniel Czitrom, and Susan H. Armitage. Out of Many: A History of the American People; AP Edition. Sixth ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001. Print.
"John C. Calhoun, 7th Vice President (1825-1832)." U.S. Senate: Art & History Home John C. Calhoun, 7th Vice President (1825-1832). United States Senate, 2013. Web. 28 Oct. 2013.
"Rachel Jackson." NNDB Tracking the Entire World. Soylent Communications, 2013. Web. 28 Oct. 2013.
As Andrew Jackson issued the Force Bill/Act in 1833, his leadership was seen negatively, particularly in South Carolina. This proclamation declared that Congress had the authority to use military force against any state that resisted the previous tariff acts. As the "people's president," many thought that Jackson sure had the nerve to enforce the Federal power. Later, a Compromise Tariff of 1833 was accepted and ended the conflict with South Carolina.
ReplyDeleteOne negative of Andrew Jackson’s character was his opinions on slavery. Throughout his presidency, he accepted and encouraged the expansion into the Southern frontier, shown by his lack of action on the Cherokee versus Georgia case. All of the previous presidents had had some thought about the morality of slavery, but decided to let future generations make a decision about whether or not to keep slavery as a part of the United States. Andrew Jackson, on the other hand, saw little or no problems with slavery and thought of it only as a way to expand the economic success of the country.
ReplyDeleteOne positive action of Andrew Jackson was that he added two new states to the Union. This was a very positive action by Andrew Jackson because all the colonists were very happy with the expansion of the United States. The U.S. was growing very quickly in population and more space was needed. Also, the colonists wanted to gain more land for farms. By adding two more states, Andrew Jackson pleased the needs of many people of the United States.
ReplyDeleteOne negative action of Andrew Jackson’s presidency was his “kitchen cabinet”. Instead of consulting with his actual elected cabinet Andrew Jackson consulted with friends and allies in the kitchen. This angered politicians being ignored by Jackson like Cullman his vice president. This is a negative action because Jackson was not listing to those elected by the people to consult with him. Jacksons actions ended the politeness in the Whitehouse which preceded his years in office.
ReplyDeleteAndrew Jackson's huge support in both his first and second elections is one of his most positive and important attributes. As seen in his election in 1828, where thousands enthusiatically participated in parades and rallies, Jackson had a mass appeal to the common people. Participation in politics grew in the elections of 1828 and 1832 to a level unseen before in the United States; it is for this reason that Andrew Jackson is thought to have ushered in the Age of the Common Man, where power layed in popular opinion and not the hands of the small and priveleged political elite. Also, his elections led to the creation of the Second American Party System, which is based on two major parties with appeal from all social classes and is still in place today.
ReplyDeleteWorks Cited
DeleteFaragher, John M., Mari J. Buhle, Daniel Czitrom, and Susan H. Armitage. Out of Many: A History of the American People; AP Edition. Sixth ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001. Print.
One positive action that Andrew Jackson took part of was the battle of Horseshoe Bend in the war of 1812.At this battle he led American forces against the Creek Indians. It was seen as a positive action because the at that time the Native Americans weren't very well liked, and their defeat increased Andrew Jackson's popularity.This battle was one of the main reasons Andrew Jackson was elected president.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteA significant yet negative action Andrew Jackson put forth was his decision to veto the Maysville Road Bill of 1830. Jackson was primarily a westerner, so his supporters expected him to acknowledge and propose a solution to the nation's needs for the federal funding of several internal projects, such as better transportation. In refusing the authorization of this one bill, he completely destroyed or rather condoned these expectations, for he even claimed to put a stop to the abuses of the Federal government, in regard to these technological advancements and improvements. Jackson's veto provoked several states to take it upon themselves to provide money and put forth such projects that would improve industry and other areas of the nation's welfare. However, the states had overly committed to these advancements and suffered financial difficulty, thus putting Jackson's actions, relevant to this issue, in a negative light or view.
ReplyDeleteOne of Andrew Jackson's negative aspects was the extreme force with which he commanded his troops during the War of 1812. While Jackson gained popularity for his victories at Horseshoe Bend and New Orleans, he garnered the hatred of many of the men serving under him because of the way in which he did as he pleased with little regard for the opinions of others. In one specific example, he had a soldier arrested, tried, and shot in front of other soldiers despite a lack of proof just because the soldier was rumored to have called him 'mad'.
ReplyDeleteThis harsh punishment and disregard for authority is generally considered a negative aspect because it made Jackson an unreliable commander to his superiors and a detestable leader to his soldiers. Furthermore, his firm belief in the justification of his own actions lead to many of the other percieved negatives of his term, including his excessive use of the veto power, his refusal to acknowledge the Supreme Court's decision during the trial Cherokee Nation vs. Georgia, and the long and bitter Bank War that eventually resulted in an economic crisis.
A positive action that Andrew Jackson took part in was as Major General in the Battle of New Orleans. Though the Treaty of Ghent had already been ratified on December 30,1814 ending the war, the Battle of New Orleans still took place on January 8, 1815 after the war. Jackson bravely led his troops in one of the biggest land victory battles in the war. The victory of the Americans in New Orleans was monumental in keeping control of a section of what had been the vastly open, newly purchased Louisiana territory land. Jackson stayed strong and kept on the attack against British troops, allowing America to seal a victory. This is seen a positive action Jackson took part in because of how important keeping Louisiana Purchase territory was and how responsable he was for the victory in doing so.
ReplyDeleteOne distasteful quality of Andrew Jackson was his inclination for resolving conflicts through the use of violence. Though the exact number is unknown, historians estimate that Jackson took part in five to one hundred duels in his lifetime. The most infamous of these duels was between himself and Charles Dickinson who perished on May 30, 1806 in Logan, Kentucky. Leading up to the event, Dickinson had accused Jackson of cheating on a bet at a horse race, called the man a cowards and publicly stated that Rachel Jackson was a bigamist. Enraged by this series of insults, Jackson challenged Dickinson to a duel to settle the matter of his bruised pride. The public was outraged when Jackson killed Dickinson. It was this outrage that makes this Jackson's most infamous duel. But this incident clearly reveals Jackson's greatest negative aspect, his inclination for violence.
ReplyDelete"Andrew Jackson Kills Charles Dickinson in Duel." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013.
DeleteA big negative of Jackson being president, was that he was a very stubborn man and showed absolutely no respect for the law. For example, in the court case between Georgia and the Cherokee Indians, when the supreme court made the decision that Georgia had no right to expel the Indians from the lands, Jackson completely ignored the decision and resolved to "John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it!" Another example for Jackson's stubbornness and anger, is that Jackson was known to have killed 13 men in a total of an unknown amount of duels.
ReplyDeleteOne negative thing about AJ is his flip flopping from side to side on different issues. He was very strong about federal power in cases like Gibbons vs Ogden, but with the National Bank he was very pro-states. If you proposed an idea to him you weren't sure which side he would decide on.
ReplyDeleteOne big positive for Andrew Jackson was that he was a wealthy white man. In the political and social time period he was living in, it was a huge advantage to be able to draw support from your politically elite friends, who were also wealthy, and white, and men. All voters in this time period were white men, and most supported the archaic traditions of patriarchy and one races superiority over the other.
ReplyDeleteAndrew Jackson was known for his hate of indians. He didn't want them on american soil. He was the president that led up the removal of indians off indian land. He took part in many battles and slaughters of indians. this is defiantly a negative thing about Andrew Jackson. he was cruel towards native people and carelessly killed them. people who knew him said he found it fun. it was a horrible thing that jackson did and it was shown in that light because of the way he approached it.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that Andrew Jackson was looked on in a positive light for is for growing up in a fairly poor family. He didn't get everything spoon-fed to him as a child. He had to go out and earn it. This shaped Jackson as a person and his experiences led him to make the decisions that he did as president. Also, Jackson could relate with the common man, as he went through the same experiences as they did.
ReplyDeleteOne negative thing about Andrew Jackson, in my opinion, was his strong opposition to Native Americans. This was a negative because he was unflinchingly brutal to many Indians. He always voted on the side of the whites, forcing Indians out of their land and sending them to tiny reservations far away from their ancestors' homes. He was responsible for sending the Indians on the Trail of Tears, causing the death of many and a large resentment from the Indian population. Though this policy gained him support in the south, it was disliked by the north and is looked back on as almost evil. During his presidency, Indians were oppressed and segregated against, which was a huge negative about him.
ReplyDeleteA negative aspect of Jackson was his consulting sessions with his "kitchen cabinet". These people were unqualified and helped influence him to make political important decisions. He should have consulted with his actual cabinet who were highly qualified officials with political backgrounds.
ReplyDelete