Was Andrew Jackson a Supporter of the Common Man?
Introduction
Jackson stepped into the white house craving for revenge against the American Indians which in his own words he termed it as a reform and an ambition of taking the land the Indians claimed in the east of Mississippi River and reshuffle them onto the other side. Jackson mistreated those who opposed him and misused his power to for his own benefit through corrupt deals and made false promises to his people. The northeastern section of U.S.A had a very small number of Indians but the southwest was the popular Indian homeland some of the groups included the Choctaws creeks Cherokees Chickasaws .Jackson had for a long time advocated for the fair treatment of the Indians without any form of discrimination though Jackson did not hate the Indians he acknowledged that their civilization was inferior when compared to that of the white people and in order for them to adapt perfectly they had to abandon all their tribal activities. Earlier on he had secured a job for himself as an Indian negotiator but he applied bribery and threats to acquire land illegally by treating the existing owners as tenants at will and government wards rather than independent sovereign entities. The actual conflict between the state authority and tribe begun almost immediately after Jackson assumed the office of the president where the Cherokee state had developed boundaries and a constitutional government but the National Council had argued that it would not discuss with the Indians any issues involving territories. But the community claimed sovereign authority over its land stated in one of its treaties with the federal government states such as Alabama Georgia and Mississippi were mentioned as being within the Cherokee boundaries. Jackson defended the states and spoke out loud that for Indians to maintain their landownership and tribal government they would have to move beyond existing states. To facilitate the act he persuaded the congress to pass a bill empowering him to dismiss Indian homelands living westwards of the Mississippi to interchange them for tribal holdings purchase their capital improvement and pay the cost of their west transportation known as the Indian Removal Act.
Jackson was also involved in the nullification crisis as Calhoun and Van Buren let the tariff controversy become a crisis. The congress in 1832 passed a tariff that persistently used the protectionist principle but reduced some of the rates. This move was received with a mixed reaction as the south Carolinians saw it as failure from Washington while the southerners saw it as a symbol of progress. In November the tariff was declared null and void due to its unconstitutionality and Jackson decided to make two responses first by commending the congress to reduce the tariff and two by insisting on enforcement of revenue laws. For political effect he thought of marching an army to hang Calhoun in South Carolina. When December approached he gave out a proclamation rejecting nullification drafted by Edward Livingston who was by then the secretary of the state This information questioned the obsession Carolinians’ had with the tariff but while the congress was busy looking for solutions to evade a civil war Jackson was busy thundering .South Carolina finally won and annulled its nullification and later cancelled the force bill to portray an image of principled defiance. The 1833 compromise caused an end to the tariff dilemma till the 1840s.
Another major issue involving Jackson was about the bank veto. The bank of the U.S.A was actually a quasi-public organization chartered by the congress to handle the finances of the federal government and had its headquarters in Philadelphia with many branches in most states as a representation of the national wide financial institution. The original bank of America was commissioned in 1791 and in 1816 the second bank was chartered after reconsiderations were made due to financial misadventures of the government in the war that occurred in 1812. Corrupt management and imprudent lending made the second bank suffer a major financial blow during the boom and bust cycle. Jackson startled his supporters when he attacked the bank while addressing the congress for the first time his opinion on renewing the charter was unchangeable he believed that the bank was a danger to popular liberty and was unconstitutional.
A Congressional recharger was sought out in 1832 by Biddle and on 10th Jackson vetoed the recharger bill. The message in the veto was meant for the public eye since most parts rather than being a communication to congress they were more of political manifestos. He engineered some dubious techniques to acquire foreign bank stocks by use of suspicious economic arguments he had simply turned against the bank. As result of his deeds he had both his supporters turn against him. Those who were against him included highly ranked government officers such as the attorneys, federal marshals, custom officers and bureau chiefs from Washington his few remaining supporters on the other hand included newspaper editors who assisted him during his campaigns and his former army comrades and states such as Alabama Georgia and Mississippi. Jackson from my own point of view was a very arrogant man who did not respect the rights of the minority and did not deserve any power whatsoever I would never vote for him.
The Life of an Average Slave
The slaves encountered many problems during the antebellum era that really affected most of them. Most of the Slavery during the 1830 was mainly centered in the south existing in a variety of forms where blacks were confined in cities large plantations out in the fields on small firms and in industries. One of the saddest issues is that slaves were considered as personal property by the whites and not people of their own right. Their diet was often insufficient with very low nutrition levels compared to the heavy workload they performed for their masters. Their quarters were just shanties thus leaving them vulnerable to diseases and bad weather which made life even more difficult with most of them succumbing to diseases. They had access to very poor beddings and clothing, the humidity and heat present in the south created health hazards for many slaves.
These slaves’ greatest fear was the thought of being sold to another master since this meant their families were separated never to see each other again. Extended families were scattered all over forcibly making it difficult to manage a family. However slaves also resented their treatment in a number of ways they would destroy crops disable machinery feign sickness some stole food livestock or even valuables most slaves found tactics to sabotage the system of slavery. Reconstruction helped the slaves to actually acquire useful skills and learn how to read and write though it was illegal. Most of them would go on to establish themselves as a result of the reconstruction and gain their freedom to go on and start their families. The period of reconstruction was a major turning point in slavery as it brought about a change in the way slavery was being carried out within the United States.
Sources cited
Olaudah Equiano. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavo Vasa, the African. Norwich: Rare Book and Special Collections Division, 1794.print.
James P, Angell and William Goddard. Benjamin Banneker's Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia Almanac and Ephemeris, for the Year of Our Lord .1792. Baltimore: Rare Book and Special Collections Division, 1791 .print.
William Still. The Underground Railroad: A Record of Facts, Authentic Narratives, Letters . . . .
Philadelphia: People's Publishing Corporation. 1879. Print.
