Andrew Jackson
He's a complete zero; he's nobody's hero...
Indian Removal Act
On May 28, 1830, Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act. This act gave permission to Native American tribes to settle on unorganized land west of the Mississippi River in exchange for their land that was in state borders. This angered Native Americans and caused most tribes to fight for their right to live on that land. However, it was no use. In the fall and winter of 1838 and 1839 respectively, Andrew Jackson forced all the Native Americans out of the lands they had lived at for years. This event was known as "The Trail of Tears" and approximately 4000 people died along the way,
The Trail of Tears
Andrew Jackson had always fought against Native Americans back when he was a war hero, and he continued to do it when he was the president as well. On May 28, 1830, Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act which forced most Southeastern tribes off the land they had always lived on. A small group of Native Americans negotiated the Treaty of New Echota, which stated that all Cherokee land east of the Mississippi would be traded away for 5 million dollars. However, by 1838 only 2000 Native Americans had moved west. The rest who hadn't moved yet were forced to march west to Oklahoma and many died because of whooping cough, typhus, dysentery, cholera, and starvation. In 1907, Oklahoma was admitted as a state, and the Native American territory was lost forever.
Killing the National Bank
Jackson had always been against a national bank as well as against a strong central government. It was almost like he was trying to make things like they were when they had the Articles of Confederation. In 1929, Andrew Jackson gave an anti-bank speech to Congress. Congress, however, decided that the National Bank was constitutional. In 1832, Congress sent Jackson a new charter for the National Bank which ended up getting vetoed. On September 3, 1933, Jackson announced that the government would stop using the National Bank. Exactly one week after this, September 10, Jackson used his power to remove it's funds and hand them out to state banks, thus killing the National Bank.
Political Cartoon
This political cartoon depicts the National Bank as a thirteen-headed monster, which is being slain by Andrew Jackson.
Age of Jackson: Crash Course US History #14