President Andrew Jackson
Hero or Zero? Most definitely ZERO!
Why is he a zero?
Even though Jackson did many great things before his presidency, such as defeating a larger British force, he did many terrible things during his presidency to earn himself the title, "zero." Here are a few reasons why I think that Andrew Jackson is a zero:
1. The "Spoils System"
When Andrew Jackson won the election of 1828, he selected some of his supporters and rewarded them by giving them government jobs, but the catch to this is that many of the supporters that he chose weren't even qualified to have a government job! Jackson only chose these people to work along side him (in his cabinet) so that everyone would agree with him, even if his decisions were unconstitutional. Andrew Jackson became notorious for this system.
2. The Nullification Crisis
During his presidency, Jackson signed two tariffs: the Tariff of 1828 and the Tariff of 1832. When these tariffs were made, the Southern region of the United States (more specifically South Carolina) became very upset, because the tariffs didn't help the economy of the South. In fact, the tariff made the South's economy weaker and the North's economy stronger, because it forced people to buy the cheaper, domestic products. South Carolina nullified the tariff and threatened to secede from the United States. When South Carolina threatened to secede, Jackson shot back and threatened to hang John Calhoun, the senator of South Carolina, and signed the Force Bill, which forced them to pay the tariffs. Jackson even threatened to send the U.S. Army to South Carolina. Because of the threats, they decided not to secede. They also decided not to secede because the government, North, and South reached a compromise. The South promised to pay the tariffs as long as they were made cheaper.
Picture from: http://amchsapush.blogspot.com/2012/10/mrs-rodriguez-says-more-detail-on.html
3. The "Trail of Tears"
The event known as the "Trail of Tears" was when the Cherokee Indians were removed from their native land (which was around Georgia) and were forced to walk all the way to Oklahoma. This event was enforced by none other than Andrew Jackson. He wanted the natives to move away from their land because there was nutrient rich soil for harvesting cotton and gold was found there. John Marshall ruled that Indian removal was unconstitutional because he thought that the Cherokee people had their own territory and it shouldn't interfered with. Jackson ignored Marshall completely and kept going with the removal of the Indians. Now do you really think this is something a hero would do?
Picture from: http://www.maxdstandley.com/trail_of_tears_series/the_trail_of_tears.html
#07--Andrew Jackson
Political Cartoon: King Andrew Jackson
This cartoon is portraying President Andrew Jackson as a king. The author of this political cartoon chose to portray him this way because when Jackson was president, he ruled over the U.S. like a king would. This cartoon also shows Andrew Jackson with a ripped up constitution at his feet. This shows his disregard to the U.S. Constitution when he was president. Last but not least, he is holding a veto in his hand. The author put a veto in his hand because Jackson used the power to veto more than any other president.
Picture from: http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2010/11/22/131511740/obama-gets-royal-treatment-from-opponents