Who Was Andrew Jackson?
Andrew Jackson had a harsh and humble living before becoming the 7th president of the USA. Born in 1767 and losing his family in the British raid of 1780-1781, Jackson lived in poverty. He eventually developed political standing until 1812, which he participated as a general in the war. Afterwards, using his military and political knowledge, he won the election of 1829.
Jackson was known as an aggressive man, and being in office did not cause this to falter. He instated multiple changes to how presidency worked, the most prominent being the power to veto anything a president does not favor. Using this he passed controversial acts and bills that forward his will. Although many believe Jackson to be an awful president, he still greatly influenced the freedoms of those around him. The best examples of his influence are the Trail of Tears, the abolition of the Second National Bank, and the Specie Circular, which carved great deals of freedom from the citizens of the USA. |
The Trail of Tears
As the USA expanded west, Andrew Jackson was presented with a dilemma: the natives and the Americans were fighting over land purchases. To combat it, congress created an Act that would move the natives to designated "safe zones" where they could live without harm. Andrew agreed with this, but he did not favor the idea of moving the natives. In his mind, he wanted to protect the natives culture and ways of life. The only promising solution was to simply keep the sides away from one another.
This move did not end pleasantly however. As Andrew put his act into effect, other government business came up, he dealt with it rather than overseeing the move; Trusting other officials to do the work correctly. They instead took advantage of the natives lack of trade knowledge and pushed them into uninhabitable territories, creating what we know as the Trail of Tears. Poor living conditions and harsh marching orders lead to the demise of 5,000 natives.
Before the act that caused the Trail of Tears came into place, the Native Americans had near equal rights to the Americans that were pressing west; Land had to be legally traded, every man had the right to work what he wanted, sovereignal freedom was a given. However, when Jackson passed the bill to help protect the natives' rights that were being infringed upon, he ultimately ended the dispute for freedom by stripping the last of it from the natives, pushing them into farther away lands. Although he was pure in intention, his choices ended the ability for natives to choose where they wanted to live, and many to hunt to survive.
This move did not end pleasantly however. As Andrew put his act into effect, other government business came up, he dealt with it rather than overseeing the move; Trusting other officials to do the work correctly. They instead took advantage of the natives lack of trade knowledge and pushed them into uninhabitable territories, creating what we know as the Trail of Tears. Poor living conditions and harsh marching orders lead to the demise of 5,000 natives.
Before the act that caused the Trail of Tears came into place, the Native Americans had near equal rights to the Americans that were pressing west; Land had to be legally traded, every man had the right to work what he wanted, sovereignal freedom was a given. However, when Jackson passed the bill to help protect the natives' rights that were being infringed upon, he ultimately ended the dispute for freedom by stripping the last of it from the natives, pushing them into farther away lands. Although he was pure in intention, his choices ended the ability for natives to choose where they wanted to live, and many to hunt to survive.
Jackson vs. The Bank
Jackson was near infamous for his hatred of the banking system in the USA. During his presidency, he made it his goal to purge every source of corruption that he could, and when the rechartering of the Second National Bank came around, he immediately vetoed it. In his eyes, the Bank was a privileged institution, and it took advantage of the lower classes.
Early in his life, he had developed an idea that, "any large banking system is bad for the people"; which came at a great cost to the USA. After the Second National Bank fell, stability in paper currency fell along with it, leading to economic crisis, and job losses of thousands. In the end, Jackson's personal distaste for banks lead to the destruction of families across the growing USA. His decision |
lead to many losing the freedoms that capitalism offered: the freedom to create your own business and work where you want. Businesses tanked all over the growing country and jobs had to be taken when the opportunity arose. The common man began to lose the ability to chose what and where he wanted to work, and instead take what he could.
Specie Circular
After the denial of the Second National Bank, Jackson tried many ways to mend the state of the USA. One in particular was the Specie Circular, which prevented the purchasing of government land with paper money.
Jackson decided long before his presidency that paper money was inferior to gold and silver, due to a banking error that nearly ruined him in the past. As such, he pushed as hard as possible to reinstate the use of gold. This once again came at a hefty cost. Due to inflation of the paper bill, gold became much harder to come by, and this lead to a banking crisis. Much like the demise of the Second National Bank, the Specie Circular caused many to lose their jobs, on example depicted on the right. |
Once again, the personal decisions of Jackson lead to the restriction freedom and movement of others. Where a tried and tested method worked, he wanted to change it due to bad happenings in his past. This lead to many losing jobs and opportunities to work, and held them in unfavorable places/ positions due to a lack of funds. Much like the abolition of the Second National Bank, the core freedoms of the USA began to crumble, and people were forced to make decisions for the sake of survival.
Work Cited
- "Andrew Jackson Portrait" Wikimedia, 14 December 2015.
- "Presidency" Andrew Jackson's Hermitage Home of the People's President, 2018.
- "Specie Circular" Encyclopedia Britannica, 2018.
- "The Second bank of the United States" Federal Reserve History, 5 December 2015.
- "The Trail of Tears - The Indian Removals" U.S. History, 2008.
Created by Kameron Leisure, 2018