Jana Misic

AP. U.S. History DBQ

D period 02/12/09

Jacksonian Democracy

Andrew Jackson was a member of the Democratic Party that believed in state’s rights over

National Government’s rights meaning that government was supposed to be decentralized. He always

acted in favor of the common man and by the desire of the majority; equality of opportunity was of

great importance to him. Federalists and Jackson were constantly arguing, South disliked his laws

regarding Federal Governments right and States rights and he always went towards Western expansion.

While Federalists wanted the Government to control trade and economy, Democratic Jackson sought to

get rid of Federalists laws by vetoing most of them.

Andrew Jackson most of all believed in equal rights for all men and women. He himself was

from a poor background and had achieved all he had had only with hard work. His desire, same as

Jefferson's, was an agrarian America. Jackson did not invent but did greatly follow the rotation of

office in his government. With this spoil system Jackson thought that common men will have a bigger

influence on their politics. People chosen by him were not educated in running the government so they

were not very capable but did come from the governed and therefore knew what life in the States meant

back than. Jackson thought that the rotation of office would prevent corrupt bureaucracy so he replaced

federal employees with ordinary men from the Democratic Party. His inauguration was a huge party

when people got into the White House and celebrated him becoming president. King Mob never did set

aristocracy above lower classes and he fought to brake Federalist chains of power.(Document A) Free

country, liberty and independence were his dream and goal and were achieved during his two year term

from 1829 to 1837. Even the foreigners from Europe noticed the fair society he had created. (Document
D)

During his terms three big crises occurred, one of which was about slavery and the Post office.

Democratic Party did not want to interfere with abolition of slavery, Jackson was pro-suffrage simply

because he knew that even the attempt of abolition of slavery would fire up the South and risk a

national crisis. He wanted to wait for the providence to somehow eradicate the evil itself. In 1835 a big

issue became the mail controversy. John C. Calhoun, Jacksons VP, and Congress declared that it is

unlawful to put in the mail anything about slavery and send it to he area where this subject was

prohibited. South Carolina was one of those places. (Document F) The North and West disagreed and

argued the law, so it was not adopted in the end, and is now known only as the dead letter of the South.

Jackson wanted to make it possible for people to move West and become farmers so he had to

grant them more land to move to. This meant that he had to influence Indians and move them somehow

from the land. In order not to kill them, he organized a huge transfer of the five civilized tribes from

the lands that he planned for developing farming. This moving is know as the Trail of Tears (Document

G) and it happened after he signed the Indian Removal Act in 1830 that granted him to buy tribal land

in the East and obtain their land in the West for the States. Five native tribes were nonviolent with the

Americans so they got the nickname of Five Civilized Tribes. Their removal resulted in death of over

4.000 Cherokees. This act of Jackson was strongly criticized, but Jackson justified it by pointing out

that he had no intention of killing Indians but just wanted to move them in order to give more land and

progress towards his goal of agrarian America.

During his presidency Jackson vetoed the total of 12 bills which is more than all the presidents

before him combined. The most important was the veto on the Second Bank of the United State's

charter. (Document B) Henry Clay and Daniel Webster wanted to renew the charter but Jackson did not
approve it and declared the Bank unconstitutional. This Bank War of 1832 proved Executive branch is

stronger than the Judiciary. King Andrew, as Jackson was referred to because of his vetoes, hated the

Bank because it favored the wealthy and was not in the Constitution. Federal money was put into state

banks and was given to the people before the inflation.

Andrew Jackson is now seen as a democrat that protected the people but is condemned for his

support of the slavery and the Indian Removal. He combined his Democratic side with the Federalist

one in order to be a great leader and make the United States agrarian, moral and prosperous society.

Jackson was a unique president and the first one not to be from the aristocracy, the first one to veto

bills and the first to use the informal cabinet of advisers so called the Kitchen Cabinet.