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Andrew Jackson was a consistent leader whose simplistic view of the needs of the union coupled with a dogged fighter attack on life made him a stron g president who brought the nation through a challenging period of internal struggles to maintain the union. If ranked on an A to F scale from a cultural backdrop of today he would be closer to a C- because of his views and policies concerning Indians and executive control; but when placed within the context of his day, his is more of a B presidency. Mr. Jackson’s interpersonal skills were extremely coarse given the standard of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson or even the military strongman George Washington. Mr. Jackson was usually either all for something or someone, or all against it or them. His ability to make a decision and then use all means to effect that goal was a characteristic that made him neither an A president nor an F. His strong personality and single vision got things accomplished, but his hatred of the elite and distrust of the federal bank and Indians were the basis of many of his least shining moments. On the balance, Andrew Jackson’s grade as a president is enhanced by the strength he provided the office, (having vetoed more bills than all the previous presidents combined), and his popular support (twice as many voters cast ballads in 1828 as in 1824 and four times as many voters as had cast ballots in 1820 ) defined his voice of the farmers and mechanics of the country. His opening statement in his first Annual Message delivered December 8, 1829 encapsulates his views and goals to support the views of commonfolk. Jackson believed that a strong presidential responsibility that ran with it: “It affords me great pleasure to tender my friendly greetings to you on the occasion of your assembling at the seat of Government to enter upon the important duties //to which you have been called by our countrymen//.” _Jackson believed that the legislators had the duty to speak for their regional constituents, but that he spoke for all of the citizens. His role as that spokesperson was very important to him both fundamentally and practically. Practically, Jackson knew the people got him into the white house, and he symbolically opened it to them for his inauguration celebration. This event symbolized the risk of unrestrained individualism in that more citizens attended than he ever imagined and he was forced to slip out because they were drunk and unruly. It is said that they put tubs of wine punch in the yard just to lure the people out of the house where they were breaking furniture and presidential heirlooms. Fundamentally, Jackson was aligned to the people because of his humble beginnings and inherent distrust of the “non-producing classes” of society. Jackson believed that inequalities of wealth and power “were the direct result of monopoly, favoritism, and special privileges which made the ‘rich richer and the powerful more potent.’” Free competition in an open marketplace was the key to a correct distribution of wealth power and success. Jackson supported farmers, small shopkeepers and artisans hoping they would earn a greater share of the nation’s wealth (digitalhistory). Several of his negative detractors included his involvement in the institution of “spoils” where party loyalists would replace the previous administration civil servants. He justified this on the theory that there was no special skill required to (intelligence or training) so that the rotation of office supported the republican ideals of the union. He didn’t invent the system and didn’t even use it that extensively, but it became part of his legacy, which embraced the open government, and rejection of a specialized elite governing body. His ideology ran toward “democratic republicanism” which embraced the respect for the individual’s “virtue, intelligence and capacity for self-government” (digital history) Andrew Jackson was a war hero, but he acquired much of that glory by arguably going beyond the scope of his authority to force the Spanish to give up Florida. His populace appeal was one of his greatest strengths, however it was just that mob rule mentality that the nation feared by its founding fathers. His nickname during his war hero days was “Old Hickory” because he was as strong as a hickory and during the Indian wars he was known as “Sharp Knife”. His reputation for hating Indians was first established during his war experience but followed during his presidency in the “Indian Removal” which sought to remove all Indians west of the Mississippi. He claimed that the transfer would be voluntary, and that if they stayed they were welcome as long as they followed the rules of the government. The “Trail of Tears” technically occurred after his office, but was made possible because of his refusal to support the court opinion that said the states couldn’t treat Indians however they saw fit. Like Jackson’s strong personality he said the Opinion was fine, he just wondered how it would be enforced. His failure to use his official power to do so sealed the fate of the Indians. Jackson’s relationship with Congress was rocky. He didn’t defer to them, but rather used his veto power to command control. Cartoonists characterized him as “King Andrew I”. His efforts to retire the national debt were part of his plan. He struggled with the tariff acts of 1834 and 1828. In 23, a tariff was instituted to help support Northern manufacturers, but was seem as an unfair burden to the Southern states. In 1832 he worked with Congress to make the taxation fairer, but this led to one of the biggest internal problems the union had ever faced. The Ordinance of Nullification was bill passed by North Carolina, which declared the Tariffs of 28 and 34 to be “null and void” within the state. It claimed the right to declare null and void any federal laws it didn’t like. Jackson wanted the people to speak, and believed in States rights, but couldn’t go so far as this. He knew that to let this occur would cause the end of the union. His response was to seek authority for military action against the state. He ordered troops to Charleston and declared he’d personally hang his opponent Clay. Clay forged a compromise and South Carolina dropped its nullification threats. He took on his Vice President for political reasons, but had not problem letting him “resign” as he was never a friend. Jackson used an informal group of advisors (known as his Kitchen Cabinet) to govern. The Second National Bank was a focus of his distrust of the ruling elite. He believed parts of its charter to be unconstitutional and viewed it as a government sponsored monopoly as opposed to a private corporation  (Whitehouse Jackson refused to re-charter it and used a Congressional veto that couldn’t be overridden. He met this goal in that the Bank of the United States ceased to exist in 1836. (State library)   Andrew Jackson’s policy concerning the American Indian had a lasting impact on the United States. His fierce eradication of the Indians prior to coming to office was somewhat minimized by his decision to relocate as opposed to exterminate those native Americans who lived east of the Mississippi. Yet, his refusal to enforce the Supreme Court case holding that determined states could not have independent Indian policies set up the climate that made the Trail of Tears possible where thousands of Indians died on their walk to the western lands. This, and his believe that slaves were lesser beings contributed to the tensions that culminated years later regarding human rights. On a more positive note, Jackson’s forceful use of the veto powers of his office set the stage for a stronger presidency. He used his independent powers to do simple things like refuse to give one of his political enemies funds for highway construction and in more grant stances, he used his authority to make sure the Second National Bank charter was not renewed. The strong use of veto power set the stage for future presidents to become much more politically active and powerful. The United States of America was better off at the end of the presidency of Andrew Jackson. His efforts to stop the states from disregarding Federal laws at will was a tough one, but ensured that the union would succeed. A different outcome would have defeated the ability of the nation to be unified. His populist viewpoint was a rallying point for future generations of Americans whose contributions might behave waned had the elite, educated classes marinating control of government. The little man, the farmer and shopkeeper and uneducated were made to feel they had a say and a place in the rule of their great nation.  Bibliography “Andrew Jackson’s First Annual Message to Congress.” The American Presidency Project. . “Andrew Jackson.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. . “Andrew Jackson Biography.” . “Andrew Jackson” State Library of North Carolina. . “Biography of Andrew Jackson: About the White House Presidents” (10 Oct 2009) . Cave, Alfred A. “Abuse of Power: Andrew Jackson and the Indian Removal Act of 1830”. (2003). “Jacksonian Democracy: The Presidency of Andrew Jackson.” Hypertext History: Our Online American History Textbook. (10 Nov. 2009) . <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Johnson, Allen. “Jefferson and His Colleagues.” <Http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/grizzard/johnson/johnson13.html>. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">The Papers of Andrew Jackson. Selected Papers of Andrew Jackson available on the Avalon Project at Yale University.
 * Presidential Wiki Assignments For AP US History **
 * President’s full name ** (Include birth and death dates) **Andrew Jackson 1929-1837**
 * Political party of the president ** : **Democratic-Republican and Democratic** (two parties grew out of the old Republican Party, the Democratic Republicans or Democrats with Jackson, and the National Republicans, or Whigs, against Jackson.)
 * Dates of the term ** or terms of office **March 4, 1829- March 4, 1837**
 * Vice President ** by term: **John C. Calhoun (1829-1832) none 1832-1833 Martin VanBuren 1833-1837**