Andrew Jackson's Leadership Essay Example

📌Category: Government, Historical Figures, History, Leadership, President of the United States
📌Words: 521
📌Pages: 2
📌Published: 09 April 2022

Andrew Jackson was a celebrity back in the 1800s. He was known for his heroic acts and leadership while being a general and the President of the United States. However, even if he’s done all these incredible things, it doesn’t make him a good person. I don’t think he deserves to be on the 20 dollar bill. He was too self-centered and greedy of a “leader.” All of the good things were highly beneficial to him, and I think reasonable people do good things because they want to, not because they expect something. 

One event that had involved Jackson was the Spoils System. He was being self-centered and was deceitful. The Spoils System was when Jackson fired the people with government jobs and gave them to his supporters. Critics had called it corrupt, but Jackson insisted that it kept government official jobs away from the rich. (James West Davidson et al., 257) Some presidents have done this, but not at the scale Jackson did. He did not seem to care about how the fired people would be affected and how some would need the money to provide for themselves and could be for their families. He only cared about how it would affect him and that he surrounded himself with people who love him rather than people who know how to do the job right. 

Another reason is the Force Bill. Jackson was irrational and oppressive. The Force Bill that Jackson wanted to be allowed him to have the military authority to impose tariffs. A leader is supposed to lead their country and listen to what they have to say to help them be content with what they have to live. Andrew Jackson was not a leader at this moment because he wanted to force a tariff that allowed him to gain more power.

However, one of the most famous things that Jackson was known for was the Trail of Tears. The Trail of Tears was when 15,000 Cherokee were forced off their land and had to walk on foot to go to what is now Oklahoma. 1000’s of the Cherokee tribe had died from the journey, most of them elderly and young children. This is what the Indian Removal Act had caused, which all started because of Jackson. He wanted to open lands to white settlements by forcing natives out. Jackson was villainous and violated the law. He had no right to do this because the Supreme Court had stated that they had no authority to kick the natives out of Georgia (James West Davidson et al., 271). 

Jackson may have been shown as a hero, but his actions would have said otherwise. He hurt plenty of people, even if he did the “right” thing. When Jackson became president, he realized his power and used it. People loved Jackson, and they thought he was one of the most remarkable people in the country. One of the biggest things was that he allowed poor white settlers the right to vote. However, though this was a big turning point for the country, so was closing the National Bank. They thought it was corrupt and unconstitutional. However, even if his supporters thought it was incredible, it would, later on, be a significant contributing factor to future economic depression. Jackson’s intentions may have been good for himself and his supporters, but not for everyone else.

+
x
Remember! This is just a sample.

You can order a custom paper by our expert writers

Order now
By clicking “Receive Essay”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement. We will occasionally send you account related emails.