Not All People!

The last lesson's essential question regarded the seventh president of the United States, Andrew Jackson. It posed the question: was he worthy of his title, "The People's President"? The Spoils System, Bank War and Indian Removal were the three topics we learned about in hopes to answer that question. My group was in charge of using Google Slides to teach the class about the first topic: The Spoils System. The Spoils System allowed Andrew Jackson to give government jobs to the people that supported him during the election. This led us to believe that President Jackson was not a president for all the people, only the ones he liked. Looking at Indian Removal, a darker side of Jackson is evident. Native Americans are people, and Jackson dismissed their opinion on his plan to relocate them, which led to ten thousand deaths on the Trail of Tears. The Natives were not even allowed to preform their burying rituals. Again, this looks like a man who is not for all the people. The last event, the Bank War, is an example of Andrew Jackson trying to benefit the poor. During the Bank War, President Jackson vetoed the Second National Bank's power in order to give the poor people a better chance at becoming better off. Although this was done with good intentions, it led to an economic crash the year after Jackson left office. In two out of three cases, Andrew Jackson is not for the people, which leads to the conclusion that his time in office does not grant him the right to the title "The People's President".