Hannah+S.+-+AJ+-+FA11

Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767- June 8, 1845) 2 terms (1829-1837) Vice Presidents: John C. Calhoun (1st term) Martin Van Buren (2nd term) Political Party: Democratic Republican Grade: C+

I would give Andrew Jackson a C+ for his presidency because he was an ok president because his actions did have some positive outcomes, but there were negative outcomes that greatly effected the country. Some of these bad outcomes could be thought of as the starting point for reasons behind the Civil War, but some of these positive outcomes include westward expansion, which was a big part of the nation's goals at the time.

__Theme: Slavery__ During Jackson's presidency, slavery was one of the issues that was occurring through the nation. While the north was against slavery, the south was all for it, so there was tension between the two parts of the Union, along with compromises about which new state is going to be a slave or free state. In the north, anti-slavery societies were formed, there were abolitionist movements, and the publication of William Garrison's //Liberator (//which was an anti-slavery newspaper)//.// Slavery was therefor reintroduced into politics during Jackson's presidency because abolitionist activities lead to the issue being apart of American politics. In the South, they had opposite views than what the North had and didn't allow the reading of any anti-slavery papers. The Jackson administration was more towards the southern view on the slavery issue, but they had to also consider the northern view on the subject. Whatever Congress did that effected slavery in some way, only one side will truly be happy. It was either Congress went with a pro-slavery choice on a bill, or they sided with anti-slavery.

__Goals__ For his first term as President, Andrew Jackson wanted to use his authority to make the best decisions for his country while also making sure that the Federal Government doesn't abuse their power. He also addressed the public revenue. His goal was to focus on the economy and eliminate the national debt along with other outcomes. He also addressed that with selection of those to tax, those who are involved with agriculture, commerce, and manufacturing should be equally favored. He also stated that internal improvement and the diffusion of knowledge is of great importance. In his address, he talks of seeing the Indians with a just and liberal policy and give attention to their rights and needs just as the federal government is towards their people. In his second inaugural address, Jackson addresses again the issue between powers of the State and Federal Governments. He feels that the destruction of the State government would lead to a revolution and military domination, and he doesn't want that. He will use his power to make sure that there is a balance that won't be destroyed. If there is a unjust balance of power that is on the Federal side, then consequences will arise that will split the nation.

__Relationship with Congress__ During his presidency, Jackson made plenty of decisions with Congress that affected the nation. These decisions included the Tariff of Abominations, the Removal Act, the Bank of the United States, and the spoils system. A spoils system is when political supporters are given positions in public office. During Jackson's presidency, this was introduced to the federal government and was defended by Jackson saying that it was democratic. Then the Tariff of 1828 (the Tariff of Abominations) was created. This tariff was extremely high and was hated by the southerners. It drove up duties to 45% while also imposing tariffs on raw materials. The south was against this tariff because they had little manufacturing and were consumers of Northern goods (the north benefitted from it). From the tariff lead to the threatening of taking South Carolina out of the union if the government would collect the tax by force. In response, it was decided that the Tariff of 1833 should be created. There would be a gradual reduction of the Tariff of 1832 by 10% over 8 years. The Indian Removal Act was passed in 1830. This act was passed so that the nation could expand westward, and they had to drive out the indians to do so. This act moved more than 100,000 Indians that were living east of the Mississippi west. From this act, the country was able to expand even more while trying to not have confrontation from the Indians. A big issue that Jackson had was the Bank of the United States. He felt that the bank was monopolistic and vetoed the renewal of the bank's charter. This veto showed that Jackson felt that the Executive Branch had more power than the Judicial. From the removal of the bank, there were many financial issues which lead to a panic in 1837.

__Action with negative outcome__ An action that had a negative outcome during Jackson's presidency was the Tariff of Abominations. Because of this tariff, problems arose from the south and there was a threat of nullification from South Carolina. This tariff gave the south even more economic troubles and it didn't help the nation that a state was thinking of nullification. This was one of the events that planted the idea of nullification from the Union in the south.

__Action with positive outcome__ An action that had a positive outcome during Jackson's presidency was the Indian Removal Act. Jackson felt that this was the best way to move the Indians if they wanted to continue to practice their own from of government. They had to move because the states didn't want Indian practices in their nation.This gave a positive towards the nation for westward expansion because the Indians were removed from their original settlements. Even though this act was morally wrong because it lead to bad outcomes for the Indians, on the other side, there were positive outcomes. Congress passed this law because they felt it was necessary if there was every going to be westward expansion.

__Influence__ One of the decisions that Jackson made that influenced the future was the Tariff of Abominations. The tariff lead to big problems with the South and nullification. The south wouldn't allow high tariffs because they would have more economic troubles unlike the north, which would benefit from the tariff. In later years, that attitude from the south would influence the reasons behind the start of the Civil War. The Tariff of Abominations made the south have an attitude about the ways of the government and how they should respond with threats of breaking off from the country.

__Conclusion__ In the end, the country probably wasn't as better off as it was in the beginning of Jackson's presidency. He did many band and good things for the country, but most of the outcomes were negative in some way. The best thing that he did was pay off the national debt. Overall, Jackson deserves a C+ for his presidency.

__Works Cited__

Andrew Jackson:"Inaugural Address," March 4, 1829.Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley,//The American Presidency Project//. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/? pid=25810.

Andrew Jackson:"Inaugural Address," March 4, 1833.Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley,//The American Presidency Project//. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=25811.

"Andrew Jackson | The White House." //The White House//. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. .

"Slavery - Andrew Jackson - policy, election, second." //Presidents: A Reference History//. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. .

"American President: Andrew Jackson: Domestic Affairs." //Miller Center//. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. .

Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas Andrew Bailey. //The American pageant: a history of the Republic//. 12th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. Print.