Beepul Bharti 3/30/14

AP US History I DBQ Essay

Andrew Jackson was a very unique president. From his childhood to his very well-

known time of presidency, Jackson had his impressive moments and his substandard

moments. However, when talking about Jackson, the argument emerges if he is worthy to

be labeled a top 10 president. Were the actions he committed in the past enough for him to

be placed into an elite group of distinguished leaders of this country? Jackson was known

as the common man. That alias brought him substantial appeal from the average citizens

in America at that time. He was also the only president to pay off the national debt, which

is an incredible feat. However, he was also known for being very aggressive and as a man

who abused his power as president. Most of all, Andrew Jackson is most known for the

infamous Trail of Tears which removed over 100,000 Indians from their homeland, in

which 2500-6000 died. Jackson was a man of mass contradiction, which leads me to state

that Andrew Jackson is not a top 10 president.

From the beginning, everyone knew that Andrew Jackson was a hard headed and

aggressive president. Even before becoming president, he showed times of great

stubbornness and aggressive nature. In document 10, as a general, Jackson was sent to

patrol the border of Florida in case of raids from the Seminole Indians. Of course, being

who he is, without permission, Jackson went on his own and burned Seminole villages.

This action shows his aggressive nature and also how he does not think much before

making decisions. This quality is not something a top 10 president should have. In

document 1 and 7 they label him Old Hickory which means he always fought and never
gave up. Yes, I agree that is good quality, but as President, you need to be more wise and

think before resorting to violence. They need to logical and think out all of their decisions.

Moving on, Jackson was known to aggressive and that is very evident in document 4 and 5.

In 4, the South Carolinians were enraged by the tariff, which brought them great harm

economically. As a result, they threatened to nullify. Now you would think that as

President that this needs to be fixed in a peaceful manner to avoid battle. However, what

does Jackson do, he threatens warfare with the south quoting, I will hang the first man of

them I get my hands on to the first tree I can find (Document 4). A top 10 president is

one who tries to preserve his country peacefully, not the one to instigate warfare with his

own citizens. This brought him great opposition because as President, you need to be able

to please everyone, and not favor just the north in this situation. Also, in document 5,

Jackson aggressive nature is again displayed, when he tells the Indians that if you do not

move peacefully, he will forcefully remove them. This shows how he had no moral virtues

and that if something did not work for him, he would depend on battle and war, to get what

he wants. As a top 10 president, war is something that needs to be avoided at all costs

which is something Jackson didnt believe in.

Voltaire said, With great power comes great responsibility. This can be applied in

any position of authority great or small. Andrew Jackson had great power as being

President of the US. It comes to my attention though, that in most cases he seemed to

abuse his power and rule like a monarch. He said he was president of the common man,

however he ruled like a king. In document 6a, it shows Jackson wearing a crown dressed

like a king. In my opinion, a top 10 president, cannot be a man of mass contradictions.

Jackson is a perfect example of contradiction, he says hes the president of the common
man, but abuses his power and lives like a monarch. His abuse of power is evident in his

presidency, when the spoils system is put into place. In document 3, it tells us that Jackson

fires over 2000 government workers and replaces them with his own supports, the

common man. This to me is a huge abuse of power. Jackson replaces well educated

officials who try to do whats best for the country, with people who helped him become

President. A top 10 President does whats best for his country, and removing educated

government officials is not the right move because in exchange you bring in uneducated, ill-

advised citizens. How can this be whats best for the country? This is an abuse of power

just for the benefit of Jacksons supporters. Jackson was also a President known to be the

first to veto more acts of Congress than all 6 previous Presidents combined. Jackson

abused his power to veto all acts just because he did not like them. Not once, did it occur to

him that I need to do whats best for the country even if I am not a strong supporter of it. In

document 3 it tells us he vetoes more acts than all 6 previous Presidents, and in document

6a the picture shows him holding a car saying VETO. Jackson cannot be labeled a top ten

president if he abused his power as President and limits the power of congress and does

not help his country when possible.

When the name Andrew Jackson is brought up, I can guarantee that 90% of people

will first think of The Trail of Tears. The Trail of Tears was the removal of 100,000 Indians

from their homeland. In document 8, it gives a description of the Indian Removal Acts and

the Trail of Tears. During the Trail of Tears, thousands of Indians died on the forced

marches out of their homelands. Jackson is held responsible for this infamous march. As a

top 10 President, you need have moral virtues. Jackson severely lacked these virtues,

because all he cared about was land in exchange for the death of thousands of Indians. This
violent action labels him as a terrible President, because he did not care at all about the

culture of the Native Americans. At least, he could have come to resolution with the

Indians, but no. The Trail of Tears can be labeled as a form of ethnic cleansing. Ethnic

cleansing is the forced removal of religious groups from a certain territory. An example of

this can be the Holocaust, which was led by Hitler. As a President, I am sure you do not

want to be placed in the same group as Hitler. This event in history can be labeled as one of

the worst in American history, as it ruins the reputation of America. Who was the main

person involved in this? Andrew Jackson was the man to blame he was one of the few

supporters of the Indian Removal Act. A top 10 president would be Lincoln, who freed the

slaves. Jackson was the exact opposite, he killed Native Americans instead. This leads me

to say he cannot be listed in the top ten, as the Trail of Tears displays how Jackson had no

moral virtues and always resorted to violence as he threatened the Indians, which was

evident in document 5. A man who kills a well-known religious group cannot be labeled a

top 10 President as it simply displays he has no heart and always resorts to violence.

President Andrew Jackson was definitely a President who brought change to the

country. He definitely had his good moments where he was able to pay off the National

Debt and also bring great economic success to the north with the Tariff of 1828. However,

Jackson also had moments where he did not live up to his reputation. Jackson, in many

cases, resorted to violence and in some cases almost harmed his own citizens. Jackson was

a man of contradiction as well, where he said to be one thing but turned out to be another.

Most of all, Andrew Jackson is most remembered for the Trail of Tears. This shows how he

had no moral virtues and solely did things the way he wanted to even though most of the
time they werent right. The following points lead me to firmly state that Andrew Jackson

is not worthy to be labeled in the elite group of the prestigious top 10 presidents.

Outside Sources:

http://www.shmoop.com/jackson-era/

http://www.pbs.org/kcet/andrewjackson/edu/domesticpolicy.html

http://civilliberty.about.com/od/historyprofiles/tp/Worst-Presidents-Ever.htm