Andrew as a Politican
The planter, the farmer, the mechanic, and the laborer... form the great body of the people of the United States, they are the bone and sinew of the country men who love liberty and desire nothing but equal rights and equal laws *Andrew Jackson
Bringing Politics to the People
Before Jackson, many presidents were extremely educated men from the East. They represented the elites of society. Most of the American population had trouble relating to these elitist presidents. Then Jackson came along.. He was known as "the people's president" He appealed to the common man, the everyday man who lived in the United States. Jackson himself was a common man- representing the fighting spirit and individualism of the West.
Before Jackson, the common men didn't have much interest in the government. Yet Jackson brought politics to the people. All of a sudden having Jackson, a common man up for office, gave the people much to fight for. Under Jackson 78% of the whole voting population participated in the presidential vote. This is the largest voter turnout in history!!! Jackson inspired people to get involved in politics. He brought the politics further to the people by inviting everyone to the presidential inaguration ball, one of the only presidents to do this.
During his presidency (1929-1837) Jackson was a politican for the people in numerous other ways including :
1) Eliminating the Bank of the United States- This gave the wealth back to the people and small banks instead of large government controlled banks.
2) Eliminating of federal debt- Brought money back into people's hands and ensured a safe, prosperous economy
3) Upholding Federal Government- John C. Calhoun, previous secretary of state proposed that any state could declare a federal law void. This means that the federal government would have no authority! President Jackson didn't stand for this and at once crushed the opposition. He ensured that the federal government would keep the United States running successfully.
4) Practicing Rotation within Office- This principle held that officals should rotate every certian number of years within the executive branch.. Thus preventing a build up of power. This gave offices to more of the common people in the United States
5) Leader of Democratic Party- Started the "common man" Democratic party. This gave people the chance to participate in politics. Symbol of democratic party comes from Jackson.
As a politican Andrew Jackson was responsible for being the first president to get common people really involved in the government. By developing democracy for the individual, Jackson helped hundreds of otherwise silenced voices to be heard. For this he is often thought of as a American hero.
