The face of the twenty dollar bill is of one of the most controversial presidents in United States history. Andrew Jackson became the seventh president of the United States in the year 1829 and served until the year 1837. Referred to as “Old Hickory” due to his prominence in the War of 1812, Jackson championed the common man in America during his political campaign. Jackson was accused of being a murderer, which given his habit of dueling people like the best shot in Tennessee or killing Indians, he was. Known as a stubborn, argumentative, aggressive man translated into his policies as a president. The personality traits of Old Hickory are definitely portrayed in his policies of the Nullification Crisis of 1832, the Indian Removal Act, and the Second Bank of the United States.
The nullification crisis root problem started when the Tariff of 1828, otherwise known as the Tariff of Abominations, was passed and put into effect. Ironically, President Jackson supported this bill in spite of the fact that it benefited manufacturers rather than the common man that his campaign was based around. The tariff raised prices on imported goods, wool, and steel that heavily affected and enraged South Carolina, as it had fully invested in an economy of slave labor and none into industrialization. Unlike the Northern states who could avoid the price rise by producing necessary materials such as clothes, South Carolina was forced to buy at high prices. South Carolina battled this by threatening to nullify the bill. Jackson then signed the Tariff of 1832, which aimed to compromise the differing opinions. South Carolina was not satisfied with the compromise and believed both tariffs to be unconstitutional, which subsequently ended in nullification of the tariff. To Andrew Jackson, nullification meant insurrection and war. As Jackson was a man with aggressive tendencies, the federal government and South Carolina naturally had high tensions. Old Hickory understood that the fate of the union was beginning to get out of hand and that no matter the cost, the union must be preserved. Though Jackson supported the idea of states rights, his tempered nature led him to believe the war would be inevitable if South Carolina were to continue. Jackson mentions, “On your unhappy State will inevitably fall all the evils of the conflict you force upon the Government of your country.” Hickory thought that the challenge of South Carolina’s rights was so severe that he asked the permission of Congress to enact the bill that would authorize him to use the force of the Army or Navy to collect taxes. Proof that his aggressive nature translated into his presidency, Jackson would use any sort of force to protect the interest of the country. Fortunately, revisions were made to the tariff to compromise the bill even further, avoiding any possible armed confrontation. This is one of the first instances of sectionalism between the North and South, albeit, only South Carolina sought nullification, the country is beginning to oppose one another’s policies. This act of confrontation turned into a positive for President Jackson, as the nation believed the preservation of the union was beneficiary. Jackson’s historically hostile nature is shown in the midst of the Nullification Crisis with the removal of Indians.
Much of Jackson’s historical background of killing Indians directly correlates with his genocide of Native Americans. Andrew Jackson gained prominence during the war of 1812 as the General of the United States Army. Jackson had seen first-hand accounts of the brutal nature of the Native American people. Jackson states, “ My heart bleeds within me at hearing of the wanton massacre of our women and children by a party of Creeks since I left home.” Clearly, President Jackson had a distaste for Indian culture from the beginning of his war career. Battles occurred between Jackson and Indian tribes. He continued his bellicose ways, fighting against the Seminoles in Florida in 1819. Old Hickory became so popular from his annihilation of Indians that he eventually becomes President. During his administration, he passes the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The law provided funds to relocate the prominent Indian tribes in the South. In response, the Indians sued the government and the Supreme Court ruled that the laws enacted violated a prior treaty with the Native Americans and that they were entitled to their land. Jackson believed the decision of the supreme court had felt stillborn. Old Hickory intimidates the Supreme Court to enforce the rule and used his aggressive narrative to force the Indians on the path of what is known as the Trail of Tears. While the real Trail of Tears occurs under the next presidency in the winter of 1838-1839, President Jackson is the perpetrator of this genocide of a quarter of the Indian population dies. The root of oppression on this race of people is due to Andrew Jackson’s view on white superiority.
Andrew Jackson believed that Indians were inferior to the white man during his life and administration. Jackson was physically and emotionally against Indians his entire life. To Andrew Jackson, they were rivals that were trying to settle in the same place. Obviously, through living in the pain and suffering of a battle against a group of people will cause distrust and dislike. Jackson fought for his life against these people and made a name for himself that way. During the War of 1812, Andrew Jackson refers to the Indians as ruthless savages. The Indians had cases of attacking English settlers, and Jackson did not like that. Observing the way they lived and battled was foreign to Jackson and he responded by stating that they are an inferior people. His narrative continues to his presidency when he brings forth the Removal Act. Jackson states, “It will separate the Indians from immediate contact with settlements of whites; free them from the power of the States; enable them to pursue happiness in their own way and under their own, under the protection of the Government and through the influence of good counsels, to cast off their savage habits and become an interesting, civilized, and Christian community.” He wanted to segregate them because he believed that they would slow the progress of the white community because they are to savage of a people. Jackson believes that the white folk has Christian values that make them good people, whereas the Indians are barbaric. Jackson did not think pushing them away would cause them to eventually assimilate, he wanted them gone altogether. Jackson promised to pay for their new settlement, but the Indians method of travel was gruesome. They were treated less than humans because they did not have the same values and traditions of the white man. President Andrew Jackson’s lack of sense with Indians translates to his lack of sense in the Second Bank of the United States.
Andrew Jackson made questionable calls regarding his policy on the Second National Bank. Old Hickory believed that the bank would use its money and power to oppose him during his reelection campaign, so he vetoed that bill. He stated that “the present Bank is dangerous to America.” Continuing his power hungry ways, Jackson believed that a National Bank was against democracy. Jackson would gain prominence from the poor folk in America regarding his stance on banks. Jackson continued to abuse the power of an executive veto, using it more than any of his predecessors. He turned the veto in into a power of policy. After the Second U.S Bank expired in 1836, Jackson ordered federal money to be sent locally into banks called “pet banks”. The use of these pet banks was to reward his political supporters. These “pet banks” began to print copious amounts of money, with banknotes in circulation rising from 10 million dollars to 149 million dollars. With such an increase of money printed, caused the country to face mass inflation. So, as inflation was running rampant and widespread land speculation, eventually the Panic of 1837 came to fruition. The depression ran until 1843. Jackson’s bank plan is one of the most catastrophic fiscal policies in American history.
The administration of Andrew Jackson has proved to be one of the most contentious in United States history. Jackson lived a very harsh and brutal life that shows in his presidency. The seventh President of the United States set precedence for the rest of American politics. Jackson was the first president to really give power to the executive branch and argue that the president is the most important official in the country. Ironically, though he was the first elected in a democratic process, he handled the executive branch in such an undemocratic, forceful way. Old Hickory will be heavily criticized, good and bad, for his approaches on the Nullification Crisis, the removal of Indians, and the banking system of the United States.