Andrew Jackson Essay, Research Paper

In the year 1824 a presidential election was held. The candidates up for election were Andrew Jackson, John Adams, Henry Clay, and John Calhoun. The main two candidates were Jackson and Adams. This was a very unusual election in that Jackson actually won with the popular votes but lacked the electoral votes needed for office. Henry clay would sway the election either way. This is when the corrupt bargain took place. Clay didn t especially like Jackson and Adams was for his American System. Therefore Clay made a deal with Adams that would make him secretary of state as long as he gave all his votes to Adams. This deal went through and Adams was made president and Clay, secretary of state. This made Jackson furious so he worked hard the next four years determined to become the next president.

The election year 1828 comes and Jackson is ready to step into power. This was the most Democratic election ever. This was the first election to have campaigning and actual ballots. Also there was finally universal white male suffrage. Jackson portrayed himself as a humble man and Adams as part of the upper class to get sympathy votes. He was said to be the common man. There was no question about the winner this time because Jackson had wont it by a huge margin. He elected Calhoun as his vice president, Martin Van Buren as secretary of state, and John Eaton as secretary of war.

The inauguration was especially out of the ordinary. Jackson, being wild frontier man, had many wild frontier friends. They all decided to ride their horses to the White House for his inauguration. This was a huge mess. They were not neat and elegant about anything and many people looked at this at assumed that Jackson s term would be disastrous.

When Jackson steps into office he decides to change a few things like any president would probably do. He starts with the Spoil System. This is where Jackson can give away any government job to any one of his friends. This will backfire later. Then there is the huge problem of the Indians. The five civilized tribes are still living by Florida and the southern land- owners want their land to grow cotton. Jackson passes the Indian Removal Act, which pushes the Indians west of the Mississippi. The Cherokee go to the Supreme Court to debate this issue. Chief of Justice, John Marshall, agrees with the Indians and says they don t have to move. Jackson gets mad and brings the US army in to force the Indians out. This was a horrible death march referred to as the trail of tears.

During this time the secretary of war went to Jackson and wanted his permission to resign because his wife Peggy was the laughing stock of the women. Andrew knows how it feels so instead has Calhoun resign and promotes John Eaton vice president.

The election year of 1832 was here and Jackson was up for reelection. Clay and Nicholas Biddle would do every thing they could so he was not reelected. They tried to make an issue out of Jackson s opposition to the bank. The president of the bank, Biddle, demanded repayments that put many people in bankruptcy. But finally this was over and the Bank of the United States became just another bank and Jackson had won the bank war and his second term as president.

I think that Jackson was a great president with common knowledge. He wasn t the smartest man and didn t make the best decisions but the good ones he did made changed the US. He was the definition of the common man. He was just another ordinary guy unlike any president before him. I think he really knew how to handle problems but had his own way of doing so. He was one man who was not afraid of change and did an awful lot of it. He didn t care what other people thought of him or his ideas. He stood up for what he believed and that was one of his greatest qualities as president. He could overcome any obstacle that got in his way. He changed the way for the future presidents and the people. He really transformed politics in ways that we still use today. I think that if it wasn t for Jackson things would have taken longer to develop because he paved the way for people to follow. I did overall like Jackson. He had a few flaws but made up for them with great ideas and suggestions. His self- knowledge and strong ability to stand up for what he believed helped make it clear for the presidents in the future. He was a great president who will always be remembered.