Jackson's Legacy
"Andrew Jackson and his America achieved great things while committing grievous sins" (1)
Despite contradictory views of Jackson's presidency, other presidents reflected on his policies to shape their own administrations. His humble origins inspired the campaigns of “Old Tippecanoe” William Henry Harrison, and “Honest Abe” Lincoln. (2) Presidents following Jackson's campaign strategies sought to accentuate their own humble beginnings to relate to the common man. President Lincoln referenced Jackson's Nullification Proclamation in his inaugural address after South Carolina seceded from the Union. He echoed Jackson's beliefs that the duty of the president was constant: to preserve the Union. (3) President Franklin Roosevelt was also fascinated by Jackson. He made a special trip to Jackson's home, the Hermitage, to pay tribute to the deceased leader, “bowing gallantly” at the doorway. (4) He also equated Jackson's preserving of the Union to the challenges of preserving the Union during World War II, stating “in his day the threat to the Federal Union came from within...in our own day the threat to our Union and our democracy...comes from a great part of the world which surrounds us.” (5) President Theodore Roosevelt may have summed up Jackson more efficiently in his statement, “Jackson had many faults, but he was devotedly attached to the Union, and he had no thought of fear when it came to defending his country.” He did possess a powerful personality and hostile temper, but he held a strong belief in the power of the Union, which he believed to be the basis for democracy. (6)
Jackson left a profound imprint on the country by reshaping the government and American policy. (7) He worked to change the laissez-faire political system, leaving behind his greatest legacy, the Democratic Party. However, Jackson's presidency continues to divide historians. To Jackson's admirers, he represents a symbol of American accomplishment, the ultimate individualist and democrat. To those who criticize Jackson, he is portrayed as a tyrant. (8) During his time in office he only passed one major piece of legislation, which forcibly removed Native Americans from the south past the Mississippi River. He exercised the presidential veto more than any of his predecessors to prevent internal improvements and keep the size of the federal government small. He also avoided disunion during the Nullification Crisis and fought for the rights of the majority. The formation of the Democratic Party under Jackson also led to the creation of the Whig Party which sought to oppose Jackson. These two parties paved the way for the current two-party system we have today. (9) For these contrasting reasons, it is difficult to classify Jackson as either a great or poor president.
President Jackson fought with such fervor to defeat the Bank and the paper notes it was printing; ironically his face has been on the front of the 20 dollar bill since 1928. While it is policy for the Treasury Department to not reveal why certain men were chosen to be put on the notes, it may just be Jackson's familiarity to the American public that got him selected. (10) Historians have given Jackson's economic policy a mixed rating. Some, like Harvard Law Professor Mark J. Roe, thought that vetoing the bank was a dramatic mistake. He believed that the bank could have been a model on which future institutions could have been built. (11) Jackson championed the common man and often called the individuals that supported the bank elitist. This type of language was used in the veto message which became a popular historical manuscript to study. Roe stated that Jackson's language, "helped etch on the political psyche stock images of an unwanted elitist concentration of private economic power for future politics." (12) Also, Jackson's veto and censure bring up his lack of compromise with Congress. His messages and letters to Congress contained harsh language that was highly critical of some of the member's actions and beliefs. The two sides of the bank war were so dramatically divided that little economic policy was passed. When the funds were removed from the bank, the institution and its power faded out. Jackson, who discussed the idea of having another bank-like institution, did nothing to organize or plan such institution.
Other historians believe that Jackson's veto of the banking system allowed for economic progress in the nation. (13) The removal of the Bank allowed the common man to deal directly with their state bank, rather than the broad sweeping, internationally influenced national bank. Remini championed this view of Jackson. (14) Jackson's actions against the bank and other accomplishments during his presidential career created an America where the common man would be able to succeed. Recent events in the United States calls to mind the economic policies of Jackson. The 2008 banking crisis and economic downturn seemed to surprise some people. However, some historians believed that Jackson's distrust of large banking systems were warnings for the crisis that occurred. (15) President Jackson would not have trusted the large financial institutions. He would have labeled them as corrupt and detrimental to the common man.
Andrew Jackson is not the worst President of the United
States, but he surely is not the greatest either.
Determining how to judge the efficacy of Jackson's presidency is eloquently stated by Feller. "For most scholars the question is not whether Jackson acted badly, but whether he acted so badly as to exclude considering anything else he might have done as palliation or excuse." (16) The Indian Removal Act is easily Jackson's greatest failure. However, is it so bad that it negates everything else he accomplished? Again, it depends on which group of historians you consult. Whether you think Jackson's Native American policies were based on racism or a sense of paternalism does not change the fact that because of the Indian Removal Act, countless Native Americans were uprooted from their ancestral lands and forced to rebuild their lives in a foreign region. His Indian removal policy led the way for one of the greatest Native American atrocities to occur, the Trail of Tears.
Jackson's presidency had both positive and negative aspects. He tirelessly worked to restore power to the people and end the corrupt style of governance by the Washington elite. However, his refusal to discuss slavery, one of the most controversial issues of the day, and his further marginalization of Native Americans halts what could have been a great presidency. In Jackson's case, the positives of his presidency do not outweigh the negatives, and the negatives do not outweigh the positives. Andrew Jackson is not the worst President of the United States, but he surely is not the greatest either.
Jackson's presidency had both positive and negative aspects. He tirelessly worked to restore power to the people and end the corrupt style of governance by the Washington elite. However, his refusal to discuss slavery, one of the most controversial issues of the day, and his further marginalization of Native Americans halts what could have been a great presidency. In Jackson's case, the positives of his presidency do not outweigh the negatives, and the negatives do not outweigh the positives. Andrew Jackson is not the worst President of the United States, but he surely is not the greatest either.