Emily+-+Jackson+-+F08

Andrew Jackson (1687-1845) Party: Democratic Dates of Terms in Office: 1829-1837 Vice Presidents: John C. Calhoun (1828-1832), Martin Van Buren (1833-1837)

Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States. Major points of his terms include the formation of the Spoils system, the tariffs, issues with the national bank, and westward expansion that dealt with the country’s Indian relations. Overall his presidency is worth a C. The mentality that it was kind of his way or the highway along with the affects that his terms had for the country earned him this grade. Jackson did not have a good relationship with Congress. A good example to support this was the Bank War. The re-charter bill passes through both the House of Representatives and the Senate; however it did not get approved by the White House. Jackson’s reasoning for rejecting the bill was that it was unconstitutional along with other reasons that pretty much just meant he didn’t think it was necessary. With his veto he was basically saying that the president had more power than 2/3 of Congress. Jackson is one president who was known for his vetoes. The Spoil System was introduced by Jackson when he was inaugurated into office. He cleaned out the positions filled in government by all the older representatives that had been in politics for a long time to fill them with people who were fresher. This was going to improve the government because newer ideas and policies would create positive change. Even though this didn’t work at 100% for Jackson because he chose unqualified people for the positions (ex: Samuel Swartwout who ran away with 1 million dollars of govt. money), this aspect of his administration had a fairly positive outcome. The Bank War definitely was the worst action during his terms. Jackson distrusted monopolistic banking and had the western prejudice against the “moneyed monster” that was the national bank. His plan to bleed the bank dry by getting rid of the government funds through “pet” and “wildcat” banks flooded the country with paper money and directly led to the financial panic and crash in 1837. Jackson’s policy on westward expansion had the greatest influence on the future. He did only ever deal with the Indians through formal treaties and only proposed the bodily removal of the remaining eastern tribes but he was a major force with the issue. Jackson also refused to recognize the Supreme Court’s decisions on these matters. He was an indirect cause of the trail of tears which affected all the remaining Indian tribes and killed numerous amounts of innocent people. The country was worse off at the end of Jackson’s presidency. His motives may have been good with trying to get rid of an “unconstitutional” bank and with gaining land however his terms led to great financial damage to the country plus a terrible uprooting of ancient Indian tribes. Overall Jackson deserves a C for his presidency. "Andrew Jackson." __Wikipedia__. 15 Oct. 2008 . Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas A. Bailey. __American Pageant : Advanced__ __Placement__. 12th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin College Division, 2001.