- Is Andrew Jackson a hero or villain? Gives examples or reasoning’s to support your answer.
In my opinion I would label Andrew Jackson as a villain. First and foremost, after the battle of New Orleans, President Jackson was viewed by the majority of Americans as a “hero”. This didn’t last long however. The reason I see him as a villain is because he often acted as a king instead of President. President Jackson sought to eliminate the US bank, and eventually contributed to its down fall decades later. Jackson also sought political policy that would make the role of Presidency more powerful than congress and the Supreme Court. This can be seen in Worcester V Georgia.
- In what way was the federal government supportive of settlers moving west? What benefit, if any, did it provide for the states? Examine the motives of settlers who moved west toward the Mississippi River. Is it significant that slaves were used to develop part of the territory?
The biggest thing the Federal government did during this time period was establish the Home Stead Act. This allowed citizens to move out west and buy land for very, very cheap. This states benefited from this movement economically due to the Transcontinental Railroad being bit, allowing the movement of products a good to move fast via train, as opposed to wagon. All of these things created motivation for citizens to move west. The government provided jobs for the railroad, cheap land, and new form of transportation. Slaves were very included in the development of this time period, working long hours on crops, and working for little to nothing on the railroads.
- The Constitution can be described as a set of compromises. Identify the issues on which delegates compromised and explain their motivations.
In regards to the compromise in dealing with the constitution, slavery was amongst the most important compromises delegates had to go through. It was not something that happened over night either. It was first compromised by delegates with the implementation of the 3/5 slave laws, but then eventually evolved into the abolishment of slavery. The motivation was to provide equal human rights, while trying to gain government funds via taxing new citizens.
- Explain anti-Federalist objections to ratification of the Constitution and note how they were ultimately addressed.
Naturally, the anti-federalist leaned more towards the ideals of Thomas Jefferson. Otherwise known as the Republican Party back then, but the initial Democratic Party today. Most anti-federalist object the constitution because they believed it gave too much power to the National Government.
5) Analyze and give examples of ways in which foreign relations influenced domestic politics.
The importing and exporting of goods and services between the US, which at the time was isolated from the rest of world, and all other countries willing to trade.
- Preamble: Signers of the Declaration of Independence had referred to themselves as “We, the representatives of the United States of America . . .,” whereas the Constitution starts off “We the people of the United States.” Come up with a theory to explain this important distinction? Connect the phrase “We the people and the theories of John Locke?
The reason there is such a distinction between the phrases is because one is referring to the individual who get elected to represent the citizens, and the other is directly talking to/about the citizens. John Locke used this as a way to create separation between government and citizenship.
7) Evaluate the ideas of the framers of the Constitution regarding the following: Consider whether the framers might have been too vague or whether they might have failed to anticipate future problems.
States’ rights:
The very sad thing about states’ rights in the mind of the framers, who created this nation. Is the fact that they did not anticipate such a powerful Federal government that we see in today’s world. When the Constitution was originally constructed, the State governments had A LOT more power than they do nowadays.
Slavery:
A very confusing part about the frame work for the constitution is the individuals who created it, did not specify a lot of specific details. For instance, when the founding fathers created this piece of legal doctrine, they made generalized statements such as “all men are created equally”, yet slavery was still a VERY prominent part of their lives. This created much sought after disputes in the coming centuries in regards to civil rights.
Individual rights:
Again, with this subject, the founding fathers were not specific enough when creating the constitution. Only men were mentioned in this piece of legal doctrine. No such things were said about children or women, or the rights the possessed. This again, creating fair grounds for debate in the coming centuries when woman’s rights and youth rights became more popular.
Equality:
You must realize that the men who wrote the constitution also owned slaves, had several wives, and possessed very high end services such as maids. When they wrote this document, they were prominently speaking for the “white man” if you will, in America. Woman, children, and minorities were yet to be seen as full members of society.
