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//Born: March 15, 1767 Died: June 8, 1845 (1829-1832) and (1833-1836)//** Vice President Term 2: Martin Van Buren Democratic Party//**
 * __ Andrew Jackson __
 * //Vice President Term 1: John C. Calhoun

After researching President Andrew Jackson, I would grade his two terms as President a "D". Overall, throughout both of his terms, he made more negative decisions then positive. He was a supporter of Indian removal before he became President and while in office passed the Indian Removal Act of 1830, an Act that removed Cherokee Indians from their homelands. Jackson’s support of tariffs resulted in the Nullification Crisis.

During his first address to Congress President Jackson presented some ambitious goals, however, he was unable to accomplish most of them without creating greater problems for the country. Two of his goals were rotating government jobs and passing protective tariffs. Jackson was successful passing a moderate tariff in 1832. The North supported the tariffs and the South saw them as an unfair subsidy. Jackson's own Vice President, John Calhoun, was from South Carolina and he believed that States had the right to nullify a tariff imposed by the federal government. South Carolina threatened to secede and Jackson made a speech warning South Carolina to comply with the tariff and denouncing the doctrine of nullification as "incompatible with the existence of the Union". In order to stop thoughts of secession, he added that "disunion by armed force is treason". The crisis ended with the Tariff of 1833 which halted the secession of South Carolina and kept the country united. Jackson believed that rotation in office would ensure that the federal government would not be made up of corrupt civil servants that were set apart from the people. This became known as the “Spoils System”, a system used to reward party loyalists. The practice of rewarding supporters had been in use prior to the Jackson administration, but the sudden change inpersonnel drew accusations of abuse.

Democrats held the majority in Congress during Jackson’s first term. During his second term, the National Republican Party, who greatly opposed Jackson, controlled Congress. Later in his second term, the Democrats regained control of Congress. Jackson’s own party held the majority for most of his Presidency, however, he did not have a good relationship with them. Jackson opposed many of Congress's ideas and vetoed a dozen bills; more then all of the previous Presidents combined. One of these vetoed bills included the recharter of the second Bank of the United States. This veto, and other Jackson banking policies, eventually led private banks to increase bank notes without regulation, contributing to a rapid increase in inflation. A bill that Jackson passed was the Indian Removal Act of  1830. This bill led to the “Trail of Tears”.

Eliminating the national debt was Jackson's most positive achievement. He was able to pay off the debt, the only president to ever do so. Jackson did this by being frugal with federal funds and creating policies to ensure that the government would not incur new debt. He created the Specie Circular, which stated that all public land must be paid for with legal tender, which at that time was silver and gold. It was the only time a major country was without debt, but only from 1835-1837.

Andrew Jackson's most negative decision was the Indian Removal Act of 1830. In 1832 the Supreme Court ruled that the Cherokee nation was a distinct community and Georgia laws had no force, Georgia disregarded the ruling and Jackson did not enforce it. The act offered the Indians land west of the Mississippi in return for evacuation of their tribal homes in the east. During 1838-1839, federal troops led Cherokee Indians from Georgia to their new home in Oklahoma. The journey was known by the Indians as the Trail of Tears. During his term in office, Jackson signed more than ninety treaties with Indian tribes but the government rarely honored them. Tribes were given little time to gather their belongings and thousands died.

In conclusion, Jackson clearly deserves a D for his time as President. Senator Daniel Webster said that Jackson's veto of the bank bill 'influenced the poor against the rich', Senator Henry Clay called Jackson "ignorant and hypocrital" and Thomas Jefferson said his "passions are terrible". These statements are proven in the poor decisions he made while he was President. His bank policies are blamed for the panic of 1837, the Indian Removal Act resulted in the death of thousands of Indians and, although he was able to settle the Nullification Crisis, it was not without consequences.

Bibliography:​

"Andrew Jackson |." //The White House//. Web. 08 Mar. 2010. .

"Andrew Jackson." //State Library of North Carolina//. Web. 08 Mar. 2010. .

Degregorio, William A.. // The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents, Seventh Edition (Complete Book of Us Presidents) //. 7 ed. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2009. Print.

"The Seventh US President - Andrew Jackson." //Sheppard Software - Educational Games and Activities for Kids of All Ages.// Web. 08 Mar. 2010. [].

"Wapedia - Wiki: History of the United States Congress." // Wapedia //. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2010. <[]>.