The Similarities Between The Presidencies - Essay Example

The Similarities Between The Presidencies The Presidencies of Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson varied greatly as did the individuals themselves, however there were just as many similarities among the Jeffersonian and Jacksonian eras as there were differences. The purpose of this essay is to examine these historical and administrative similarities in detail. Both Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson served the United States in multiple ways and are both well known for the many capacities in which they served. Thomas Jefferson served as Secretary of State under the first president, George Washington. He was also governor of Virginia and the U.S. Minister to France. He later became Vice President under President John Adams and finally became President of the United States himself serving from 1801 to 1809. Among his accomplishments is the writing of the Declaration of American Independence and the founding of the University of Virginia. Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States, was skilled in many different areas and he was extremely well educated. He was an in fact an architect, an author, an inventor, an archeologist, a lawyer and a paleontologist. He was also a statesman and a horticulturist. Aside from having been President of the United States and a key figure in the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Declaration of Independence is perhaps what Thomas Jefferson is most famous for, “ Based upon the same natural rights theory contained in A Summary View, to which it bears a strong resemblance, the Declaration of Independence made Jefferson internationally famous”(Gavan 701). Andrew Jackson, seventh President of the United States, served as President from 1829 to 1837: “Jackson is perhaps best known for his appeal to the common, working man, Less educated and less schooled in government than many of his political opponents, Jackson had leaped to national fame in the War of 1812 as the hero of the Battle of New Orleans and had captured the imagination and dedicated loyalty of a vast segment of the American population” (Brown 155). Andrew Jackson is best known for challenging the powers of the federal government and reshaping democracy as we know it, “In an age of intense nationalism and increasing nationalization of social and cultural life, Jacksonian democracy paradoxically resulted in a shift of power from the federal government to the states”(Kelly 200). Andrew Jackson and Thomas Jefferson were both countrymen, having served the United States in many ways prior to serving as Presidents. Andrew Jackson was a war hero, and served as a General during the War of 1812. He is noted for his victory at the Battle of New Orleans. Among Jefferson’s notable achievements, he served as Vice-President and Secretary of State prior to serving as President of the United States. He is one of only a few of the ex United States Presidents who served in a multitude of high, government positions before becoming President. Jackson and Jefferson were also both responsible for many of the policies and ideas on which the democratic and republican parties of today are built upon. Some of these policies include the separation of church and state, freedom of the press and freedom of speech. Jackson was known as a democrat while Jefferson was known as a republican. The two, however, shared similar views and took similar actions in specific areas of politics, as will be discussed. Both Jackson and Jefferson were supporters of the common or “working” class man. Jackson was in fact a lawyer and a soldier, but he was also a farmer and was able to sympathize with the difficulties trials of the working class farmer. Jefferson was however an aristocrat, but rallied behind the working class man almost as much as Jackson. It was Jackson however, who was known as the people’s President. The fact that Jackson was a working class man himself made him even more appealing to that very class of individuals, and ultimately the majority. Both Jefferson and Jackson held the same criteria for prospective individuals seeking public office positions. In addition, Jefferson and Jackson granted positions of public office to individuals regardless of whether or not the individual was wealthy. Specifically, the only criteria one had to meet to serve in public office positions was to be intelligent and capable of fulfilling the duties of public service which applied to that specific job in question. Men seeking public office positions however, had to be white according to both Jefferson and Jackson. Of course, this applied to men alone as women were not viewed as worthy of the right to vote, at that time. The positions in public office were essentially only available to white men. As far as minority issues, both Jefferson and Jackson were patriarchal in that they did not feel that women should have the right to vote or to serve in public office positions. Jefferson and Jackson both felt that a woman’s place was in the home and that her only purpose was to marry and bare children. Neither Jackson nor Jefferson felt that women should even discuss matters of politics or be included in such discussion. In this way, both Jefferson and Jackson were quite different from liberal democrats or even most republicans of today. Jackson and Jefferson were also both party to a great deal of Native American oppression. Interestingly, they both spoke out to some degree for the rights of blacks or of men being born free, but much of their actions in their personal and professional lives contradicted these types of statements entirely. It was Jackson in fact, who drove countless Native Americans from Georgia to Oklahoma. Jefferson is responsible for personally having many slaves of his own and it is alleged that he fathered several illegitimate children with some of his female slaves. Jefferson’s notion or assumption of Native Americans was that they were “savages” and were not fit to coexist with white men. Although Jefferson spoke publicly about men being born free, he was not guiltless of slaveholding himself. After the death of his father, he inherited dozens of slaves which he clearly had no intentions of freeing. Andrew Jackson, like Thomas Jefferson, also was guilty of owning quite a few slaves. It is very clear in examining both administrations, that the rights of the “common man” were limited to white men and did not include or provide for the rights of blacks, Native Americans or other ethnic groups. These rights also did not apply to women. Jackson and Jefferson are both responsible for the taking and robbing of land from Native Americans. This land was then sold at exponentially higher prices than what it was purchased for, to white men. It was Jefferson in 1803, who sought more land for white men to grow crops on, in eastern portions of the country. This land having been owned by Native Americans was sold to white men and their families, after the Louisiana Purchase took place. Land which was acquired through the Louisiana Purchase was offered to Native Americans in exchange for their home-land. In truth, the Native Americans were in fact offered a portion of the land acquired in the Louisiana Purchase, but at the expense of being uprooted from their home-land in the eastern part of the country, and relocated to parts of Louisiana. Sadly, the Native Americans were deceptively conned into selling their land for mere pennies and ultimately, they were in no way appropriately compensated for the land which they were forced to give up. This same land was then sold for hundreds of dollars on the dollar, most likely to white families, thus affording a sizable profit to the white men who originally obtained it from Native Americans. Due to rapidly growing demand for American commodities such as grain, more land was required for such a high output. This demand is the reason that land was required and thus taken from Native American inhabitants, “European demand for grain and other commodities produced by American farmers expanded dramatically, while West Indian demand continued strong. The resulting opportunity for ordinary people to prosper by producing for the Atlantic market was not viewed apprehensively by Jefferson and other Virginia nationalists” (Banning 5). As the demand for American exports grew, so did the demand for land in order to grow such exports. This land was mostly acquired from Native Americans. Jackson was similarly unfriendly towards Native Americans as he supported fully the Indian Removal Act of 1830. This essentially robbed Cherokee people of their rightful land. Upon having this land stolen from them, the Cherokee Nation desperately appealed to the Supreme Court. The decision of the court was in favor of the Cherokee as it claimed that Georgia had no right to take the Cherokee’s land from them. Andrew Jackson was president at this time. He chose however to ignore this ruling and what followed was the “Trail of Tears”. The “Trail of Tears” is the forced migration of about 15,000 Cherokee people to an area west of the Mississippi River. During this long march, nearly 4,000 Cherokee Indians died due to illness and starvation. It was Jackson who defied the Supreme Court ruling and ordered the U.S army to actively force the Cherokee people from their homes and land, to a new and more convenient location which allowed more land for export growth. Another issue pertinent to both the Jefferson and Jackson administration was the issue of the “National Bank”. In 1791, Jefferson said: To preserve our independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. If we run into such debts, we (will then) be taxed in our meat and our drink, in our necessities and in our comforts, in our labor and in our amusements. If we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people under the pretense of caring for them, they (will) be happy. (Mayer, 96) Both Jefferson and Jackson were strongly opposed to the “National Bank” in place at the time, “The National Bank began to hold to much power in the minds of most individuals, particularly Andrew Jackson, People began to see how much power the Bank really had, and the voter backlash led to the election of Andrew Jackson as President in 1828. His slogan was: ‘Let the people rule’ (Somit 190). It was Jackson who in fact abolished the bank in 1832: Jackson did veto the Charter, and abolished the Bank in 1832. He ordered the Secretary of the Treasury to remove all Government deposits from U.S. Banks and deposit them in state banks. On January 8, 1835, Jackson paid off the final installment on our national debt and it was the only time in history that our national debt was reduced to zero and we were able to accumulate a surplus, $35 million of which was distributed to the States. Nicholas P. Trist, the President's personal secretary, said: "This is the crowning glory of A.J.'s life and the most important service he has ever rendered his country." The Boston Post compared it to Christ throwing the money-changers out of the Temple (Mayer, 289) Jackson was adamant about the idea of individuals controlling their own hard earned money instead of a large organization like the National Bank controlling it. Thomas Jefferson said of the National Bank: If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation, and then by deflation, the banks and the corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their father's conquered ... I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies ... The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the Government, to whom it properly belongs.(Mayer, 191) There was widespread opinion that the National Bank was unconstitutional and corrupt, “Although the constitutionality of the ban seemed to have been long since settled so that even its opponents did not object to it as unconstitutional in the congressional debate of 1832, Jackson reopened the question by noting the constitutionality, especially in the states”(Kelly 206). It was also during the presidency of Jackson that the country knew its only period of freedom from national debt. This was not just a case of a balance of zero, but Jackson had managed to create millions of dollars in national revenue, to be evenly distributed among the states. Similarly, Jefferson being opposed to the National Bank, was an advocate of “state” banks. Both Jackson and Jefferson saw the National Bank as ultimately unconstitutional and inevitably corrupt. Individuals who held power at the bank would also have control over federal government issues which made for a conflict of interest. It was the goal of both Jackson and Jefferson to disallow these high powered bankers from controlling not only the money of the people but the interests of the country. During Jefferson’s time in office, he was able to reduce taxes as well as reduce the military budget. Like Jackson, he also worked toward paying off the national debt, although Jackson was more successful at doing so. Both of these men had a positive affect on the economy while serving in office. Jefferson was known for his frugalness as well as his simple approach to monetary matters. Jackson and Jefferson were both heavily in favor of the rights of the states individually, unless pertaining to the executive branch of the government. Just as they were opposed to a National Bank versus state banks, both Jefferson and Jackson felt that states should experience a certain amount of freedom from the federal government. Both Jefferson and Jackson were largely in favor of “self” government as well as the interests of the common man (this pertained to white men only). It was in fact, Thomas Jefferson who had quite a bit of influence in the development of the Bill of Rights. This bill established freedom of religion, freedom of the press and other rights which applied to the common man and individual freedoms. It was Thomas Jefferson who drafted the Kentucky Resolutions, for the soul purpose of limiting the powers of the federal government over state affairs. This was in rebuttal to the Sedition Act which essentially made it illegal to publish writings which were inflammatory towards the federal government. Jefferson felt that the Sedition Act was truly a direct contradiction to the First Amendment which allowed fro freedom of Speech. It was Jefferson’s Kentucky Resolutions which placed veto power in the hands of the states so that states could decide not to follow an act if that act is unconstitutional. The Kentucky Resolutions restricted the powers of the federal government to the guidelines of the Constitution. Jackson’s views on what powers the federal government had over the different states was not dissimilar from the views of Jefferson. It was in Jackson’s inaugural speech in which he publicly made his views on the government’s jurisdiction clear, “The Federal Constitution must be obeyed, states rights preserved, our national debt must be paid, direct taxes and loans avoided, and the Federal Union preserved. These are the objects I have in view, and regardless of all consequences, will carry into effect." (Bernstein 115). Andrew Jackson was just as much an advocate for the individual rights of the common man as Thomas Jefferson. Jackson was the first president to actually be selected by the people. He was not an aristocrat from a wealthy family like presidents before him. His time in office placed more power in the hands of the common, working man and removed some of the power from the wealthy as well as from the National Bank. Andrew Jackson ushered in a new kind of government in that he challenged the power of the federal government and stood for the rights and powers of individual states, “The election of Andrew Jackson as a states’-rights candidate in 1828 effected a political realignment which established the basic direction of constitutional change for the next generation” (Kelly, 200). Thomas Jefferson was equally motivated to preserve state sovereignty as illustrated by his drafting of the Kentucky Resolutions. In the issues of foreign affairs, Jefferson was not successful despite the fact that his second term in office was heavily focused on such matters. It was during this time that the Chesapeake affair of 1807 took place, which was merely a repeated violation of American Sovereignty. During Jackson’s time in office, there was very little conflict between the U.S and other countries. The only foreign affairs issues that Jackson dealt with was that of the Native Americans. Just as Jefferson lacked in dealing with foreign affairs issues, Jackson was equally as incapable in regards to his dealings with Native Americans. He was responsible for a great deal of suffering endured by the Native Americans, such as the Trail of Tears. Though the administrations of both Jackson and Jefferson advanced and developed the type of government that is familiar to America today, these administrations were equally oppressive to minority groups. It can be said that their influence over the issue of limited jurisdiction of the federal government was a positive step in politics. It can also be said, however, that these two presidents only delayed the advancement of minority groups as well as women’s rights. Though Jackson was a democrat and Jefferson a republican, both were avid about state freedoms from the federal government. They were also both fervent about the rights of the working class man. A dark side to both of the presidencies of Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson, is that they were very much an enemy to the Native Americans. Historically speaking, Andrew Jackson is single handedly responsible for a virtual genocide in the Trail of Tears. Thomas Jefferson played a large part in the Louisiana Purchase and was responsible for essentially robbing countless Native Americans of their land. It can certainly be said that Thomas Jefferson had a great deal to do with reshaping the presidency in general but ultimately it is Andrew Jackson who fathered democracy as we know it today. Despite his poor relations with and treatment of Native Americans, his service in office had a certain and positive effect on America both during his time and in the present. It was upon Jefferson’s principles that Jackson based many of his principles and ideas. Thomas Jefferson led the way for much of Andrew Jackson’s policies and procedures. Both Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson oriented their administrations around the idea of a decentralized, agrarian country. Works Cited: Banning, Lance. “Jefferson Ideology Revisited: Liberal and Classical Ideas in the New American Republic,” The William and Mary Quarterly, Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, 1986. Bernstein, Marver H. “The Jacksonians: A Study of Administrative History.” Public Administration Review, vol. 12, no. 2 (Spring, 1952) 113-119. Brown, Ralph. “Review: The Jacksonians: A Study of Administrative History: 1829-1861.” Annals of American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 299, Air Power and National Security (May, 1955) pp. 155-156. Gavan, Thomas P. “Review: The Jeffersonians: A Study of Administrative History 1801-1829.” Mississippi Valley Historical Review, vol. 38, no. 4 (March 1952) pp 701-702. Katz, Claudio J. “Thomas Jefferson’s Liberal Anticapitalism.” American Journal of Political Science, vol. 47, no. 1 (January, 2003) pp 1-17. Kelly, Alfred H., Harbison, Winfred A., Belz, Herman. The American Constitution: Its Origins and Development-Seventh Edition, W.W Norton and Company, New York, 1991. Mayer, David. The Constitutional Thought of Thomas Jefferson, University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville, 1994. Pessen, Edward. “We Are All Jacksonians, We Are All Jeffersonians Or a Pox on Stultifying Periodizations.” Journal of the Early early Republic, vol. 1, no. 1 ((Spring, 1981) pp. 1-26. Phillips, Kim T. “The Pennsylvania Origins of the Jackson Movement.” Political Science Quarterly, vol. 91, no. 3 (Autumn, 1976) pp. 489-508. Rahe, Paul A. “Thomas Jefferson’s Machiavellian Political Science.” The Review of Politics, vol. 57, no. 3 (Summer, 1956) pp. 449-484. Somit, Albert. “Andrew Jackson as Administrator.” Public Administration Review. 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