Andrew Jackson

            President Andrew Jackson held a certain reputation when he was in office. He was known as the people's president. During the presidency three major events occurred that made some people question if he really was the people's president. These three events were The Bank War, The Indian Removal, and The Spoils System. In class we split into six groups and every two groups were given one of these events. We were supposed to analyze the given documents and then create a presentation explaining the occurrence. Every presentation had to answer the essential question which was, is Andrew Jackson's long-standing reputation as "the people's president" deserved? Why? Why not?
            My group was assigned The Indian Removal. The Indian Removal was when Jackson forced Indians to leave their land. He wanted them to move West because he didn't want them to be squeezed out by white settlers and have the tribes be wiped out. (http://www.edline.net/files/_6YHDu_/53222985c1e5c5883745a49013852ec4/IndianRemoval1.jpg) The Indians didn't like this idea because they felt it was unjust to kick them out afetr everything they have done for the whites. (http://www.edline.net/files/_6YHFl_/a79ada70e840f8f33745a49013852ec4/IndianRemoval2.jpg) Down below is my group's slide show presentation explaining this devastating time for the Indians in greater detail.

  

          The Bank War and The Spoils System were covered by the other groups. The Bank War happened when Jackson thought that the banks had to much power. He wanted multiple smaller banks rather than one large bank. Many people didn't agree with him though. Daniel Webster was one of the people who disagreed. He felt that getting rid of the main bank would lead to economic collapse. Ironically, several years later there was an economic collapse. The collapse was caused by paper money having to regain its value without the help of the banks. The Spoils System was when the efficiency and the effectiveness of the government decreased. A spoils system is when a political party gives government jobs to voters and supporters after an election victory. It can also be called Rotation in Office. Basically, Jackson gave out jobs based on loyalty and not on skills. He believed that there was nothing wrong with change and just because a person has been doing their job for a long time doesn't mean that they deserve it over someone less experienced.

            Overall, I think that Andrew Jackson didn't deserve his long-standing reputation as the people's president. In The Indian Removal he forced the Indians to pick up their whole lives and move to unfamiliar land. In The Bank War he let the economy fail. In The Spoils System he ran a corrupt government and ended up dragging down the office as a whole. I feel like he had the right idea and wanted the rights between the poor and the rich to be balanced. He also wanted everyone to have a say but he just went about it in the wrong way. A classmate of mine commented on how he ruled and I couldn't agree more with it. She said, "He doesn't deserve to be the people's president because he was the people's president only to the people who liked him."