Andrew Jackson And Martin Van Buren example essay topic

Although Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren held the same views, their mind set and expectations for themselves were from different ends of the spectrum. Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767 in a log cabin on the boundary line between North Carolina and South Carolina. Jackson's father died before he was born leaving Jackson and his family to move in with relatives. Throughout Jackson's childhood he caused trouble and hated schoolwork, in fact many jokes are made about Jackson's horrible spelling. He was said to sometimes spell the same word three different ways in the same document. At the age of sixteen Andrew Jackson was left an orphan due to the Revolutionary War, Jackson himself had been captured during the war.

After the war Jackson studied the law to become a lawyer in Nashville. While in Nashville Jackson fell in love with a woman, Rachel, whom was already married. Soon, however, Jackson learned that her husband divorced her, without thinking Jackson proposed to Rachel and they were married in 1791. Two years later they learned that the divorce was never legal, therefore neither was there marriage. They quickly married again, but the mistake caused a scandal, and people were always talking about them behind their backs, which angered Jackson profoundly, and lead him to always be challenging others and giving and receiving many duels. Jackson was always trying to defend his wife.

In 1796 Jackson's political career begins when he helps to write the Tennessee state constitution. He was later elected as Tennessee's first representative to Congress. From 1798 to 1804 he was a judge of the Supreme Court of Tennessee and a Major-General of the Tennessee militia. Jackson spent a year in the Senate and while there was thought of as a backwoodsman. It was said that "Andrew Jackson was a spokesman for the common people-the backbone of the new nation" (Quackenbush 19). Jackson's militia was called to action during the War of 1812.

They stayed outside of Natchez for four weeks before being sent home. As Jackson was marching home to Nashville one solider is quoted as saying "look at him, he's as tough as a hickory branch" and that is how Jackson came to be known as "Old Hickory". That was not the end of Jackson's military career. He soon lead his men into battle against the Creeks who were on the side of the British in the War of 1812. Jackson won and was immediately recognized as a hero. During the battle at New Orleans, Jackson became an even bigger hero by defeating the British at New Orleans.

Even though the war ended with a peace treaty on December 24, 1814 the news did not reach New Orleans for two and a half months, and the battle of New Orleans did not effect the out come of the war what so ever. Jackson became so popular after the War of 1812 he was nominated for President in 1824. He ran against John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, and William Crawford. Jackson received the most votes, but did not have the majority of the electoral votes to win. The House of Representatives was to choose, but at the last minute Clay withdrew so Adams would get his votes, in exchange Clay would be appointed Secretary of State.

Jackson was furious and in the election of 1828 he ran against Adams again. This campaign was vicious, and Jackson's private life was attacked and the scandal of his marriage was relived in newspapers and pamphlets. Jackson believed that this helped to lead to Rachel's death, and he never forgave the public for it. Jackson won the election, but Rachel died before it was over. Andrew Jackson did not attend his inaugural ball because he was still upset over Rachel's death.

On his inauguration day, Washington was full of people trampling the Capital lawn and swarming after him into the White House. Jackson was able to escape all the ruckus through a window, and he had to spend his first night as president in a hotel. Martin Van Buren was born on December 5, 1782, in the little town of Kinderhook. This town on the eastern bank of the Hudson River in New York was settled exclusively by Dutch families who had emigrated to America. Kinderhook was used by Washington Irving as the model of the town featured in his famous story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". Martin's father Abraham made their house into a tavern, it is there that Martin listened to lively conversations of lawyers traveling between New York and Albany.

Among the visitors to the Van Buren tavern were famous politicians such as Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and John Jay. Van Buren became an apprentice to Francis Silvester and learned law. Even as a young man Van Buren agreed with the Republicans. Van Buren then went to New York City to study law further, and in 1803, two years later, Van Buren became a lawyer and returned to Kinderhook. Van Buren even helped and old time friend, Van Ness, escape legal charges that he had helped Aaron Burr kill Alexander Hamilton. After that Van Buren became very successful and decided to settle down and start a family.

He married Hannah Hoes. She later died in 1819 of tuberculosis. After the invention of the steamboat, Van Buren's law practice flourished. Many rich Federalists, however, were angered by him and claimed he " 'would neither worship at the shrine of wealth nor court the favor of the powerful,' " (Hargrove 30).

In 1812, at the age of thirty, Van Buren decided to embark on a political career. He was selected as the Republican candidate for the position of New York State senator. Van Buren won beating the Federalist Edward P. Livingston. During the election of 1824, Van Buren tried to help Crawford win the election. During 1826 and 1827 Van Buren continued to oppose legislation to build new roads and canals at federal expense, which would make for a stronger central government.

This also insured the importance of the Erie Canal, which played a significant role in keeping his political career running smoothly in Albany. Van Buren was in office during the construction of the Eire Canal, the state of New York had to pay for the construction of the Canal which played a significant role in Van Buren's reasoning behind the National Government not paying for states internal improvements. Martin Van Buren decided that he was going to support Andrew Jackson in the election of 1828. He figured since New York at that time contained one seventh of the population, and the largest port in the world he could sway the voters of New York to vote for Jackson.

Van Buren withdrew as Senator and ran for governor of New York. Having the two names close together near the top of the Democratic ballot sure helped Jackson who won the election. Van Buren also was declared the governor-elect, but not for long. Just three months later he was called to Washington by Jackson who made Van Buren his Secretary of State. Van Buren and Jackson became close friends during the three years Van Buren worked for Jackson. Van Buren resigned his position in the cabinet due to "the Eaton Affair", which led to embarrassment for the other cabinet members as well as the vice president, John C. Calhoun.

Van Buren was later appointed the post of minister to England, this appointment, however, did not go through the Senate, with Calhoun casting the tie-breaking vote. President Jackson ran for a second term in 1832. This time Jackson chose Martin Van Buren as his running mate. In the campaign that followed, Jackson and Van Buren argued against the huge Bank of the United States. They claimed that the bank was run to benefit wealthy individuals and businesses.

Jackson was elected to a second term and Van Buren was the new vice president. Although Jackson was very ill during the first time, he wasted no time destroying the Bank of the United States. Many of Jackson's advisers wanted to remove all federal money from the bank. Van Buren was given the task of selecting "pet banks", but his political instincts told him he could easily into political trouble, so he left the decision to others. With Jackson's blessing Van Buren ran for President of the United States in 1836. Not everyone shared Jackson's good feelings towards the vice president.

Some pointed out that "he seemed to care for nothing except power" (65). Van Buren was elected just as the economy collapsed. Jackson was always thought of as a Statesmen. He took states' rights issues on the Bank of the United States and the controversy that arose between the Cherokee Indians and Georgia. Andrew Jackson was set on destroying the Bank of the United States. Andrew Jackson was quoted as telling Martin Van Buren that " 'the Bank is trying to kill me, but I will kill it!' " (Garrity 257).

Jackson was against the Bank because he thought of it as unconstitutional, not paying notice to McCulloch vs. Maryland saying that as president he had the right to uphold the constitution the way he saw fit. Jackson thought it was a dangerous private monopoly that helped the rich get richer. Taney, Jackson's new Attorney General, took, with Jackson's permission, federal funds out of the Bank and deposited them into state banks. During the differences in Georgia, Jackson pursued a policy of removing the Cherokees from the path of white settlements. This might seem cruel, but at the time most Indians were unwilling to adapt to white ways. Van Buren became president after Jackson and upheld many of the old Jeffersonian beliefs many of which came to be known as the Jacksonian way of reasoning.

Van Buren came into "power on the coattails of a popular general whose views on public questions [were] concealed of ignored", (269). He thought of the Bank of the United States as a monopoly, he believed in the construction of internal improvements, but thought states should provide funding, not the national programs. Van Buren took office as the Panic of 1837 hit, he was not responsible for the panic or the depression that followed, but he didn't do much to help it. He did not interfere with the issues plaguing the economy.

This seems to contradict the theory that the Jacksonian's were concerned with the fate of the common or ordinary citizens. Van Buren's main goal was to figure out what to do with the Bank. Jackson had distributed federal funds to private banks, but many of these banks were "pet banks" or very irresponsible. The removal of federal money and the destruction of the Bank, both of which can be accredited to Jackson, help lead to the Panic of 1937. Van Buren decided to make banking activities and the government separate.

He proposed a bill which called for the construction of government owned vaults used for federal revenues, and all payments to the government were to be paid in hard cash. The Independent Treasury Act passed both houses of Congress in the summer of 1840. Andrew Jackson was a better president, and had a greater impact on American History as a whole as well. Although both Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren began their public careers as lawyers, where they expected the career to lead them was different.

From the start Van Buren took a political side to ever issue he was presented with. Van Buren would always look ahead and think of what would effect his political career and act according to those beliefs. Jackson, on the other hand, started off his career in politics, but quickly switched to that of a war general. Jackson had a long career in the military and that earned him recognition in the public eye. Van Buren however received this attention only by being an accomplished lawyer.

Andrew Jackson's abilities are far more numerous and diverse. Jackson achieved something unique and triumphant, the elimination of the national debt, something he had strived to achieve over his last four year term. "It was an accomplishment for which he took great pride", (Re mini 290). For the nation as a whole, the obliteration of the national debt proclaimed the triumph of republicanism and the constitutional system.

It was a mark of stupendous achievement, a badge of freedom, a symbol of success. It demonstrated the blessings of democracy to the entire world (295). This accomplishment in itself provides enough information to proclaim Andrew Jackson as a great national hero who set a perfect example of those to come. He kept the hopes of the country up and deafened democracy to everyone.