Was Andrew Jackson Really "The Peoples President"?

Currently in Honors History 10, we have been discussing Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, and whether or not his long standing reputation as the "peoples president" is well deserved or not. This specific lesson was one of the shorter lessons we have done in class, however, although being short, it gave us a good idea of who Andrew Jackson was and his effect on America's people. In order to educate ourselves on Jackson, we viewed two informative videos and analyzed a few documents. Using the videos and documents, we discussed how we thought Jackson should be remembered, and if he really was the "peoples president". Although there may be much more to Andrew Jackson's name, we focused on the Indian removal, the Bank war, and the Spoils System. Working in a small group, we created a project that accurately informed the other groups on Indian Removal, as each group had a different topic. My group decided to make a video about Indian Removal, and below I have provided it. Judging from the Indian Removal and the other events, my group concluded that Andrew Jackson lacked a moral compass and care for humanity. Therefore, he does not deserve the reputation as the "peoples president".

 

The Spoils System was a system that gave government jobs to Andrew Jackson's supporters as an incentive to keep supporting the party. In doing this, he got rid of 919 officials and he deprived the postal service of many post masters. Hundreds of government officials lost their jobs because of this. The Spoils System gave the idea that loyalty was better than if you were able to accurately do your job. Basically, Andrew Jackson was just bringing people who supported and liked him. This is unethical on Jackson's part. By depriving workers of their jobs, this shows that Andrew Jackson had very little care for others. Aside from the Spoils system, Andrew Jackson's little care for humanity shows through when he basically forces/persuades the Indians to relocate. The Indian Removal policy of Andrew Jackson was prompted by the desire of white settlers in the south to lands belonging to multiple Indian tribes. Hundreds of Indians were forced out of the west and hardly any of them were familiar with the west. Forcing the Indians out of the south was out of personal hatred, which shows that Jackson was extremely selfish and wasn't thinking about how the Indians would feel  On the Indian's voyage to the west, many Indians suffered from starvation and ended up dying. This voyage was known as the trail of tears. Jackson's decisions regarding the Indians is unjustified and completely wrong. Kicking large groups of people off their land, where they have resided for many years, is unethical and immoral. The Bank War was also a large aspect of Jackson's presidency. Andrew believed that the bank was giving wealthy people an unfair advantage.In 1816 the second Bank of the United States was created. Jackson did not agree with the bank, and he vetoed a bill, simply because he was so strongly the bank as an institution. He believed that the bank was a threat to power and liberty. Many people believed that Jackson was turned social classes against each other and caused an unnecessary war. Based on these events, it is evident that Andrew Jackson was not "the peoples president", and he had very little care for humanity. Down below, I have provided my groups video explaining the Indian Removal.