Andrew Jackson
Hero or Villain? I've decided, but now it's your turn.
Jackson's Early Life
Jackson was said to be a rebellious boy and loved sports and games more than schoolwork. He had a fiery temper, and would often get into fights about who knows what. As Jackson grew up, he began to gamble and make bets on horse races. This was how he earned money, as he didn't have a job. With these new found hobbies, Jackson also took up chewing tobacco and smoking, along with some other drugs.
The war ended this life, and rather quickly.
The War
Lawyer
Even with a new job and a new life, Jackson never outgrew his temper. A famous write, Charles Dickinson, learned this the hard way and took it to his grave. He had insulted Jackson by calling him a "worthless scoundrel". An angry Andrew Jackson challenged him to a duel. Even though Dickinson shot first and wounded him, Jackson killed his opponent in cold blood.
He was only insulted, and those can be taken back. Even if you don't forgive that person, it doesn't give someone permission to kill the insulter. Does this choice make Jackson a hero or a villain?
Presidential Campaign
In fourth place was Clay, and he urged his supporters to vote for Adams. Because of this, Adams won the majority votes and became president, taking Clay along with him to be the secretary of state. Common people were angry at this, saying that the two men had worked out an agreement. In 1828, they said, they would take revenge.
And so, four years later, another election was held. This time, Jackson's supporters made sure that he would win the votes. They made banners, held meetings and rallies, and their campaign was "Adams can write, but Jackson can fight." This work resulted in Andrew Jackson becoming the president.
The political cartoon depicts Jackson beating Adams in the 1828 elections. It could also be showing that the common people wanted to take revenge, and making Jackson the president would do that.
Taking "revenge" as the commoners called it, and helping Jackson win the votes made them a hero in their eyes. But what about your eyes?
Short Summary of His Work
The Spoils System and the Kitchen Cabinet
In President Jackson's opinion, government work should not be a life time job. He brought some of his own supporters into politics, and this angered the upper class. They called it a Spoil System, where President Jackson treated his followers to better jobs and better payments. He said he didn't trust the Cabinet, and so made his own. The Kitchen Cabinet, so named because they met in the kitchens, were filled with people he trusted and who in turn supported him.
Does this act of removing better working people and replacing them with people who don't have much experience in politics make President Jackson a hero or a villain. The upper class certainly thought of him as a villain.
The picture depicts President Jackson as a puppet master, or the devil. He used people who supported him for his own use. He knew that he could manipulate them better than people who didn't support him.
Jackson vs Bank
Jackson believed in state banks, not a federal bank. The bank they had now seemed to benefit the upper class more than the lower class. This angered him, as Jackson himself had grown up as a lower citizen. It wasn't, however, only the bank that angered him. It was also the leader, Nicolas Biddle, who was everything Jackson wasn't.
Henry Clay wanted a way to make Jackson loose votes. So he sent a bill through Congress that would make the bank's charter be renewed. If Jackson renewed it, he would loose votes of farmers. If he didn't. the upper class wouldn't vote for him. But Clay forgot one thing: there were more farmers than businessmen. Jackson vetoed the bill, but instead of waiting for the bank's charter to run out, he wanted to starve it.
Indian Removal Act
Jackson had little sympathy for the Indians, as he was a frontier settler, and he made it known during his presidency. White settlers had always come across problems with the Natives before, and now it was his turn to do something about it. The new law stated that all Native Americans would travel across the Mississippi River and into the west, where they could live without the English-men. The journey was soon known as the Trail of Tears. Jackson thought he had solved the problem by the time he left office. In reality, ha had only delayed what was to come.
Did Jackson have the right to push out peaceful people who had lived their for centuries? Did he have the right to take their land?
The Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears shows that Jackson had no compassion towards the Native Americans. These were people who had helped them fight in battles, showed them how to survive, and even adopted white settlers tradition so they could live peacefully.
Nullification and Tariffs- Good or Bad?
Vice President John C. Calhoun told them to simply declare the tariffs null and void, and ignore them. Jackson didn't like this idea, so he signed a new law that lowered the tariffs- but not enough to the most firm believers.
South Carolina took it a step further- if the tariffs were not gotten rid of, then they would leave the United States. Outraged, Jackson told Congress to sign the Force Bill. This allowed him to use the federal army to collect tariffs if needed. Not wanting to face the army, South Carolina backed down.
The cartoon shows Calhoun and some of his supporters climbing a pyramid. At the top is a crown that symbolizes power.
Jackson stopped a war with a law. Who was he helping, and did he make good?
So...
In my opinion, Jackson was a villain. He worked to help people, yes, but it was mainly the common people. He starved a bank, killed an innocent man, and did drugs when he was younger. He also destroyed the lives of over 17,000 Native Americans by driving them from their homes and taking their land.
But now it's your turn. Yes or no? Good or bad?