Looking back on America's past, there is one president that is probably the most difficult to analyze, this president being Andrew Jackson. Having his own era named The Jacksonian Era, you would think that he was certainly "the peoples president" being given this title. But, between the Bank war, Indian Removal, and Spoils System, is he really the peoples' president he is made out to be?
The Bank War was a political battle that was caused by issues regading the Second Bank of the United States. Congress voted to reauthorize the bank's charter, but Andrew Jackson vetoed it, saying the following in a message to Congress.
This shows that Jackson is a peoples' president because he wanted to make sure that the bank was completely under control of the United States, and that the ties between them were too few, and it also shows that he wants constitutionality for the poor people as well, and not just a monopoly for the rich. Not only did the Bank War help to determine whether or not Jackson was the people's president, but the Indian Removal Acts helped to secure his place as well.
The Indian Removal act was certainly an act of a people's president, because although he forced natives off of their land, he allowed for his people to settle onto it by doing so. Jackson sent letters to the Indians, almost like an eviction notice, to tell them that they would have to leave or they would have to follow the laws of American society, as well as pay taxes, which caused many natives to move and maintain their tribal traditions.
Map of the land Jackson took from Natives
The Spoils System also helped to determine whether or not Jackson was the people's president, but it had some ups and downs to it. A spoils system is a practice where a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its voters as a reward for working toward victory, and as an incentive to keep working for the party—as opposed to a system of awarding offices on the basis of some measure of merit independent of political activity. Jackson decided to rotate officers through this system so that one person could not be considered greater than another. However, Jackson messed up big when he elected Swartwout to office in his administration, who ended up stealing over a million dollars, and after being told by many people that he was a criminal Jackson ignored it.
I would have to say that despite this mess up, Jackson is proven a people's president here because he developed the system of government which is widely used today, and this competition between parties has helped to develop our government. Overall, Jackson does fill the shoes he was given, and, despite some faults he made, was still a president for the people.
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