Changes in American Politics During Andrew Jackson's Presidency

On March 4th, 1829, Andrew Jackson was elected the 7th president of the United States. Jackson rose to his military heroism and to the fact that he was a man who started his life from scratch to reach the top. After being elected to power, President Jackson believed that all white men had a dire need to extend the right to vote. This move by Andrew Jackson was meant to remove the image that a classist society was the United States. Skin color became the determinant instead of using wealth as the set parameter to determine whether a man could vote. Jackson, however, failed to recognize the fact that the United States was not just made up of white men. He did not extend suffrage rights to women and African Americans who, during his presidency, were also part of American society. The fact that he carried on the idea of the Manifest Fate was the second national development that took place during the presidency of Andrew Jackson. Under President Andrew Jackson, the United States continued to expand westwards. Native Americans were among the populations that were affected by this expansion. In 1830, the Indian Removal Act was passed and President Andrew Jackson emphasized this. This Act was intended to force all the tribes of Native Americans residing in the country west of the Mississippi. This legislation required Native Americans to collaborate during this eviction with the federal government. President Andrew Jackson argued that Native Americans would move to areas east of the Mississippi but would be protected during their migration by the federal government, which would provide federal troops to ensure that the migrating Indian tribes were safe. However, the fact remains that as the various tribes continued to be displaced from the areas that were to the west of the Mississippi, thousands of Native Americans continued to die. In fact, the continued expansion of the United States caused the Native Americans to be confined in reserves while the expansion operations were carried out by some of the Native Indian tribes who were completely killed or died due to diseases subjected to them by the troops. The third significant political development that took place during the presidency of Andrew Jackson is the fact that all the political parties that existed when he was elected to office were disbanded and he put a new party in their place, which he named the Democratic Party (Ward, 31). This party, even to date, still exists within the United States. In order to offer substantial opposition to the National Republican Party, which was at that time the only formidable party, Andrew Jackson created the Democratic Party. President Andrew Jackson can therefore be credited for being the Democratic Party's pioneer in the United States. Andrew Jackson's formation of the Democratic Party helped him clinch the presidential seat for the second term by unifying all the small parties that had been disbanded to form a strong Democratic Party. The other significant national development that took place during the presidency of Andrew Jackson is that Jackson took advantage of presidential powers in Congress to veto bills. The reason why President Andrew Jackson chose to veto most of Congress' bills is the fact that representatives belonging to the National Republican party occupied most of Congress. The other significant national development that took place during the presidency of Andrew Jackson is that Jackson took advantage of presidential powers in Congress to veto bills. The reason why President Andrew Jackson chose to veto most of Congress' bills is the fact that representatives belonging to the National Republican party occupied most of Congress. It was therefore difficult for any of the bills from Andrew Jackson to make it through the floor of the house. This encouraged President Andrew Jackson to come up with what he called the System of Spoils. Critics have argued that President Andrew Jackson used the Spoils System to ensure that top jobs in the country, as well as political positions in government, are secured by most of his friends. President Andrew Jackson argued under the Spoils system that there should be a system where officials should undergo a form of rotation in federal offices (Kennedy, 185). This rotational system benefited President Andrew Jackson in that he was able to put most of the people in federal offices who were loyal to him. President Andrew Jackson justified the Spoils scheme by arguing that it was not possible to allow federal officials who were ineffective to be in their positions for a long time. According to him, the newly introduced Spoils System meant that government services would be more effective at the federal level. President Andrew Jackson justified the Spoils scheme by arguing that it was not possible to allow federal officials who were ineffective to be in their positions for a long time. According to him, the newly introduced Spoils System meant that government services would be more effective at the federal level. The fact that he was able to pay the US national debt fully in 1835 is one of the major economic national developments that occurred during Andrew Jackson's presidency. This made President Andrew Jackson the first president in the whole history of the United States to be able to repay the national debt entirely. The US national debt reached an all-time low of $ 33733.055 in 1835 (Remini, 180). Scholars argue that this is the lowest value ever reached by the US national debt since the first US fiscal budget in 1791 was created. It is important to note, however, that the economic achievement of Andrew Jackson was short-lived in that between 1837 and 1845 the United States faced a huge economic recession, meaning that Martin Van Buren assumed the presidency of the United States while the country was in the midst of an economic turmoil. President Andrew Jackson is also known for his abolition of the Charter of the Federal Bank. President Andrew Jackson argued that it was necessary to abolish the federal bank because it created a situation where all federal financial wealth was concentrated in one place that, due to the lack of diverse financial institutions, exposed the country to financial risk. Andrew Jackson also argued that, in terms of currency exchange, the Federal Bank made the United States vulnerable to foreign market forces. Moreover, Jackson felt that the rich people in society could continue to increase their wealth by having a single federal institution that concentrated the financial wealth of the country in one place, while the poor people would continue to remain poor due to the lack of diverse financial sources that could allow a power man to establish himself. Andrew Jackson also felt that the legislature was focused on the idea of a federal bank. Andrew Jackson clearly benefited from presidential veto powers to preserve the executive's power and to prevent a strong legislature from being created. Furthermore, it was during the presidency of Andrew Jackson that the 1834 Coinage Act was passed. This Act maintained that the main trading coinage was to be gold and silver. In relation to gold, the impact of this Act was that it reduced the value of silver. This caused certain losses for those individuals who were in possession of silver. However, the overall effect of many individuals choosing to change their gold to minted money resulted in an increased decrease in silver in transactions. In conclusion, the presidency of Andrew Jackson coincided with important changes in American politics, some of which benefited Jackson. Increased suffrage rights for white men, the Indian Removal Act of 1830, the creation of the Democratic Party is just some of the national developments that took place in the 1830s.