Andrew Jackson

Essential Question: Is Andrew Jackson's long standing reputation as "the people's president" deserved? Why? Why not?

           Andrew Jackson was known as "the people's president". But was it deserved? There are many reasons for why Andrew Jackson was anything but the peoples president. The most compelling examples of why Andrew Jackson was anything but the peopls president are the bank war, the spoil system, and Indian removal. During the bank war, President Jackson strongly disliked the bank and believed it had too much power. Jackson refused to pass a bill that extended the banks charter, and the economy eventually collapsed as a direct result of Jackson's decision. Also, Jackson would reward supporters of his campaign with high government jobs. This is called the spoil system. While this system seems to be very appealing, most people appointed to these jobs were very unqualified, and sometimes even criminals. As a result of this, the government and the quality of decisions suffered.
Lastly, Andrew Jackson was responsible for Indian removal. Many tribes were forced to leave their homeland and thousands died during the journey. Jackson believed that he was saving them from the white people. By relocating the Indians, he believed he was doing them a favor. President Jackson said that Indians and whites couldn't live together. All of these elements together form a compelling argument to why Jackson was anything but the peoples president. In my group Project, we explained how all of these reasons put together shows that Jackson is not "the people's president".