Jacksonian Era Essay, Research Paper

The era of 1810-1840 was known as “Jacksonian America”. I’m sure right now you’re wondering, “Who was Andrew Jackson?” He was a president, (seventh) U.S. senator, congressman, and a judge on the Tennesee supreme court. He also served in the war of 1812.

At age 13, he joined the army. While serving in the army, he was captured by the British. The British officer in charge ordered Jackson to clean his boots. Jackson refused; the officer struck him with his sword, leaving Jackson’s face and hand permanently scarred. His brothers were also in the army, and unfortunatley they were killed. His mother and father had also passed away previously due to diseases, so by age 14, Jackson was an orphan.

Jacksonians often refer to the election in 1824 ad “The Stolen Election”, because while Jackson swept the popular vote hands down, he did not have enough electoral votes to automatically win the presidency. Jackson’s opponents were Henry Clay, John Quincy Adams, and William H. Crawford. Adams beat Jackson in that election. Jackson ran for president again in 1828, and so did Adams. Jackson and his followers started to continually criticize the Adams administration. Jackson took the position that he was the people’s candidate and never lost an opportunity to point out that the people’s choice in 1824 had been disregarded by Adams. His plan proved successful and Jackson defeated Adams in the 1828 election.

Jackson’s record regarding Native Americans was not so good. He led troops against them in both the Creek War and the First Seminole War, and during his first administration, the Indian Removal Act was passed in 1830. The act offered the Indians land west of the Mississippi in return for evacuation of their tribal homes in the east. About 100 million acres of traditional Indian lands were cleared under this law. Two years later Jackson did nothing to make Georgia abide by the Supreme Court’s ruling in a case (Worchester vs. Virginia) in which the Court found that the State of Georgia did not have any jurisdiction over the Cherokees. Georgia ignored the Court’s decision and so did Andrew Jackson. In 1838-1839 Georgia evicted the Cherokees and forced them to march west. About a quarter of the Indians were dead before they reached their new lands in Oklahoma. The Indians refer to this march as the “Trail of Tears”. Even though it took place after Jackson’s presidential term, the roots of the march can be found in Jackson’s failure to uphold the legal rights of Native Americans during his administration.

This is only a bit of information so you can get the gist of Jacksonian America. I hope my explanation hoped you learn more about him and the 1810-1840 era.