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  • Essay / How Andrew Jackson Was a Democratic President

    Andrew Jackson's belief in democracy was that all branches and agencies of government should listen to and follow the wishes of the people. He wanted to change the way the country was run before taking charge. He didn't think people really had a say in things. Andrew Jackson was very Democratic because he wanted the people to have more voice and power in government, he wanted to expand our borders so people could move further west, and he wanted the national bank be managed differently than it was. Andrew Jackson thought our country wasn't Democratic enough, so during his campaign he told people he would listen to them and he would do it. He thought those in power before him had done a terrible job in this area. In 1816, the people chose presidential electors through a legislature, and by 1832, most presidential electors were chosen by the people, except in a single state, South Carolina. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayNext, in 1836, presidential electors were chosen by the people in every state except one, which again was South Carolina. Then, on December 8, 1829, in a letter to Congress, Jackson declared: "In a country where offices are created solely for the benefit of the people, no man has a greater right to (government employment) than another." . This shows that he believes that every citizen of the country has the right to be part of the government. The second reason Andrew Jackson was a Democrat was because he wanted to expand our country in service to the people. He wanted the Indians to move west to what is now Oklahoma so that more Americans could leave the East Coast and further develop our country. Many people today say that this was a terrible thing for a dictator to do, but in reality, it was not him who told them that they could remain in the condition of obeying our laws. . He also paid the Indians who decided to go to Oklahoma. Although Jackson was a Democrat in expanding voting rights, he made many controversial decisions that reflected self-interest and not that of the common man. Many of Jackson's critics believed that he ignored the separation of powers and abused his powers as president (Doc 3). In response to Andrew Jackson's bank veto message, Daniel Webster explained that "(President Jackson's message) extends the control (of the chief executive) over all the powers of government..." (Doc 5). Jackson overrode the majority vote of Congress using the presidential veto. He selfishly expanded his power as president and ignored the wishes of the majority. Because Jackson caused the collapse of the National Bank, the United States had difficulty managing its money and loans, leading to the Panic of 1837. In Andrew Jackson's letter to Congress, he requested that they take into consideration “(a) law which limits appointments to four years”. Jackson wanted to rotate government officials so he could implement a spoils system. This is why I think Andrew Jackson was a Democrat.