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Andrew Jackson Born: March 15, 1767 Died: June 8, 1845 Terms: March 4, 1829 – March 4, 1837 1st: March 4, 1829 – March 4, 1833 Vice President: John C. Calhoun 2nd: March 4, 1833 – March 4, 1837 Vice President: Martin Van Buren Democratic Party Grade: D+

__Theme: American Identity__ : President Andrew Jackson, throughout his time in office, altered immensely the nature of American Identity. From the beginning when he was referred to as “Old Hickory” and was the first Western-born President until the end when he made many enemies that were once friends by killing the national bank, President Jackson’s decisions made it simple to specify the change in American identity. Mudslinging and economic awareness plagued the election of 1828, the first election campaign of its kind in America, and the American people proved that they wanted to see a “common man’s” president in office. Even after the election, Jackson made some major changes in the way he believed America should behave. The Spoils System rewarded the people who supported political office with positions in power of their own. Largely Democratic, the Spoils System doubted the government’s authority with suspicion and announced the equality of man. Other major changes in the American Identity came when the Tariff of Abominations surprisingly passed through Congress and dealt a blow to the Democrats because the passed tariff overshadowed a large number of businesses in America. Even the “nullies” of the south began to rise out from the shadows and opposed the tariffs in their entireties. Overall, the American people began to shift from one era to another in collective identity.

__Assessment__ : Being the 1st president born in the west, Jackson essentially represented the “common man” Americans wished to see hold office as President. Unfortunately, due to his enemies and with the help of propaganda, strong-willed Jackson was revered as a bad president. With his westward expansion ideas and poor relationship with Congress, Jackson may have deserved, at best, a D+ for (or due to) his execution of the country’s well-being. Andrew Jackson had many goals as he entered his presidency. As he read in his inaugural address, he wanted to focus on maintaining executive rights without undermining authority, erase the national debt, increase internal improvements, maintain a limited military, show respect to the Native Americans within moral standards, and eliminate cancers plaguing the Federal powers of the government. However, as his presidency continued forward, Jackson’s goals became morphed into mainly two goals: Eliminating the national bank and expanding westward. To execute the first goal, Jackson planned in advance to deteriorate the national bank gradually by removing money from the Second Bank of the United States and deposit the money into many separate, smaller banks in prominent American cities. Jackson’s second goal, moving westward, was simply configured in a way that recklessly pushed towards the Pacific Ocean. President Jackson’s relationship with Congress was shaky at best. The President didn’t have a good reputation with the Legislative Branch of government because he used an extremely forceful executive power to overrule the decisions made by the Senators and Congressmen. For example, when Jackson regarded to why he disliked the national bank, he said that the powers it wielded were unconstitutional and harbored an unacceptable control over the national economy. On the grounds of reason, Jackson’s ideas would have been correct, but only if the Supreme Court had not already ruled it constitutional. On top of Jackson’s inept conclusions of the bank, Jackson also piled onto his sour Legislative-Executive relationship with his overuse of the veto. Jackson used the veto more than every previous president combined which obviously frustrated Congress enough to dislike him. As with every president, there are up-sides and down-sides, many of which alter the public opinion of the president himself. Andrew Jackson, a political favorite to win two straight presidential elections, was no exception to this pattern. Of course, as the favorite to win an election, many Americans viewed Jackson as a highly respectable figurehead whose expectations were maintained at a staggering height. Unfortunately for the general public, their views were shattered as Jackson wreaked havoc on the infrastructure of America when he killed the Bank of America and imposed the high Tariff of Abominations. Among the many negative and sporadic decisions Jackson made, the most devastating one was to destroy the national currency and fluctuation of economic stability. Without this movement in the fiscal balances, the country could not experience renewal or reward, and without a stable national currency, it became harder to buy land westward. Another negative decision that President Jackson made was exemplified in the Trail of Tears. The President forced Native Americans out of their homes in order to keep them out of expansionist crossfire. Unfortunately, the Natives were also forced away from their cultures, traditions, and sacred grounds of spirituality and burial. The positive outcomes of Jackson’s presidency numbered few, but among them ranked the national spirit of expansionism. With the aid of Jackson’s enthusiasm, many Americans left their settlements in the North and expanded westward in search of new land and opportunity. With this positive aura emitting from the American citizens, President Jackson remained an important man to many American Democrats. Some may say that the future can be altered, but in the case of presidential relinquishing of power from Jackson to Van Buren, the future never had a chance. The Second Bank of the United States’ extinction caused many problems for future presidents because the issue dragged on for many decades afterwards with the rebirth of national banking and the subsequent extinguishing of it. From a president’s standpoint, there may not have been much to do after Jackson used so many vetoes and over-exulted his political prowess in determination, and whatever Van Buren may have tried, the result could not alter the stormy seas created by Jackson’s precedents. To some extent, Jackson may have been a good president for the United States. After all, he was able to change the American Identity and force his beliefs on to the country, but those attributes are not what makes a great leader of America. For the most part, Jackson left office with the country in shambles and with increasing political party division which caused him, for a grade, to receive a D+, for without the adherence to the general public and strong management of the Native Americans’ heritage, Jackson was merely dust in the wind in American progress. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sources: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Andrew Jackson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Jackson>.

Bailey, Thomas A., David M. Kennedy, and Lizabeth Cohen. The American Pageant: A History of the Republic. 12 ed. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. Print.

Jackson, Andrew. "Andrew Jackson: Inaugural Address."The American Presidency Project. N.p., 4 Mar. 1829. Web. 2 Oct. 2011. <http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=25810#axzz1ZfT4vgoV>.

Jackson, Andrew. "Andrew Jackson: Inaugural Address."The American Presidency Project. N.p., 4 Mar. 1833. Web. 2 Oct. 2011. <http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=25811#axzz1ZfT4vgoV>.