Biography of Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was born March 15, 1767, in Waxhaws, South Carolina. He was the 7th U.S. President and general of the Continental Army. In my opinion, I believe Andrew Jackson was a bad president, and I will show you why.

Andrew Jackson was a bad president because he wanted the Democratic party to control Congress and the White House. As the textbook, Demo: History Alive! States, “Jackson's opponents called the practice of rewarding political supporters with government jobs the spoils system. This term came from the saying ‘to the victor belong the spoils [prizes] of war’” This is unethical as it disregards the other political party almost entirely although making up a large portion of the population at the time.

While we are on the topic of unethical, Jackson also forced thousands of Native Americans out of their homes onto what would later be called “The Trail of Tears” (Bradley 2019).

Many people might be quick to say that Jackson was a good president because he had so many followers, but that is simply not the case. Just because somebody has a lot of supporters does not necessarily mean they’re good. A lot of Jackson’ supporters were uneducated lower class citizens who perhaps did not understand all of his campaign promises besides he would “help” them. Also, many evil people had plenty of supporters. Take Adolf Hitler for example, the leader of Nazi Germany from 1939-1944.

My second, but strongest point supporting that he is a bad president is that he often listened to political allies or friends over his own advisors at times. This shows a clear disconnect from Jackson and the people. He also made a lot of outlandish decisions at times, such as the previously mentioned “Trail of Tears” (Bradley 2019). Why would a man meant to listen to the people and to ensure justice and be ethical be doing things like this and still be considered a good president?

In conclusion, Andrew Jackson did a lot of bad things in office. He tried to gain political control, he forced out thousands of innocent natives, and was reluctant to listen to advisors. All in all, I think Andrew Jackson was a pretty bad president.

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