How Democratic Was Andrew Jackson Dbq

Fifteen years after Andrew Jackson perished, he continued to receive presidential ballots for presidency. This could possibly have been a reason why Andrew Jackson was one of the most popular U.S. presidents in history. For the first time the U.S received a different type of presidential leader in the year 1823. He was the first president to be known as the people's president as well as to also serve the common man and fight to make the branch of the executive be a more democratic office. Overall, there were many ways in which Andrew Jackson promoted democracy such as the Nullification Crisis, The Peoples First President, and Jackson The War Hero.

In the span of 20 years, 42 states elected by the people, and 27 states elected by the legislature. (Document 1). The election of Jackson was considered a “revolution,” because of its peaceful transfer of power. This revolution was different from any other, because it was achieved by ballots rather than bullets. Jacksonians cried, “Shall the people rule?” and the answer was, “The people shall rule!” Andrew Jackson was so notable that people have come 500 miles to see him and think that the country is rescued from some dreadful danger. It is said Jackson’s victory accelerated the transfer of national power from the country-house to the farmhouse, from the East to the West, and from the snobs to the mobs. If Jackson was a hero of the gentleman farmer, he was surely a hero of the dirt farmer. Jackson was democratic because he granted all men equal rights, and believed that the common man is just as good as the wealthy. This is how he got all his support, most of which came from the common man. We must also consider that he was a common man who became successful as president. He disagreed with the wealthy, who tried to empower the common man/farmers, and was a large supporter of wester farmers, low tariffs, and pet banks, rather than a national bank. (Document 2).

Jackson’s version of democracy was in fact a democracy. He was not a very wealthy man, he owned a home and some land. Which was more than could be said about most Americans at the time. About ten percent of the Americans living there at that time owned enough land to vote. There was a law, stating that only white males with a good portion of land could vote in the presidential election. Andrew Jackson thought this system was so unfair, he created a new way to govern the citizens of the newly formed United States.

Did Andrew Jackson support the people and their rights? Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States. He vetoed the National Bank because he said that it only supported the rich and was unconstitutional. Also Andrew Jackson set a land territory west of the Mississippi River for the Indian tribes and adopted a little Native American boy who was left from his tribe. How democratic was Andrew Jackson? Democracy is a form of government where the people have a right to assist in the law making process. Andrew Jackson was democratic in many political, economic, and geographic ways.

One reason why Jackson was not democratic is his use of the spoils system. “King Andrew the first...born to command” (cartoon of Jackson that appeared in the presidential election of 1832). This cartoon shows how he felt like he could do whatever he wanted to further himself. “no one man has any more...right to (government jobs) than another” (Andrew Jackson’s letter to Congress). The spoils system gave government jobs to supporters of the political leader, often leading to fraud and inefficiency. Using power to reward people who are your supporters, rather than due to skill and experience, is wrong. It is also excluding certain people from having a say in the government, and getting what should be theirs, which is not democratic.

The United States government needed to become more democratic during the Age of Jackson because of the type of president that Andrew Jackson was. Even though Andrew Jackson changed voting – in most states – to be more democratic (DBQ-document 1), he was responsible for the Trail of Tears in the late 1830s. The Trail of Tears was the removal of a great deal of Native Americans of differing tribes from the eastern part of America to the west, which was unfamiliar to these people. This harrowing presidential decision made by Andrew Jackson is just one of the many examples that gives historians a representation of how undemocratic Andrew Jackson was. Jackson also appointed an important government job to Samuel Swartwout, a corrupt and untrustworthy man, because Jackson was an early supporter of Swartwout. Jackson was advised to refuse Swartwout of the job; however, Jackson’s biased attitude towards Swartwout was the reason that “Swartwout absconded with $1,222,705.09” (DBQ-document 7). Andrew Jackson is depicted more as a dictator or a king rather than a president. The Library of Congress has a picture of Andrew Jackson that gives the viewer an idea of his character throughout his presidency. In this picture, he is dressed as a king and the picture is captioned as “King Andrew the First”; he

Andrew Jackson the seventh president of the United States who was beloved by many. He was born between North and South Carolina in 1767. He grew up poor. Democratic means that the people determine the President, Congress and all public offices. People does not include Native Americans or slaves. Andrew Jackson was Democratic. Andrew Jackson was democratic because of government equality, the Indian Removal Act, and because he was a common man.

Was Andrew Jackson the democratic figure our great nation needed in the mid 1800’s? From 1828 to 1836, Andrew Jackson served as president in the United States of America. During that time, the country was torn in half due to controversies such as the eviction of the national bank, the Indian Removal, and the spoils system. Although some people believed Jackson was fair to the common man, Jackson acted undemocratically during his presidency because he was not fair to everyone and only listened to his supporters.

When Andrew Jackson was denied presidency in 1824 due to “the corrupt bargain” between John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay, he was furious at the lack of democracy in the election system. He became determined to institute a new age of genuine democracy in America where the voice of the people wouldim being monarchal, Andrew Jackson was a very democratic president evidenced by his drive to give the people more representation and also his attempted transfer of power from the few to the many.

     During the administration of Andrew Jackson, the United States was a nation of change both politically and socially. American society was a society of opportunity. Americans felt that, given a chance, they could make a better life for themselves. This was the era of the common people, the era of democracy. Andrew Jackson appealed to the American people because he stood for values many regarded with favor. However democratic Jackson may seem, he was more tyrant-like than any of his predecessors. His major offerings to the nation included majority rule and a popular presidency, however offered no benefits to women, African Americans, nor Native Americans. Jacksonian Democracy was

Jackson’s influence on the American people was shown when he was running for office. In 1832, a political cartoon was made to portray Andrew Jackson as a power hungry individual who made bad decisions. This political cartoon displays Andrew Jackson dressed like a king stepping on the Constitution (Document E). This illustrates that the people saw him as unconstitutional. It also shows bias because of the strong and controversial ideas expressed. Another example of Jackson’s monumental actions, occurred once he was elected, that being Andrew Jackson’s Bank veto of July 10th, 1832. Jackson explained that his reasoning for vetoing congress was that the bank did not bring freedom and was a danger to our independence (Document E). For the dangers it presented, he did not find any need to change the current bank statement. Andrew Jackson committed horrific actions throughout his presidency, one being the removal of several Indian tribes. There was a map made of all the Indian tribes that were removed from the majority of America (Document L). When Jackson removed these tribes he is destroying families in the process. Andrew Jackson also promoted slavery. According to a chart made, Andrew Jackson’s amount of slaves owned sky rocketted between 1829 and mid 1830s, right when he was elected (Document O).The graph is illustrating Jackson’s opinion on slavery and how that influenced America. Ultimately, Andrew Jackson’s actions that occurred during his presidency Were

Although the “Age of Jackson” wasn’t a time era, which brought forth a great political, social, or economic freedom and equality to the U.S., it did in fact put our country through a metamorphosis in our political lives of the nation. The start of a new presidency (Jackson’s presidency) was accompanied by huge numbers of Hickoryites (Jacksonian supporters) and official hopefuls. Many of these hopefuls were granted their desire of holding office, which is one of the changes brought into Washington by Andrew Jackson.

Andrew Jackson greatly revolutionized the role and power of the presidency by uniting the executive branch, altering the perceived face of the President, introducing personal power into the office, and controlled the presidency for a third of a century. Before him, the executive branch was a group divided, unsure of their function and their superiors. Before him, the President was identified with Congress, merely another part of the buearocracy. Before him, the office of President fulfilled only that which was specifically stated in the Constitution to be their duty. Before him, every four years there was a true battle for the fate of the highest government office in America.

The spoils system of Jackson’s democracy showed he acted more like a King. The spoils system was a practice of getting rid of government job holder in a defeated party and being replaced with people from the winning party (Warm-up: Vocabulary/Jacksonian Democracy Google Slide). Jackson acted more like a king when the spoil system was created because Jackson was getting rid of people apart of his government for being with a losing party. He wants the best

Democracy in the United States became prominent in the early to mid 19th century. Andrew Jackson, the 7th president of the United States, was inaugurated in 1829 and was best known as the person who mainstreamed democracy in America. Because he came from a humble background, he was the “genuine common man.” (Foner, pg. 303) He claimed he recognized the needs of the people and spoke on behalf of the majority [farmers, laborers]. However, critics of Jackson and democracy called him “King Andrew I” because of his apparent abuse of presidential power [vetoing]. These critics believed he favored the majority so much that it violated the U.S. constitution, and they stated he was straying too far away from the plan originally set for the