Andrew Jackson The Zero
By: Kenny Thomson
He killed thousands of Native Americans
Andrew Jackson resented the Native Americans for no reason, he described them as not civilized enough to be American citizens . He made them all move to a reservation in Oklahoma without enough time to get ready and get proper supplies. This was called the Trail of Tears. During the trip thousands of Indians died because of sicknesses, starvation, and weather. He did all of this just to get to their land to look for gold and resources.
He shut down the National Bank
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. Consequently, he refused to recharter the bank when Henry Clay proposed it in 1832. Even though it was passed through Congress, Jackson vetoed it claiming that it was unconstitutional.
He created the Spoils System
When he became President he fired lots of high ranking government officials saying there was corruption in the White House. Many open spots were filled in by doing Jackson a few political favors, like newspaper editors praising him in their newspapers. His worst decision was giving an old army comrade, Samuel Swarwout, collector of the New York City customhouse. In 1838 Swartwout absconded (leaving hurriedly and secretly) with 1 million dollars.
Age of Jackson: Crash Course US History #14