Andrew Jackson: A Great Villain?

Weekly Essay No. 3 Andrew Jackson’s presidency may have been deemed successful by some and by others a catastrophe. Seen as a power and influential president, Jackson achieved many accomplishments during his presidency, such as being a founder of the Democratic Party, breaking down the Second Bank, and paying off the national debt. However, all of these accomplishments were overshadowed by the animosity Jackson had towards the Native Americans and the way he treated them, ultimately tainting his presidency. The approval of the Indian Removal Act by Jackson in 1830 intended to relocate the Native Americans that were occupying land east of the Mississippi, to reservations in the west in present day Oklahoma. Yet, a majority of the Cherokees did not want to leave their …show more content…
Although some of them were willing to move, most of the Native Americans did not want to assimilate to the culture of the white settlers. Jackson’s intense, opinionated personality and patriotism for the nation, caused a growth of enmities towards policies, that exploited the common white man, and towards people like John Ross, the Cherokee Indian chief. “Jackson never liked Ross. He called him a ‘great villain’…the Principal Chief headed a mixed-blood elite, and was intent on centralizing power in his own hands…” (“Cherokee Nation” para 19), Jackson opposed government officers and replaced many of them “because of corruption, incompetency, or because they opposed him politically…” (“Andrew Jackson”, n.d, para 18). Part of his patriotism, Jackson put only into place bills that he considered benefited the country and improved the