James C. Curtis, Andrew Jackson and the Search for Vindication

Introduction

Andrew Jackson was born in 1767 in Carolinas to Andrew and Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson. He was elected by popular vote in 1828 to become the 7^th president of the United States. At this time, the Industrial Revolution was reshaping and altering the country’s way of life. The traditional political leadership seemed unable to master these changes and its key goal was to ensure power and resources continued to remain in the hands of the old guard. Americans showed great resolve by popularly voting in Andrew Jackson who was a symbol of change and freshness.

Jackson made great contributions to his country. Both during his time in the army and as the president, the country was confronted with a number of national issues ranging from state’s rights, coexistence with Indians and slavery. Solutions to these challenges needed to be found as America struggled to determine the type of nation that it would become. Being an ambitious and motivated man, Jackson had a strong feeling towards the changes that needed to be implemented. He accomplished various achievements that earned him nationwide accolades.

National Achievements

During the war time, Jackson made great national achievements. His first achievement came in 1814 when the Army General Jackson crushed the Creek Indians during the Battle that is famously known as the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. It is estimated that over 800 Red Stick warriors were killed in this battle.

His second victory came in 1815 when he defeated the British at New Orleans, thus earning him national praises. In this battle, Jackson’s army which only had 5,000 soldiers crushed and defeated the British army that had more than 7,500 soldiers. Despite the casualties, this was a resounding victory.

Policies, Actions and Behavior

By 1828, Jackson had rallied enough support to enable him seize control of the federal government in Washington. During his tenure, he implemented various policies and great changes to the American presidency, some of which were regarded as positive while some as negative. He followed the Jeffersonian principle of usurping power, concentrating it in the office of the presidency and using it to protect the people against other corrupt interests.

In his first annual address to Congress during his tenure, he made the proposal to abolish the electoralcollege, which is the institution mandated to officially elect both the president and the vice president of the United States. To date, this institution has been viewed by many critics as taking the power of choice from the people. Although he was not successful, this was only the beginning of some of his somewhat controversial policies.

In addition to that, he made efforts to promote democracy by ensuring that holders of state offices did not hold them for their entire lifetime. Rather, these would be passed over to deserving and qualified candidates over time. Although he had promised to do away with a majority of the old guards when he gets into power, he only laid off about 10% of the staff, something that did not go well with his supporters.

Jackson’s radical policies were also felt on the economic front. When he came into power, the Second Bank of the US was under government monopoly. He vetoed its charter, thereby providing room for the emergence and development of many pet banks. This action won the approval of a majority of the Americans. Despite all these positive policies and actions, he also implanted other policies that were largely negative. He had prospered enough to construct himself a mansion and even buy slaves. Before he became the president, he bought his first American slave who was a woman named Nancy in the year 1788.

Jackson believed that the backbone of America’s food security lay in small family farms. To achieve this, the country had to expand westwards. This land had, however, been occupied by Indians for many centuries. In 1830, Jackson forced an Act through Congress, which granted him the authority to coerce the Indians to give up their land. Despite his opinion that this policy was beneficial to the Indians, it was met with vehement protests from Americans who viewed this as inhumane and disregard of human life.

It is probably important to note that several of these policies did not go well with several of the politicians. This later saw the emergence of two factions – the Democrats, who were proponents of Mr. Jackson and the Republicans who opposed him. During this time various women played a key role in Jackson’s life and greatly influenced him.

Women who had the greatest impact on Andrew Jackson

Notably, the first woman to play a significant role in his life was his wife, Rachel Stockley. While she may not have had direct influence on him, he greatly resented her mistreatment and dishonor by others since she had been living with him even before her divorce from her former husband, Jone Donelson, had been finalized. He even ferociously engaged in fights just to defend his wife’s honor.

The other woman to have an impact on Andrew Jackson’s life was Margaret O’Neale Timberlake, the wife of John Henry Eaton, who was an old friend of Jackson. Word spread that her husband had committed suicide while she was still married to him. She was therefore shunned by wives of other politicians. They also refused to attend social events in which she had been invited. Since such events and gatherings were important for the politics of Washington, this boycotting by other politicians impacted negatively on the running of the day-to-day affairs of the government.

His purchase of Nancy, his first African American woman slave in Jonesborough portrayed him as a supporter of slavery. Andrew Jackson was able to serve two terms as the president of the United States of America. One can only conclude that he was still popular among a majority of the electorate despite widespread opposition.