From: Mike Pilla
Date: 3/21/00
Time: 1:23:47 AM
Remote Name: 155.247.158.40
Did President Andrew Jackson live up to his billing as a man of the "people"? Why? Why not?
Asking whether or not Andrew Jackson was “the man of the people” is an interesting question. The textbook stated that Jackson was one of the most forceful and domineering of American presidents. And during his presidency Jackson did work towards benefiting the people. Jackson had listened to the concerns of the people of Gulf Coast by removing the Native American tribes from the states such as Alabama and Georgia to areas past the Mississippi River. Jackson also denied the rights of nullification that South Carolina wanted. In a sense Jackson was purposely ignoring the views of the people of that state because he knew that the views of the people of the Union were more important. Andrew Jackson was also a military hero. He fought on behalf of the Union, and at no cost was he going to allow a state to dissert itself from the Union. Jackson was also a Democrat. He was more interested in laissez-faire and allowing people to choose their own paths in life, while making sure the government didn’t interfere with states’ rights. But Jackson, and his party at that time, lacked in concerning itself with some of the major issues at that time. Internal improvements are a good example. The people wanted roads and highways to be built and supported by the government. In Kentucky, for example, Jackson vetoed a bill in 1830 that would allow serious internal improvements there for the Maysville Road, and concluded that the federal government would not fund this. The bank was another issue concerning Jackson. Jackson did not favor the banking system in the US, and worked in a way to “kill” the bank. By doing so he wound up hurting people, more than helping them. Banks started calling in their loans while created an unwarranted panic with the economy. And Jackson didn’t make it any better by stating that all public land purchases should be made in hard money – when at that time it was such a sudden action that it help lead to the financial panic of 1837. Overall though Jackson was “the man of the people.” But he worked in ways to mostly benefit the people who were loyal to him and his views. Even though his actions could have been said to be more spiteful than political, like discontinuing circulation of anti-slavery newsletters, Jackson worked in ways to allow people to make their own decisions while at the same time trying to guide them along the way.