No one can argue that as a President, Jackson made mistakes. Despite some of his poor decisions such as the Indian Removal Act, Andrew Jackson influenced the American Political System in a positive way during his presidency majority of the time. Andrew Jackson influenced the political system by introducing the idea of the “corrupt bargain” to the national government, he vetoed a bill during The Bank War and he used his idea of Jacksonian Democracy with the rule of his people. In consequence to the Indian Removal Act of 1832, human rights of Native Americans were violated.
They were not treated as human beings and even considered ‘subordinate’ to the United States by Andrew Jackson in his defense of the Removal Policy in 1832. ” It was taking away freedom and land without consent from Native Americans which at the time was a violation of their political rights. “Removal politics often left the relocated tribes more divided and violent then they had been than they had been before their move. ” They later called the shift West the “Trail of Tears” due to all of the Indian devastation along the way.
The conditions of the journey were so brutal that more han 4,000 Cherokees died in temporary detention camps and in transit. The action, as well as the events leading up to it, clearly signaled that the Cherokee people, and Native Americans in general, had no real protection under the U. S. Constitution. Consequently, they had little opportunity or incentive to participate in the growing U. S. economy, despite having been successful trading partners of European merchants in the eighteenth century. ” Andrew Jackson defended the Indian Removal Act by listing the advantages for Americans and Native Americans.
Jackson believed that if the Native Americans moved west it would be a good economic opportunity for the American government. As you can see, the Indian Removal Act shows us that Andrew Jackson was not looking out for the best of the American people. At this time in history, Andrew Jackson should have been more considerate of the Native Americans. The whole purpose of the act was based on the greed for land. If Congress and Andrew Jackson, had cared more for the Native Americans then the effects of the act would not have been so severe. After all, the only benefit of this movement was that the Americans gained territory.
So, in this case, Andrew Jackson did not influence the American Political System in a positive way. Andrew Jackson’s first run for President in 1824 was a very controversial. He ran alongside with John Quincy Adams, William Crawford, and the sneaky Henry Clay. In that contest, Andrew Jackson demonstrated unexpected popularity but since he lacked an electoral majority, however, the election went into the House of Representatives, which ignored the popular vote and selected Secretary of State John Quincy Adams (influenced by Henry Clay). The spoils system is the political practice of playing favorites.
Used throughout U. S. history, it commonly takes the form of filling appointive offices with loyal supporters. Jackson believed a back door deal gave John Quincy Adams the presidency, which came about his idea of the “corrupt bargain”. “To Jacksonians the Adams-Clay alliance symbolized a corrupt system where elite insiders pursued their own interests without heeding the will of the people. ” The contributions and accomplishments that Jackson made during his presidency were mostly political (spoils system). But did the spoils system support the idea of Jacksonian democracy?
The spoils system promoted the “rotation of office” which is the norm today. Jacksonian democracy for the involvement of the common man, so Jackson used the spoils system as an excuse to promote friends and supporters to government positions. Andrew Jackson started the spoils system which rewarded people to Federal jobs for one term if they voted for his Democratic party. Because he did not believe in a national bank which he considered to be “constitutionally impute”, “socially unequal”, corrupted” and “unstable”, he vetoed the “recharter” of the second bank and withdrew all Federal funds and transferred them to various state banks.
In 1832, Jackson vetoed the Second Bank of the United State’s charter. He believed the government could not constitutionally create such a bank and that it favored the wealthy over the common people. This action led to Federal money being put into state banks who then loaned it out freely leading to inflation. The reason why Andrew Jackson vetoed the bank was because he didn’t want to ruin the dynamic of the political system. he increasingly came to the conclusion that banks threatened the Republic and that the only constitutional currency was specie (gold and silver), or hard money.
Andrew Jackson didn’t have enough knowledge about the Federal bank to know how is was going to affect the country. “While Jackson had little understanding of the nature of banking, of the currency, or of the role the national bank played in the economy, he intuitively comprehended the fears of a large segment of the population, particularly those who clung to the old semi-subsistence way of life and those who felt victimized by he new commercial institutions of the market. ” Jackson did not veto The Second Bank of the U. S he could have damaged the political system.
Which is why it is a good thing to not take chances in the national government. Believe it or not Jackson vetoed more bills than all previous Presidents which shows how active he is as commander and chief. Along with being active as President, Andrew Jackson also had strong democratic beliefs that affected the way he ran his political system. “In the 1820’s and 1830’s Jacksonian Democrats showed that they were the guardians of the United Stated Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of economic opportunity. Andrew Jackson’s opposition to the nullification laws displayed his honor for the Constitution and his belief in a strong union. Jacksonians were the intense democrats of this time, his reforms and political views showed his commitment to the common man. Jacksonian democracy stood up for liberty of the white male working class.
They also showed a firm belief in equal economic opportunity. “Jacksonians constantly trumpeted their belief in democracy, which they considered the foundation of the ountry’s political system. Citizens were influenced by Jackson’s style of leadership and his numerous battles with Congress, the Supreme Court, and even his cabinet, the party favored a strong executive. This shows that as President, Jackson wanted many political and economic opportunities for his people. Before Andrew Jackson took office, Jackson lectured the Senate, “The President is the direct representative of the American people. He was elected by the people, and is responsible to them. ” The fact that Andrew Jackson said that to the Senate shows his ompassion and that he is oathing up to his presidency.
Under Jackson the country prospered and expanded. “Jacksonian democracy continued for 20 years after his term and is still found in some of today’s politics, as the administration of a Republic. ” “It is through reform that the country was shaped and molded, and through economic development that the country was financed and catalyzed. ” Therefore despite, Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act, Jackson improved the American Political System by using the spoils system (corrupt bargain), vetoing bills and showing off Jacksonian democracy to all of his people.
