Jackson And His Supporters example essay topic

Andrew Jackson entered the presidency a national hero out of the West for his heroics portrayed during the War of 1812 and his expedition against the Seminoles in Spanish Florida. A natural leader, he commanded immense loyalty from supporters. No man of his time was at once so loved and so deeply despised. His blunt words and acts forced men to declare themselves, for or against him. The movement we have come to call Jacksonian Democracy borrowed more than just a powerful name.

It projected into politics a fighting image of the man who would save the republic from its enemies. His contributions have been recognized by many and Roosevelt said "his unending contribution to the vitality of our democracy. We look back on his amazing contribution to the vitality of our democracy. We look back on his amazing personality, we review his battles because the struggles he went through, the enemies he encountered, the defeats he suffered and the victories he won are part of parcel of the struggles, the enmities, the defeats and the victories of those who lived in all generation that have followed. ' 1 By preserving the Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of economic opportunity of our nation, Andrew Jackson and his supporters built a strong foundation over which our nation has succeeded in becoming "the great country in the greates planet. ' Jackson and his supporters offered a distinct alternative to the strong central government advocated by John Quincy Adams.

The Jacksonians were committed to the concept of an agrarian society. Jackson injected new vigor into the philosophy of limited government. In 1830, he vetoed the Maysville Road Bill which would have funded the construction of a 60-mile turnpike from Maysville to Lexington, Kentucky. He felt that the allocation of federal funds towards the internal improvement of a single state was unconstitutional since it was the responsibility of the state rather than that of the federal government to make improvements within a single state.

In nullification cris i give date Jackson had to deal with the question of proper division of power between state and federal government more directly. South Carolina was a state where the planter class greatly prospered and where slavery was most concentrated and undisturbed. Hit hard by the Panic of 1819, South Carolinians emphatically resented protectionist tariffs. Political leaders in South Carolina voiced their intents of protecting their own interests by coming up with the concept of nullification. Nullification gave states the right to judge the constitutionality of federal actions.

Jackson's own vice president, John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, defended his home state's proclamation in his unsigned Exposition and Protest. In it he stated that in the case of any disagreement between the federal government and a state, a special state convention should be held where the decision is made whether to nullify or affirm the federal law. Calhoun asserted that this was the only way to protect the interests of the minority against the tyranny if the majority. Though sympathetic to state's rights and distrustful of the federal government, Jackson and his supporters rejected the idea of state sovereignty. The president made his position clear at a Jefferson Day dinner with the toast, "Our Federal Union, it must and shall be preserved. ' Vice president Calhoun, voicing his contrary opinion, toasted "The Federal Union next to our liberty the most dear.

' The nullification crisis solidified when south carolina decided to put its doctrine into use by nullifying the Tariff of 1832. Although a majority supported the the tariff, others refused to follow suit. In the eyes of the South Carolinians, it seemed like their constitutional rights to decide one's own destiny was sacrificed to satisfy the demands of the industrial North. Afraid of the long lasting side effects rather than the immediate direct effects of the tariff, the southerners feared the possibility of the Tariff acceptance as precedent for later legislation on slavery.

A volunteer army was raised soon after to ensure the tariff's non-enforcement. In defense, Jackson issued a proclamation annulling nullification. He moved federal troops and prepared the US marshals to collect the required duties. In addition, the force Act was passed giving the president renewed authority to call upon troops but offering a way around if duties were collected before foreign ships reached Charleston Harbor. Alarmed by South Carolina's drift toward seperation from the union, Clahoun resigned as the vice president and became a senator for his home state. There he worked to make up a compromise with Henry Clay that is known as the Tariff od 1833.

This lenghtened the list of duty-free items and reduced the list of existing ones over a period of nine years. Finally, South Carolinians were satisfied and held another convention repealing its nullification law. Nullification offered a genuine debate between strict and liberal interpretation of the constitution. Both sides believed that they were upholding the constitution.

I don't think neither side actually won. But Jackson and his supporters succeeded in preserving the union in an extremely crucial period and by preserving the union, he also preserved the constitution as well. When Jacksonian movement formed in the late 1820's, America was on a democratic course. Political democracy was the medium more than the chievement of the Jacksonian party. The completion of a popular regime seemed to follow an unquestionalbe logic. Without any formal consideration, the most significant changes were made.

Changes in the organization and conduct of parties. The winning elections became to an unprecedented extent, the business of professionals who managed powerful machines were in very neighborhood allowing the common pe pole of all sorts to actively participate in politics. These changes bought a novel intimacy to the relation between the people and politics. Public opin on was being heard with a new sensitivity and addressed with anxious respect.

2 The bureaucratic science of machine operation was effective only in association with the popular art of pleasing many. As never before, the parties spoke directly to the interests and feelings of the public. The Jacksonian's democratic ideals accomplished "the greates good of the greatest number. ' 3 Jackson also led the way to denounce special privilege and concentrated economic power, when the charter of the Second Bank of United States was about to expire.

The national bank served as a depository for federal funds and was an important source of credit for business. Readily exchangeable for gold, it's bank notes circulated around the economy as currency. Rechartering was a volatile issue in the presidential campaign of 1832. THe bank charter allowed until 1836 to renew its charter. The struggle that was lasted four years was on the demand of Clay. Hungry for presidency, Clay was seeking for success at the polls.

He believed that if recharter measure was passed and vetoed by Jackson then the bank would support him. He was joined by Daniel Webster. With support of Webster and Clay, Biddle hoped to pass the recharter bill. But Jackson vetoed the bill and senates failed to come up with two-third of the votes, so therefore, the bill wasn't passed. He believed taht granting of monopolies and exclusive privileges would only benefit the advancement of the few at eh expense of so many. 4 After being re-elected in 1832, Jackson proceeded to eliminate the Second Bank by depositing federal funds elsewhere which ultimately resulted in its closing.

By disposing of the Second Bank, the arrogant plutocracy that had challenged the national government of all people was buried in the grave of the national bank. 5 Although the Bank wasn't the only thing that occupied the Jacksonians, its destruction was esteemed by many of their finest accomplishment. It demoralized the aristocrats they envied and in the mindless streets cried "Jackson Forever'. 6 It redistributed vested rights.

It established laissez faire and It freed banks from federal regulation. It reduced the government's monetary powers by more than half. It stimulated business. In all this there was abundant satisfaction for Van Buren, Kendall, Henshaw, Cambrel eng, Taney and others who were like-minded.

7 The Charles River Bridge vs. Warren Bridge (1837) case represented a long foward step in detaching from the corporation the stigma of monopoly, standing as a classic statement of the Jacksonian faith. The Charles River Bridge had been built in the 1780's by Harvard College and prominent Bostonian's under a Massachusetts charter. As the population of Boston and Cambridge grew, business flourished, traffic and value of bridge's stock grew as well. Since a new bridge was badly needed, the state legislature issued another charter towards the construction of the Warren Bridge, to be built be ry close to the original. A period of six years was to be given to collect tolls to compensate for it's construction, after which the toll would be eliminated. The proprietors of the older bridge attempted to restrain the new builders from erecting the Warren Bridge since its construction would hurt the value of their valuable stock.

The case clearly involved a conflict between vested rights on one side and new entrepreneurs and the rest of the community on the other. The court decided for the new birdie, five to two. Chief Justice replied "While the rights of private property are sacredly guarded, we must not forget, that the community also have rights, and that the happiness and well-being of every citizen depends on their faithful preservation. ' 8 In congressional session of 1823-4, at the beginning of Jackson era, Daniel Webster observed that "Society is full of excitement: competition comes in place of monopoly; and intelligence and industry ask only for fair play and an open field.

' 9 No friend of Jacksonian democracy expressed more accurately than this opponent the historical significance of the Jackson movement. Originally a fight against political privilege, the Jacksonian movement had bora dened into a fight against economic privilege. Who Jackson left the office, he was the hero of lower and middle class epo el who believed in expanding opportunity through equal rights. And by the time of his death in 1845, even Webster had noticed that Jackson had left a long lasting mark upon the nation.