Andrew Jackson's Creation Of Democracy

In 1828 after the previously heavily debated Election of 1824, Jackson took over the United States of America and made some of the most drastic changes this country has seen. In order to determine whether or not Jackson really created a democracy, one must look at the fine details of the things Jackson did throughout his terms. From the start of our country we judged and discriminated anyone who wasn’t a white landowning men and during Jackson’s time that did not change. Before Jackson’s presidency American leaders had created treaties with the Native Americans, but Jackson ignored those treaties and did what he wanted with the Indians. The Indians were not the only issue Jackson decided upon on his own, many other major changes that were made …show more content…
From the time Jackson entered office in 1828, he despised the Indians and wanted them out of his way as if they were a waste of space. In order to make this happen Jackson passed the Indian Removal Act and although Congress disagreed with this he never gave up when it came to expressing his opinion about the Natives. (Document 4). Congress did not pass this act because of previous treaties in place to protect the Indians but Jackson carried on with the plan anyway. It is unclear why Jackson disliked the Indians so much but it can be inferred that he wanted that farm land they were taking up to go to his supporters, since they could help him become more popular throughout the country. Jackson sent military officials into the lands of the Natives to clear them out but it was the Cherokee’s story that stuck out the most. This group of Indians put up a fight when it came to getting moved west of the Mississippi but eventually gave up and took the long, dreadful trip across the Mississippi to Oklahoma. (Document 5). This trip became known as the Trail of Tears and many of the Indians did not make it to their destination because of the extreme cold, diseases, and starvation. The removal of this group of people who had fought for their land for years shows that Jackson was not in it for the good of his country, but for the good of his name and …show more content…
One of the first things Jackson did when he entered office was created the spoils system, which ridded the cabinet or all non-Jackson supporters or in other words, members of the Whig party and replaced them with Jacksonian Democrats. Andrew Jackson was know for the amounts of bills that the vetoed but the most common veto was the Bank Bill. As a “supporter” of a small federal government Jackson did not support a Bank of the United States. (Document 6). Jackson wrote a note to Congress and tried to convince them to help him get rid of the national bank and after many years and different plans Jackson successfully shut down the bank. Jackson did not take into consideration the feelings of the people who supported and relied on the bank during this time but only focused on his own feelings. Not only did Jackson not listen to the people but he also used the military as a threat to the citizens especially in South Carolina. When South Carolina disagreed with the doings of Jackson and threatened to secede, Jackson sent the Navy and Army into the state to make sure that didn’t happen to to force them to pay their taxes. (Document 7). When Jackson wrote the Force Bill he made it seem as if it was for the good of the people but to many it does not seem that way. It would make sense for Jackson to have the military enforce the citizens to pay the taxes that were going to the