Andrew Jackson was called the People's President - Essay Example

Jackson is by no means an easy person to understand and was a man of complexity and contradiction. He was considered both a true patriot and a traitor. Contradictions raged in every aspect of his life, although he was an eloquent writer, he could not spell and had poor sentence composition. While he was an excellent general, he knew little about war and while he had a strong passion for discipline, he had no hesitation when it came to disobeying his own superiors . Consequently, concise definitions of his character are difficult to obtain, with many different, often opposite personality traits being attributed to him.

It is likely that this complexity in personality drove many of the political decisions he made. One personality trait however that is not ambiguous is that he was a strong and decisive man, making his own decisions rather than letting other people influence him. For example, on his death Jackson commented on having only two regrets One way in which Jackson worked strongly for the people was through the struggle for the National Bank. Jackson worked hard to rescind the charter of the federal bank, believing that the bank allowed for too much control to be placed in the hands of the elites, created the potential for the government to be controlled offshore interests as well as serving only to make the rich richer and having little benefit for the poor.

In this venture, Jackson was indeed fighting for the rights of the people. However, one cannot consider that Jackson was always the ‘People’s President’ or that if he was, then it depends on which people are being referred to. Certainly, the Native Americans suffered significantly during his terms as President. One of the first actions that Jackson made as President was the creation of the Removal Act, which was passed in 1830. This act gave the legal ability for the forcible removal of Native Americans from much of their land east of the Mississippi River, relocating them to an alternative territory to the west.

Even prior to his presidency, the idea of obtaining Native American land was a focus for Jackson. As a politician, Jackson mostly represented the economic interests of the South, and consequently had a large involvement in the process of Native American removal . This act is often considered an abuse of power, as it drove the Native Americans from the land of their heritage where they had strong spiritual ties. In addition, the move went directly against promises that had been made to the Native Americans in the past .

Another important issue that occurred during the time of Jackson’s presidency was that of the Nullification Crisis. High tariffs were in place on many manufactured goods imported from Europe. This significantly raised the price of these goods, which had an overwhelming negative effect on planters in the South. Critics argued that the tariffs cost the southern farmers, while providing significant benefits to industrialists in the north. Jackson had built his early political history on supporting the southern economy and was reported to be sympathetic towards the south.

Nevertheless, he chose to instead support the laws of the Union, attempting to pass a Force Bill, which would enable him to use