Andrew Jackson is regarded as one of the greatest presidents in American history. He’s on the twenty dollar bill and, at the time, just about everyone loved him and supported his policies. Granted, he was a great general and a popular leader among his troops. He was strict, but tough and became a national sensation after his efforts in the War of 1812. Eventually, his popularity lead him to run for president, and after losing the first time he finally became successful in 1828.
Despite his popularity, which blinded the public, Jackson’s policies were atrocious and his handling of the economy was mediocre. His lack of knowledge and expertise in government was the direct result of the Panic of 1837, which occurred after he left office. Martin Van Buren, who took office after Andrew Jackson served, was blamed by the public for the depression that followed although it was not his fault. Andrew Jackson not only demolished the economy at the time, but also encouraged the spoils system, which he invented, and leads into American politics even today. Through his lack of education and racism -- as well as bigotry -- Andrew Jackson single handedly destroyed the American economy at the time and encouraged corruption.
How did Andrew Jackson destroy the economy with the public’s support? Jackson was one of only eight presidents who never attended college, which garnered public support as he depicted himself as common of a man as anyone else. By providing the image that he would make the decisions that would benefit the common man, he vetoed the renewal of the charter for the Bank of the United States. By sticking true to his rhetoric about economic decentralization, he portrayed himself as a defender of the regular people against the rich and powerful bankers, which not only got him re-elected for another term, but also split the money of the Bank of the United States into smaller banks.
These smaller banks were handpicked by President Jackson himself, and although now it seems utterly corrupt, at the time he was cheered on by people who believed that he was working towards their interests. These smaller banks did not manage the money that they had just received from Andrew Jackson well, and that itself was the beginning of the recession that people were not aware of. It’s simply amazing how the people were conned into Andrew Jackson’s terrible economic policies and were unaware of the consequences until the next president, Martin Van Buren, took office. These smaller, more corrupt banks over loaned their money and speculation in the stock market caused the crash of the economy with President Jackson’s help. There should be no reason why he should be honored on the $20 bill, especially when he was the one that destroyed the Bank of the United States in the first place.
President Andrew Jackson didn’t just destroy the economy, but he changed the political landscape forever as well as succumbed to social norms at the time. When he first lost his race for the presidency in 1824 although he won the popular vote, Andrew Jackson angrily lashed out, claiming that there was a “corrupt bargain” between John Adams and Henry Clay, the other two major candidates. Although it seems true that Adams struck a bargain with Clay, offering him Secretary of State for the presidency, this was nothing compared to what Jackson did when he finally became president in 1828.
Right after he won, he cleared out 919 government officials from their positions and replaced them with his supporters, claiming, “To the victor belong the spoils.” For someone who claimed that there was a corrupt bargain struck just to make a single person Secretary of State, the hypocrisy is simply uncontainable when the same person clears out a whopping 10 percent of government jobs and replacing them with his supporters. These people who have had very little experience coupled with President Jackson’s own lack of experience in politics is undeniable evidence that Jackson is the very corruption that he claims to be fighting against.
Not only that, but Jackson was a racist. There were many Native Americans who still occupied large areas in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. Unlike many other leaders who saw the Native Americans as a separate nation, Jackson saw them as below the whites. When gold was discovered in Georgia in what appeared to be Cherokee territory, President Jackson saw the perfect opportunity to remove all the Indians and relocate them to “Indian Territory,” which is modern day Oklahoma. He signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830, and as a result had Indians forcibly removed from their homes and forced on a long trek to Oklahoma, now known as the Trail of Tears. Over 4,000 Native Americans died on this trek, probably one of the biggest crimes that a President has ever committed. Through his incompetence and bigotry, Andrew Jackson inadvertently spurred the creation of the modern Democratic Party and introduced the spoils system to American politics, forever changing the fate of America.
Andrew Jackson was one of the worst presidents in American history, but there is one admirable quality that he has displayed time and time again -- he stuck to his values. As wicked and as twisted as those values might’ve been, he did what many presidents couldn’t do -- he stuck to what he said and ran on. He prevented the secession of South Carolina and amended the “Tariff of Abominations.”
However, despite the little good he did in office, he has a track record of corruption, inexperience and bigotry. His decision of dissolving the Bank of the United States caused the biggest recession of the economy at the time and his racism killed Native Americans as he forced them to live on what was regarded as uninhabitable land. He spurred a new wave of corruption by introducing the spoils system. From his lack of knowledge and experience, Andrew Jackson crafted himself as one of the worst Presidents through his oversight of the economy and corruption.
