IndexRelated SearchesConclusionWorks CitedRelated SearchesEarly 19th century America was a time of rapid and dramatic change. The American economy was shifting from agriculture and ranching to a system that valued labor within the industry. Economic change has created advances in both technology and American values. The nineteenth century saw more than twenty different American presidents, but few were as deified or vilified in their lifetimes as Andrew Jackson. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayCommonly called “Old Hickory,” by the public, Andrew Jackson was known as the president who championed individual liberty and the founder of the Democratic Party. Originally a lawyer and landowner, Jackson quickly rose to fame due to his military successes, most notably his victory over the British at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812. Jackson was a self-made frontiersman, a great general and a man of the people, many consider him "both a great American and a great American president." The seventh president of the United States was not only an American with poor values and morals, but he was also a reckless and manipulative leader. There are three main reasons to support this position. First, Andrew Jackson introduced the spoiler system, which replaced hundreds of federal employees with party loyalists. Second, it caused the financial panic of 1837, which had previously resulted from the federal government's withdrawal of funds from the Bank of the United States. Finally, “Old Hickory” promoted the Indian Removal Act of 1830 that would later cause the forced removal of thousands of Cherokees and relocation to present-day Oklahoma, many of whom would never survive the march. While in office one of the biggest changes Jackson resorted to a spoiler system that rewarded the "common man" for his support in electing him. The spoiler system was a simple rotation idea that occurred within public offices and essentially prevented the growth of corrupt public employees. It was also a way to reward party supporters and make it less difficult to achieve the party's common goals. For example, during the first two administrations Jackson had replaced less than twenty percent of federal office holders with Loyalists. To justify this decision, Jackson declared that he wanted to eliminate all obstacles that prevented the common citizen from achieving economic improvement. During his first eighteen months, Jackson had replaced nearly twenty percent of all the nation's civil servants with his loyalists. Not only did this have a significant effect on his party's future policy decisions, but many of his replacements already had backgrounds of wealth and social status. This went completely against his original idea of returning power to the “common man”. It demonstrated that the new Democratic Party was not as democratic as it had originally appeared and made the government even more corrupt than it already was. New York Senator William Marcy said it best when he observed, “To the victor belong the spoils of the enemy.” His comment would later help to appropriately call these actions the “Spoils System.” Unfortunately, this system would also lead to greater inefficiency within government. Education was no longer a priority for those applying for government positions or civil service jobs, instead those who showed loyalty would have a better chance of gaining wealth andsafety. After gaining the support of his followers in office, Jackson sought to use his presidential power to remove the Second Bank of the United States from government use and transfer its funds to state banks. By doing so, Jackson would create multiple problems that would cause mass economic panic among American citizens. Originally, the Second Bank of the United States was founded in 1816 and operated privately through a board of trustees that had ties to Northern states. Once again, Jackson was on the side of the common man and saw the bank as a symbol of oppression and civil inequality. To resolve this problem Jackson went to congress and pointed out that it was unconstitutional but had little support at the time. After re-election in 1833, Jackson sought to veto the renewal of the charter of the Second Bank of the United States which would expire in 1836. To close the bank more quickly, he would redistribute federal funds to smaller state banks. Soon after the money was transferred, banks began lending and printing exorbitant amounts of money, which led to increased inflation. State banks weren't the only ones lending money to Americans, but foreign governments and businesses also tried to take advantage. Unfortunately, with the increase in inflation came the depreciation of that currency. To solve this problem Jackson issued the Specie Circular in which federal land could only be purchased through gold or silver. Due to rising devaluation rates, foreign lenders were demanding payment, causing an influx of US citizens to withdraw funds from banks and pay off their debts. The only problem was the fact that the banks did not have enough reserves to meet the demands because they had already lent. too much money out. Not only did many Americans lose their businesses, but hundreds of banks also closed due to bankruptcy. After widespread failure, panic began to set in as “about ten percent of U.S. workers were unemployed at any time.” It would take more than half a decade for the United States to recover and this also came with the resistance against the Democratic Party founded by Jackson and which later saw the birth of the Whig Party. In 1834, Jackson was censured by Congress for his abuse of presidential power during the "Bank Wars." In what is one of the most tragic episodes in American history, the Trail of Tears stems from the Indian Removal Act signed by Andrew Jackson in 1830. Declared by Congress, it was an act to provide for a land exchange with resident Indians in any of the states or territories and their removal west of the Mississippi River. Before taking office, Major General Andrew Jackson had already established his military power against Native Americans in what is now Alabama. At the famous Battle of Horse Shoe Bend, Jackson and his troops defeated the Creeks and forced them to surrender in a treaty. over twenty million acres in the United States. Eventually, the surrounding Native American tribes realized that they could no longer bear the pressure of war and decided to adopt the strategy of pacification. To secure more land, Jackson convinced Congress to adopt his new law that would grant land to Indian tribes west of the Mississippi if they agreed to give up their original lands. Jackson decided to take a sympathetic rather than violent approach to achieving his results while maintaining his newfound reputation as president in the eyes of Southerners. In 1838, the Cherokee people were forced to leave their homeland and relocate. 2020.
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