Andrew Jackson: Served Two Terms As US President From 1829-1837

Andrew Jackson DBQ Andrew Jackson served two terms as president from 1829 to 1837. Since then, Jackson’s name has been tied very closely to democracy. Democracy is a form of government in which all people have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. During Jackson’s presidency, he was presented with many issues that tested his democratic devotion. Overall, Jackson seemed to move the country toward democracy, but individual issues he handled, like the Bank Veto, the removal of Native Americans, and his use of the spoils system, were not so democratic. Although Jackson’s actions were not always democratic, he was still viewed as a democratic president, always trying to keep the best interest of the people in mind. Throughout Jackson's presidency almost everything he did he had democratic intentions behind it. However, the executions of his plans were not always so democratic. The vetoing of the Bank of the United States was one of these actions. Jackson said the bank was simply a monopoly of the foreign and domestic exchange. It made the rich richer and the potent more powerful. Due to these beliefs, Jackson vetoed the bank (Doc 4). His reasoning behind the bank veto was democratic, because the bank only helped the rich, however his action was considered undemocratic because he didn’t consider all people before he vetoed the bank. Although regarded as an undemocratic action, the vetoing of the Bank of the United States began to lead the country towards democracy. Another issue demonstrating democratic intentions, but an undemocratic execution, was the removal of Native Americans from their homes. Jackson made their removal sound democratic by saying Americans needed to help these people before they became “extinct,” and they would do so by pushing them west into a land for just them (Doc 8). In 1830, Jackson secured the passage of the Indian Removal Act, which authorized him to exchange public lands in the west for Indian territories in the