Andrew Jackson
Hero of the middle class
He Was a Middle Class American Man
His parents were both Irish immigrants, but his dad died before he was born. He grew up in a backwoods settlement in the Carolina's. He received some education at an early age, but when he got older he studied law, and became a young lawyer in Tennessee. He prospered, and saved a lot of money to buy a mansion called the Hermitage, and about 150 slaves. He was the first man from Tennessee that was elected to be in the House of Representative's, and he served a short while in the Senate. He was elected to be President in 1828.
He was a War Hero!
Jackson was a war hero during the War of 1812. He is famous for defeating a British force (that was by the way, larger than his own) at New Orleans. He devised a clever plan to defeat them by making cover at the top of a hill and letting the enemy come to him. Not only was this a clever thing to do, it also saved the the States from higher casualties.
This win was kind of ironic in a way, because when this battle was fought and won, the treaty of Ghent had already been signed, so the War was officially over...
The Corruption of the National Bank
Jackson believed the bank was corrupt and "evil". This was because the bank only provided loans to people of the upper class, therefore it was not for the common man. He fought to shut down the national bank from the start of his presidency. He didn't get out of the affair unscathed though, he was censured (basically just a figurative smack on the wrist) by Congress because they agreed that he abused his presidential powers.
This cartoon is showing Jackson shutting down the national bank. There is light shining from the document in his hand, and the bank workers are all shying away from it like demons, or some other dark creature. Basically the illustrator was showing the national bank (evil) by Andrew Jackson (good).