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Birth: March 15, 1767 Death: June 8, 1845 Political Party: Democrat Terms: March 4, 129-March 4, 1837 Vice President: John C. Calhoun (1829-1832) and Martin Van Buren (1833-1837)
 * Andrew Jackson **

Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States and was elected to represent the common man. Throughout Jackson’s presidency he made many positive and negative decisions including the spoils system, and vetoing the Second Bank of the United States Bill. Because of these decisions, Jackson deserves a solid C+.

Upon entering his presidency, Jackson had one main goal which was to represent the people to the best of his ability. By establishing the spoils system he was able to do just that. The spoils system is the process of rewarding the strong political supporters with jobs in the government offices. The use of the process has both a good and bad value; people who are criminals could take the job of someone who is highly qualified (Samuel Swartwout managed to steal one million dollars from the United States).

The relationship between Andrew Jackson and Congress would have been expected to be great considering that most of the Congress members were democrats like Jackson himself, but oddly, this relationship was very poor. This could be due to the fact that another goal of Jackson’s was to reduce the power of the legislative branch, which was an odd goal considering the purpose of the legislative branch was to help keep the check and balance system in order. Jackson vetoed many bills during his presidency including those known as the Maysville Road Bill and the Second Bank of the United States Bill. He was not afraid to disagree with Congress on the issues that he felt strongly about.

One of the most positive decisions that Andrew Jackson made during his presidency would have been the establishment of the spoils system. Although most people would argue that the spoils system is just as good as it is bad, it brought the interest of being in a political party to the people. Not only that, but it replaced some of the older generation of Congress members with the newer generation which allowed the government a new look upon state and national issues. This system allowed the people to have more control over the government which helped it become more democratic. The system tested people’s loyalty to the president which improved the unity of the government.

One of the most negative decisions that Andrew Jackson made during his presidency would have been the signing and approving of the Indian Removal Act. This act stated that the Indians had to move west of the Mississippi. At first glance this doesn’t seem to be negative due to the fact that it actually solved the land problem for the whites, but a closer look shows that the Indian Removal Act killed over 4,000 people. Notice that all of the causalities were the Natives, and although they weren’t considered citizens, they were still people who had claims to the land that they were forced off of. In a way, Jackson stole their land out from underneath them, and when the Natives tried to complain, they were ignored by the government. Where is the justice in that? When the government usually is trying to get more land, they offer an amount of money to the people they were trying to get it from. The Indian Removal Act offered no money or any positive outcome, other than the belief that if the Natives moved they would no longer be bothered by the whites for land. This was a lie itself because eventually the whites began looking for land in the west and ran into the Natives again.

The most lasting impression from one of Andrew Jackson’s decisions would have been left by when South Carolina wanted to nullify the Tariff of 1828. This moment in history didn’t last very long, but it caused the nation to be closer to a civil war. Jackson, believing that he was doing the right thing, passed the Force Bill and began to raise arms against South Carolina and if they refused to pay the tariff or taxes Jackson was ready to declare an open war against them. Jackson was about to cause a war within his own nation. Luckily, it didn’t come to a war, but rather it pushed the nation towards another.

Andrew Jackson was elected to represent the people and he did to a certain extent. He could have dealt with South Carolina in a more patient manner, and he could have been more sympathetic to the Natives, but he did recognize Texas’ independence which showed that he was capable of acting rationally. For his actions as a president Jackson deserves a C+.

Bibliography: "American President: Andrew Jackson." //Miller Center of Public Affairs//. Web. 15 Oct. 2009. . "Andrew Jackson." //State Library of North Carolina//. Web. 15 Oct. 2009. .