The Age of Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was elected the seventh president of the United States between the years 1829 and 1837. Andrew Jackson was a lawyer and a land owner who became a national hero during the battle of New Orleans against the British in 1812.  Before Jackson’s election in 1829, his influence on Americas politics had began to be felt in the airwave. After his term up to early 1840s the wave that had been started by President Jackson was still living within the Americans. Jackson during his era campaigned for more democracy and greater rights for the common man. Aristocracy was not tolerable during this period

 One of the key issues that historians should focus on during the Age of Jackson is the Bank Bill. Andrew vetoed a bill to renew cooperate charter for the second bank in 1832. The Second Bank of the United States had suffered controversies throughout its life from the point of its creation in 1812. The westerners and the Southerners blamed the bank specially during lending money. They claimed the bank had favors for the northerners over them. Senator Henry Clay and Daniel Webster were the supporters of the bank during that time. They convinced the banks president, Nicholas Biddle an early petition for the renewal of the banks charter before to the Congress for they had calculated that Jackson would not dare issue a veto on the eve of his election. With this early petition to re charter the bank saw a controversy among the Congress. Jackson labeled the Bank anti- republican and unconstitutional and that it was unnecessary to authorize an institution so powerful that only benefit the privileged few. The Bank veto was significant that it inserted Jackson into legislative processes. The Bank bill was not only being vetoed for its unconstitutional acts but also for political reasons.  Though the Supreme Court defended the bank as constitutional Jackson faced them head on.

When discussing on the Age of Jackson, the signing of Indians Removal act cannot be left untouched. The Indian Removal Act which was signed in 1830 saw the forceful removal of the Creeks, Cherokee, and the southern Native Americans. Jackson observed that as the population and the settlements of the white Americans increased on the east side that of the Native American hunters diminished. Jackson feared that this gradual diminishing of the Native Americans would see them become extinct. For their own good and survival, the American Indians needed to be resettled on vacant lands west to the Mississippi river. The debate on Jackson’s proposal was contentious in Congress. Those that opposed Jackson’s plans had reason for concern. However, despite the tension in the Houses, the Indian removal act was passed in both Senate and the House. The Act allowed the president to exchange eastern Native Americans lands for the unsettled western lands and grant them full titles.  To make matters easier for the Native Americans, the federal government was to cover all the cost involved. The federal government was to reimburse the Native Americans for any structures they had built on their lands, and subsidize the new Native American settlements in the West. To make this act a success Jackson acted behind the scene for the proper congressional committee that would see a production in a bill that aligned with his desires.

Work cited

Miller Center. US Presidents. Andrew Jackson: Key Events.(2018) Accessed 11 November 2018 from, https://millercenter.org/president/andrew-jackson/key-events