Andrew Jackson represented the new generation of the political leadership of the United States. His presidency is a period known as the Jacksonian Era, also called the Era of The Common Man. Despite that, Jackson made many opponents representing the rise of the lower class.
The election of Andrew Jackson in 1828 was influenced by the reputation he gained as the hero of the War of 1812. He started his term questioning the power of Congress and the Constitution (Watson, 2017). He stood against the rising upper classes, which was reflected in the Bank War (Opal, 2017). He believed that: “The National Bank only exists to privilege the wealthy.” (Huntington, 2021, 23:57) Therefore, Andrew Jackson, trying to appeal to average Americans, suppressed the development of the upper classes and their businesses.
Jackson’s policy led to the formation of the new party in the American system – the Whigs. President Jackson, who vetoed more bills than all the presidents before him, made Henry Clay, William Henry Harrison, and other politicians show support to the emerging urban middle class (Huntington, 2021). Andrew Jackson found opponents in citizens and on the political stage.
Supporting the interests of the common people, Jackson actively fought against Native Americans. Dispossessing the southern Indians resulted from his wars and treaties (Huntington, 2021). Indian removal was his central policy that spread slavery further in the United States (Rogin, 2017). Such a policy strengthened the commitment to him among the inhabitants of the south.
President Andrew Jackson won the devotion of the lower classes, supporting their interests by suppressing bills and developments of the middle and upper classes. The settlers benefited from Indian removal by getting a new land, while many Native Americans died. As a result, Jackson changed the United States, gaining many supporters and opponents.
References
Huntington, J. S. (2021). Lecture 13 – The Jacksonian Era [Video]. YouTube.
Opal, J. M. (2017). Avenging the People: Andrew Jackson, the Rule of Law, and the American Nation. Oxford University Press.
Rogin, M. P. (2017) Fathers and Children Andrew Jackson and the Subjugation of the American Indian. Routledge.
Watson, H. L. (2017). Andrew Jackson’s populism. Tennessee Historical Quarterly, 76(3), 218 –239.