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Andrew Jackson March 15, 1767 Waxhaw Region – June 8, 1845 Hermitage, Nashville Democrat 1828 – 1832, 1833 – 1837   John C. Calhoun 1828 – 1832, Martin Van Buren 1833 – 1837 From its beginning America held an identity as a new haven for those with separate beliefs or those who were not accepted into society in their home country. Jackson destroyed this identity. His removal of Indians, some of them rather settled into white culture, demonstrated that he was not accepting of those who were different, although they could coexist with Americans. He forced them to march the Trail of Tears where many of them died. Many officials asked to remove the Indians declined as they saw it was unjust. Andrew Jackson was one of the worst presidents of the United States. He defied his goal of a government for the good of the people with the Indian Trail of Tears and had terrible relations with Congress, vetoing more bills than all previous presidents combined; he ignored his official Cabinet, forming his own. Jackson also invested 11 million dollars from the Bank of the United States to purposefully put it to its demise. Jackson earned a D- for his actions as president. In his inaugural address, Jackson advocated a Government for the people by the people; one for the rights of the people, land, liberty and free press. He wished to preserve the Union and that the military be subsidiary to the civil power. In the beginning of his presidency, Jackson showed his commitment to the rights of the people, protecting Peggy Eaton from slander by the wives of the Cabinet. However, Jackson’s view apparently did not apply to Indians as he claimed they were independent nations. In 1830 Congress passed the Indian Removal Act which allowed the removal of all Indians east of the Mississippi River. This Act did not respect Jackson’s statement that people have the right to property or rights in general as they were taken from their homes and the land they lived on since before the New World ever came to name. Jackson was severely lacking in kind relations with Congress. He vetoed dozens of bills. These bills included the Maysonville Road Bill and the 1830 re-charter of the Bank of the United States. Jackson also disliked his official cabinet as the wives ridiculed Peggy Eaton when she married John Eaton from an affair after her husband committed suicide. In the Indian Removal Act he defied a thrice upheld Supreme Court ruling by John Marshall. After a moderate tariff was passed in 1832, South Carolina enacted the Ordinance of Nullification, voiding the tariff in that state. Following this Ordinance, Jackson made a statement denouncing the nullification and declared that it was incompatible with the Union. South Carolina was told they must comply with the tariff. Any state that attempted disunion by armed force in order to avoid a tariff would be considered treasonous according to Jackson. Congress soon allowed the use of armed forces to collect import duties. These events were the best of the Jackson administration, they showed states that they could no longer be a part of the Union, but have separate ideals than the nation within their state. Separately from the few positives of his administration, Jackson’s Indian Removal Act was the most appalling. The Act relocated more than 100,000 Indians from their homes and forced them to travel the Trail of Tears to the West and resettle. Even the Cherokee were relocated; those who had learned the culture of whites, including their concept of private property and settled agriculture. When the Cherokee were declared illegal by Georgia legislature, they appealed and were backed up three times by the Supreme Court, however Jackson did not care. The migration was supposed to be voluntary, but Jackson had no care for the fact that the Indians had lived there for generations, or that many of them would be wiped out in the midst of travel to the West. The end of the United States Bank by Jefferson was the most impactful on future administrations. Jackson vetoed the bill to re-charter the bank and deposited 11 million dollars from it into several western banks. These banks loaned out money for land and soon lost it all due to speculation that land prices would rise and buyers could sell it for profit. The United States Bank controlled the nation’s gold and silver and was the principal depository for the Washington government’s funds. This greatly impacted future administrations as they had to deposit their funds elsewhere and no longer had a bank in control of the nation’s gold and silver. Jackson was a very poor president who did not hold up to his ideals of a right to property, liberty, and a government for the people by the people, as stated in his inaugural address. He gruesomely removed more than 100,000 Indians from their homes and forced them to march to a new home across the country, defying a Supreme Court ruling. By doing so he exercised a gross amount of executive power, also demonstrated when he vetoed more bills than all previous presidents combined. The country was much better off at the beginning of Jackson’s terms as president, earning him a D-. Bailey, Thomas A, David M Kennedy, and Lizabeth Cohen. "The Rise of a Mass Democracy." //The American pageant; a history of the Republic//. 12 ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. 256-286. Print. DeGregorio, William A., and Sandra Stuart. "Andrew Jackson." The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. 2008 ed. New York: Barricade Books, 2009. 105-120. Print.
 * Thematic Context**
 * Thesis**
 * Presidential Goals**
 * Congressional Relations**
 * Most Impactful Outcomes**
 * Future Presidential Administrations**
 * Conclusion**
 * Bibliography**