The Presidency of Andrew Jackson: Success or Failure?

This essay discusses the presidency of Andrew Jackson and debates whether it was successful or unsuccessful. Topics include his financial policy, the Nullification Controversy, the Indian Removal Act, and the crisis with France.

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Michael Cabrera
Mr. Early
History 1301
April 11, 2019
This essay will discuss the Presidency of Andrew Jackson in the United States of
America. Jackson was president from 1829 to 1837. Before becoming president; Jackson served
as an American soldier and statesman. He was also a lawyer, landowner, and also regarded as a
national war hero in his earlier years. He was considered one of the most controversial presidents
of United States. Part of his controversies includes support to remove Indian tribes to the west of
River Mississippi. While declaring this as one of his reforms, Jackson opined that the Country’s
policy to assimilate the Indian tribes had failed, and that it would eventually lead to the erosion
of Native American’s culture. The key question for this essay is, overall was the presidency of
Andrew Jackson successful or unsuccessful? He had adopted some very controversial policies in
his reign as the President of the country.1 Those policies and his indelible mark on the country’s
history would be debated in this paper.
The first theme of discussion will be the financial policy of Andrew Jackson and his fight
against the National Bank. This was one of the reforms that took place during Jackson’s
presidency between the years 1832 through 1836. This issue began when a furious political
struggle regarding the chartering of the National Bank erupted once again. The existence of the
National Bank was at stake. The final outcome of this furious struggle was the extinction of the
bank as other banks replaced it. Congress wanted to reauthorize this bank despite its facing
financial difficulties. Andrew Jackson applied his veto power and stopped the action. According
to Daniel Feller, this was one of the most destructive steps as this made way to the formation of
National Whigs and Democratic parties. This step of Jackson completely devastated the national
1 Youtube.com. 2019. "Andrew Jackson Good Evil & The Presidency PBS Documentary 640X360 MP4". Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_0dY6ThjxE.

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banking system of the USA. The Hermitage also criticized Andrew Jackson over this issue and
declared this was a complete misuse of presidential power by Jackson. It seems that Andrew
Jackson showed extreme ignorance while applying his presidential power in this regard.
Therefore, this decision of destroying the banking system of the USA was a disastrous one.
In this section, the central theme of discussion is the Nullification Controversy.This was
mainly a sectional political crisis in the United States that took place in 1832-33, some years
after Jackson became president. A major confrontation took place between Federal Government
of the USA and the province of South Carolina. South Carolina declared that the tariffs of 1828
and 1832 were completely against the constitution of the state and they nullified those tariffs
within their provincial boundaries.2The existence of South Carolina was at stake since the
Federal Government was given the authority to implement military force against them in 1833
when Congress passed the Force Bill. The Compromise Tariff was passed in 1833 with a tariff
rate that was much satisfactory for South Carolina.3 Daniel Feller has opined that the
administrative factors were not being handled by Andrew Jackson in a good manner. He behaved
and approached his presidency in a controversial manner and did not have a firm hold on his
followers. Thus his opponents were able to form a Whig party. The Hermitage believes that this
crisis was the opening phase of the Civil War in United States.4 Finally, it can be said that harsh
approach towards South Carolina and other southern states led to a huge fury. This resulted in
2 Americanyawp.com. 2019. "9. Democracy In America | THE AMERICAN YAWP". Americanyawp.Com.
http://www.americanyawp.com/text/09-democracy-in-america/.
3 Feller, Daniel. 2019. http://ap.gilderlehrman.org/essay/andrewjackson%27s-shifting-legacy.
4 Feller, Daniel. 2019. "Andrew Jackson: Impact And Legacy | Miller Center". Miller Center.
https://millercenter.org/president/jackson/impact-and-legacy.

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civil war afterwards. Jackson could have dealt in softer ways without applying military forces on
South Carolina.
The next discussion theme is the implementation of Indian Removal Act in the year 1830 during
the presidential reign of Andrew Jackson. This act was a retrogressive since the ethnic group of
Indians faced an immense level of discrimination. This act gave the authority to the president to
remove these ethnic tribes to federal territories.5This had resulted in the deaths of thousands of
members of five Native American tribes. These ethnic groups were Chickasaw, Choctaw,
Muscogee-Creek, Seminole and original Cherokee Nations. Daniel Feller believes that it was not
appropriate for Andrew Jackson to take this step, since he wanted all ethnic Indian tribes to move
west beyond the Mississippi River.6It was a complete discriminatory practice since he wanted all
white natives of the country to live in peace. The Hermitage too, argues against the
implementation of this policy. He has stated that it was the primary responsibility of the
president to take care of all his children like a father.7Here, it can be stated that both the critics
were true since a president of a country simply should not take all tribes out of their homes and
move them to a new place. If he does so, it is his responsibility to arrange all the care for them.8
5 Thehermitage.com. 2019. "Presidency | Andrew Jackson's Time In Office As President". The Hermitage.
https://thehermitage.com/learn/andrew-jackson/president/presidency/.
6 Feller, Daniel. 2008. "King Andrew And The Bank". National Endowment For The Humanities (NEH).
https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2008/januaryfebruary/feature/king-andrew-and-the-bank.
7 Feller, Daniel. 2019. https://millercenter.org/president/jackson/foreignaffairs.
8 Feller, Daniel. 2019. "Andrew Jackson: Domestic Affairs | Miller Center". Miller Center.
https://millercenter.org/president/jackson/domestic-affairs.

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The fourth topic for discussion in this essay is about crisis with France during the
presidency of Andrew Jackson. The crisis between the two countries almost escalated to a point
of causing war. The treaty took place in the year 1831 when France had to agree to pay for
plundered money by Napoleon.9 France was not ready to pay the money, and later Andrew
Jackson asked Congress to pass a legislation to authorize a reprisal. In this scenario, France felt
insulted and the relationship became bitter. Finally, the United Kingdom intervened urging
France to pay off the debt without any military actions. The situation sorted out when France
paid the money that was owed. Daniel Feller has highlighted the fact that agents of Jackson
negotiated this deal in a formidable way and claimed the money from France. The situation was
lightened through an apology from France to Jackson. The Hermitage clarifies this position
further by supporting this step of Jackson. Finally, this issue sorted out since Jackson won this
moral victory.
It can be concluded that Jackson’s presidency was unsuccessful rather than successful
since three of his policies were against the well-being of people. A president like Jackson should
have stood firm to his duties and responsibilities of such an influential country.These readings
are still relevant since global politics are full of controversies today as well. The readings
changed my understanding Jackson’s presidency by looking at it from different angles. He was a
true leader having a hold on his presidency. However, some of his steps and policies were
controversial, for example his reform to move Indian tribes and assertion that the assimilation of
Indian tribes would erode Native American’s way of life. The issues presented in the readings
are quite relevant to me today. For example I have witnessed the treatment of refugees and
9 Americanyawp.com. 2019. "The American Yawp Reader". Http://Www.Americanyawp.Com.
http://www.americanyawp.com/reader/democracy-in-america/andrew-jacksons-veto-messageagainst-re-chartering-
the-bank-of-the-united-states-1832/.

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asylum seekers under Donald Trump’s Presidency, which precisely resembles what Jackson was
trying to achieve by removing Indian tribes. Such experiences may influence my understanding
of the topic. If I were asked to tackle the issue of immigration, I would handle it in a more
humane manner avoiding any human right violations as witnessed during Jackson’s presidency
GradingRubric(Historical Debate Paper)
ReviewComponent Poor Good Excellent PointsEarned
Introduction Intro contains
few or none of
the required
elements.
Intro contains some,
but not all, of the
required elements.
Intro contains most or
all of the required
elements.
11
Body Body contains
few or none of
the required
elements.
Body contains some,
but not all, of the
required elements.
(16-23)
Body contains most or
all of the required
elements.
(24-32)
32
Conclusion Little or
noevaluationof
author’s’argum
entandevidence
. Poor
conclusion.
Evaluationofauthor’s
argumentandevidence
isweak,
unconvincing,orinco
mplete. Fair
conclusion.
Persuasive
evaluationofauthor’sar
gumentandevidence.
Solid, well-reasoned
conclusion.
10

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Mechanics,Style,an
dOrganization
Notopicsentenc
es.Writingisunc
lear.Manyerrors
ingrammarands
pelling.
Sometopicsentences
missing.
Paragraphsarechoppy
ortoolong.Unclearwri
ting.
Occasionalerrorsingr
Topicsentencesidentif
ykeypoints.Paragraph
s
connectandflowlogica
lly.Correctgrammaran
dspelling
20
Early Turn-in
Bonus
+6
Too Long or Too
Short Penalty
Grade 79
Michael,
This is a good start. You did a good job on the body. You need to add a little to the introduction
and conclusion (see my comments) and correct the many mistakes you made with grammar,
style, punctuation, etc. The good news is that most of these mistakes fall under only 3 or 4
categories (like using italics when you should not, knowing when to use “The”, etc). Fix these
errors, and you will do much better next time. Also correct your heading and add a title, as I
instructed you.