Andrew Jackson's Presidency

Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States and served as President from 1829-1837. His first attempt to run for President ended with John Quincey Adams wins even though Jackson won the popular and electoral votes. Jackson was frustrated over his loss in the election of 1824, therefore he came back stronger than ever in the election of 1828 where he ran as a Democratic Republican Candidate, whose focus was on being the President of the “common man”. Upon his election, he assumed his presidency with the idea that he now had complete control of the government leading him to abuse his Presidential powers as he ignored the proper and necessary clause that was set in place by his presidential predecessors as well as he significantly …show more content…
In 1831 Jackson removed everyone from his Presidential Cabinet except for the Postmaster General and replaced them with the unqualified people who supported him in his political race. This unorthodox action was unlike the anything that the previous six presidents implemented as they chose the members of their cabinet based on a person’s qualifications and political achievements like how George Washington chose Henry Knox as the Secretary of War because of his vast military background. Jackson even had a separate set of advisors comprised of his close friends in which he conferred with more than his actual cabinet. This deviation from the previous presidents annoyed many Americans, and they referred to this group as Andrew Jackson’s kitchen cabinet. He had the philosophy that “Every man is as good as his neighbor,” therefore anyone can do the job. The spoils system, however, quickly became corrupt, as government jobs became more about personal connections rather than political experience and success. Loyalty to the president and the party counted more than being effective at that job. A number of Jackson’s appointees lacked education and political experience as many were incompetent and ineffective political leaders. Some of his appointees were even crooks like Samuel Swartwout who was a former friend of Jackson. He was granted …show more content…
To achieve this goal of expansion, he implemented the Indian Removal Act where the American Government uprooted the Native Americans living in the way of the planned expansion and moved them further west. By moving the Indians west, he forced thousands to march 116 days across the United States carrying all of their possessions in harsh climates. 4,000 people died on this journey and much more were injured. The movement of an unwanted ethnic is not uncommon in United States history as Andrew Jackson is not the only President who forced a group of people to move to a government sanctioned area. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in World War II, Franklin D Roosevelt forced Japanese-Americans living in America to move to internment camps because the Japanese were viewed as a threat to the country’s safety. The Cherokee Indians decided that there were not going to move from their homes and sacred land, therefore they sued the United States, and the Supreme Court ended up siding with the Natives. Andrew Jackson, however, ignored the court ruling and forced the Indians to move anyways. Not only did be disrespecting the Supreme Court’s power, he ignored the system of checks and balances that was established in American government to ensure that one branch would not

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Negative Impacts Of Andrew Jackson's Presidency

How Is Andrew Jackson's Presidency Unconstitutional