Andrew Jackson: American Patriot or Racist President

Andrew Jackson was the 7th president of these United States. If you didn’t know that, shame on you! However, you are in luck because when you finish reading this article you will have the knowledge needed for your own conclusion for this controversial figure of American history. “Controversial?” you might ask, but for anyone who does have at least an idea of who Andrew Jackson was you would know that he is a very controversial figure, at least for some.

Andrew Jackson, not to be confused with Andrew Johnson our 17th president, was born to Elizabeth Hutchinson on March 15, 1767. Andrew’s father died before he was born. Andrew’s parents were Presbyterians who immigrated to America from Ireland two years before Andrew’s birth. As you may have realized, Jackson was born before the Independence of the U.S.A. In 1791, when Andrew was twenty four, he married Rachel Jackson. Rachel was previously married to the terribly violent Captain Richard Robards and the Andrew-Rachel marriage was legalized again in 1794 amid Rachel’s failure to finalize her divorce with Richard. The couple would face a life time of insults concerning Rachel’s “bigamy” in being married before the divorce finalized. By 1809, the Jacksons were entering their forties with no children so they made the decision to adopt a family. In 1809 Andrew and Rachel adopted Andrew Jackson Jr. who was a twin and the son of Rachel’s Brother. The reason behind separating the twins is still unclear, but some have speculated that Rachel’s sister-in-law, Jackson Jr.’s biological mother, may have been mentally ill. The Jacksons would later adopt a Creek boy named Lyncoya.

Much could be written and read about Andrew’s childhood and personal life, but now that we have some knowledge of the personal life of our 7th president, we can dive into the deep and intricate politics of Andrew Jackson and the Jacksonian Era. Andrew Jackson was a Representative, a Senator and a General from Tennessee. Jackson was a Democrat and is most notable for the Indian Removal Act and the Nullification Crisis. As a General, Jackson fought in the Creek wars and was known as a fierce, cold-blooded leader, he was nicknamed Ole’ Hickory. Jackson thought Indians inferior as well as African Americans. He gained his wealth from land grabs of the Cherokee and Chickasaw tribes along the hard working slaves he kept on his plantation. In fact, General Jackson made it his sole purpose to “exterminate the hostiles,” which of course by “hostiles” he means the Creek Indians. Jackson was involved in the gruesome massacres of Indians and the brutal fighting between the settlers and the Natives during the Creek Wars, but history has at times been too kind to the Indian natives during these wars. The Creek warriors were responsible for some of the most inhumane acts of the Creek Wars, with no regard for women or children. Though many Indian tribes didn’t like the new settlers invading their land, some were kind and welcoming. The Cherokee tribe notably attempted to become a state in the U.S. but the act was vetoed by none other than Andrew Jackson himself amid his presidency. There is no doubt that Jackson’s policy towards Native Americans was horrible, but the misconception of the innocence of the Creek Nation is one that can’t go unnoticed. That stated, the atrocity of the American move against Native Americans is one of the greatest black marks on our history, and Andrew Jackson was the one leading the way.

In the mid-1820’s the Nationalist Era of American politics came to a close, a result of sectional differences disrupting America’s society. The unity of the American people became fragile as a divide in political parties began to form on such issues as state’s rights, protective tariffs, and the National Bank. In 1828, the somewhat unpopular, National Republican, President John Quincy Adams ran for re-election against the southern war hero, Democrat Andrew Jackson. Adams, a remnant of the Nationalist Era, supported the new and extremely unpopular “Tariff of Abominations” during his campaign which targeted the north, while Ole’ Hickory felt closer to home for the southern and western states who were greatly affected by the new Tariff. With a solid majority, Andrew Jackson won the election of 1828 and took the oath of office on March 4, 1829. After his speech he rode to the White House for the reception, however an overwhelming number of citizens from far and wide made the trip to see the new president wearing their muddy boots on expensive rugs and standing on furniture for just a glimpse of their newly elected leader. Many believed that Jackson ruled like a tyrant calling him “King Andrew”, and much of this is backed, Jackson’s military experience and lack of political know-how caused him to have authoritarian tendencies, similar to that of former President Trump, though Trump never enacted his will so harshly as Jackson. Even though history has been filled with more right wing authoritarian powers than left wing, studies have shown that the radical left is just as likely if not more likely to turn authoritative, Andrew Jackson is living proof of this. Thanks to the well written constitution, Jackson was never able to actually act as a tyrant without directly being in conflict with the constitution itself, this principle is the same for all presidents. Unfortunately in today’s world we are seeing first hand how the radical left is threatening the boundaries of our very own constitution and the left grows more and more authoritarian in nature every day. Anyway, the reason behind the titling of the Jacksonian Era comes from Andrew’s unique political style. Jackson’s Secretary of State was Martin Van Buren, who was very qualified for his post, but his Cabinet members were not. Jackson often met informally with politicians who were personal friends and often held minor offices for presidential advice, because of this this group of low level politicians were nicknamed the “kitchen Cabinet”. Jackson, contrary to many Democrats at the time, was a proponent of Nationalism, this was stunning to the south who often voted Democrats in favor of state’s rights. Jackson’s stance on Nationalism created a divide between him and his vice president John Calhoun. Though Jackson was a man of the south, he primarily supported the interests of the west, so long as they didn’t interfere with the interests of the nation as a whole, here enters the Relocation of the Indians. When new land in the west became scarce, the settlers desired the land of the Indians east of the Mississippi. Many tribes agreed to give their land in exchange for land out west, but some such as Black Hawk’s Sauk of Illinois and the Seminoles of Florida resisted the offer, but were inevitably forced out of their land via state regulations. Another issue of Jackson’s presidency was the Nullification Crisis. Jackson’s stance on nullification was contrary to the Democratic party at the time, Jackson issued a proclamation preventing states from nullifying acts of congress, this plays into his Nationalistic views. The National Bank had become unpopular among the westerners. Jackson feared that the bank would become a political power and also questioned its constitutionality. The bank also failed to keep an adequate supply of silver and gold to back all the banknotes they were giving. Nicholas Biddle, the president of the National Bank, requested for congress to recharter the bank, but even though it passed the legislative branch, Jackson promptly vetoed it. Although the charter for the Second National Bank didn’t expire until 1836, Jackson took advantage of it’s growing unpopularity for his re-election campaign in 1832. After another landslide victory, Jackson felt a responsibility to end the National Bank, he began by removing all federal funding of the bank, Jackson then appointed Roger Taney as secretary of treasury. Taney placed all incoming federal funds in specially selected state banks. Jackson had defeated the bank, but in its place was national debt. Though the National Bank operated past 1836 with a charter from Pennsylvania, it no longer had control over private banks and couldn’t regulate the economy. These private banks lost regard for sound financial policy, so between 1829 and 1837 the number of state banks in the country more than doubled and the circulation of bank notes tripled. With all of this cheap money available, speculators began to buy, sell, and resell western lands, causing real estate prises to rise. However, Jackson’s initial response, the Specie Circular, ended in a depression, by the time the people were panicking, Jackson was retired from office.

Now you know why Andrew Jackson has been so controversial! This is but only a taste of his legacy and I recommend Bill O’Reilly’s book Killing Crazy Horse for more on Ole’ Hickory. Now my policy concerning presidents is to vote for the president that has the policy you agree with most, not the personality. Man is flawed and no man is perfect so we can’t vote for a president based on his character traits. We saw this issue with President Trump. This being said, I think that Andrew Jackson was a good president who was extremely racist, but that is my opinion and yours can be different because we live in a free nation, Praise God! History must be taught, but furthermore it must be taught with truth at its foundation. The Democratic Party has tried to change the history of the party, but the simple fact is that the Democratic party is the racist party of slavery. Andrew Jackson is historical proof, but can we condemn all Democrats based on one man's sins? Yes and no, if you identify with the Democrat Party, you are by definition agreeing with the policies and values of that party, same as Republicans, and during the Jacksonian Era Democrats were the slavery supporters, today the Democratic party is the party that supports the murdering of millions of innocent babies every year, but the Democrats of today do not and have not held slaves, so we can’t technically call them racist in that since, just like you can’t call all white people racist in 2021 when none of them have held slaves. Thank you for reading and as always, until next time.