55 thoughts on “Blog #108 – Andrew Jackson – Hero of the Common Man or Dictatorial President?”

1. Cole Sutton January 25, 2018 at 11:25 am

   1. Andrew Jackson benefited the common folk because he showed how a man born into a relatively poor family could rise up the ranks of politics.His campaign caused roughly a million more males to vote in his election in 1828, and he won the EC vote by 178 to 83. He showed localist views when he ran for his second presidency, specifically one that aligned with his party’s stress on state’s rights. The biggest lead that proves that he was the hero of the common man is that his presidency decided the crucial political change from the elite/wealthy to the ones in the presidency. Lastly his confrontational personality was his chivalry and passion towards white women, and he did believed they should be submissive and helpful but, he did defend their honor and willingness.

   2. During Jackson’s time, most of the American people loved Jackson. Today, he is considered one of the most controversial in History. Throughout Jackson’s presidency, he constantly edged the boundaries of what our executive branch and the president could\should do. An example of this is when Jackson would appoint only the most loyal to him, he wouldn’t care as much about their qualification and more about how they respected him. This occurrence is now known as the Spoils System. Plus, in the year 1833, he persuaded Congress to pass an act that authorized Jackson to use the military to force the collection of the tariff that South Carolina was against this was called a force act. All this evidence points toward him being a dictator at the time, this constantly left him criticized by critics and historians. Finally, Jackson, who has shown a disgust for the Native Americans, allowed them to be removed from their own land by the southern states, despite the Supreme Court declaring this illegal and unethical. Jackson constantly claimed he did not have power over the states but, he did not let South Carolina repeal the tariff placed upon them.Also a result of Jackson’s actions against the Native Americans, led to them being removed from their own land and being forced to walk to where they were allowed to settle at in Oklahoma, this came to be known as the Trail of Tears.

   3. I believe that John Marszalek believed that Jackson truly was the hero of common man. A fantastic example of this is in the title, “Andrew Jackson: Flamboyant Hero of the Common Man,” there are also a ton of other examples throughout the reading. John also mainly focuses on the benefits of Jackson’s presidency and truly only glosses over the harsh details, which proves he believes Jackson is the hero he claims to be.
2. charlie hardy January 25, 2018 at 1:08 pm

   1. Andrew Jackson was a hero of the common man because he was a common man himself. He was born into a poor family with Scots-Irish parents in the western Carolinas. He had a very rough life as a child, and this included being orphaned as a young boy. He grew up fatherless and was the third child in his family, but he was cared for by his mother who also cared for ten other children. In his teenage years, Jackson fought in the American Revolution alongside his brother, who later died in the war. Later, when his mother passed, he picked up law and passed the bar. He was an Indian fighter (which would later become a defining factor of his presidency), he was involved in many duels, and lived in the same types of conditions as the “common man” at that time would. The fact that Jackson had such a rough life since birth, and was “ill-educated, ill-tempered, opinionated, suspicious, [and] unbending” (Marszalek 244) and still became a president showed the common man that there was hope for people just like them. The polarizing differences between Jackson and previous presidents who were educated and came from wealthy families also proved to the common man that education and a good background were no necessary to be successful. In this sense, he was truly a hero of the common man.
   2. Despite being a hero of the common man in a sense that he was one himself, Jackson was also a dictatorial president. Jackson vetoed 12 bills in his presidency, which was an abuse of his presidential power. No one before him had vetoed this many bills, and even further, the number of bills total vetoed before him had never passed 12. This demonstrates just how far he was willing to take the power he had in the country. Jackson also passed bills such as the Indian Removal Act, which led to the Trail of Tears, or the death of hundreds of Indians who were forced out of their land and society due to his harsh rule as president and his hatred of Indians. Another bill Jackson passed that demonstrates his dictatorial rule was the Force Act, which provided a power to the president in which he could use whatever force he deemed necessary to enforce tariffs on the people of the United States. In this sense, Jackson can be seen as a dictatorial president.
   3. I think the author John Marszalek came down to agreeing with the idea that Jackson was a hero of the common man. I think this because of his reinforcement of how much suffering Jackson went through before he became president. On top of this, the author tries to remain unbiased in his opinion, but with stating negative things about Jackson, he often backs it up with something positive and reinforces the idea that Jackson was a good president, or a hero of the common man. I do not agree with Marszalek’s opinion because I do not like or support what Jackson stood for, especially his stance and decision on Indians and Indian Removal. Many would argue that Jackson had a big impact on today’s presidency and government, which should outweigh the negative things he’s done, but in my opinion, he was a dictatorial president whose only concern was pleasing himself by means of negative reinforcement and childish actions.
3. sofia di stefano January 25, 2018 at 6:27 pm

   1) Andrew Jackson was called the hero of the common man for multiple reasons. First, he ran for president for the common man. This appealed to the westerners and farmers. He did this because before him, all of the presidents were from the rich, white, landowner, elite class. Also, while in office, he favored the common man by making decisions, passing laws that favored the common man, and vetoing laws that were better for the elite class. While in office, he also strikes down the Second Bank of the United States, which was an enterprise aimed at pleasing the privileged aristocrats and merchants of New England and the Northeast.Jackson also believed that the common man could do uncommon things. His actions reflected that he wanted to help the booming manufacturing industry by putting tariffs in place. This taxed imported goods so that the goods produced in the United States were purchased and profited more than the countries that imported the goods. Jackson was an advocate for the common people throughout his life and his presidency, as shown by his controversial, yet decisive actions.
   2) President Andrew Jackson was a dictatorial president. He overused the presidential powers in many ways including how often he used the veto power. Andrew Jackson used the power to veto a congressional bill more than any of the six presidents who came before him combined. Talk about dictatorship, this shows that he chose by himself as a ruler to veto bills no matter the support behind them. Another way President Andrew Jackson was a dictator was seen in the passing of the force/bloody act which gave President Jackson permission to use the army and Navy to go to SC to collect the tariff.
   3)In my opinion, John Marsalek’s view on Andrew Jackson was that he was the hero of the common man. The portrait is titled as “Andrew Jackson: Flamboyant Hero of Common Man”. So from the beginning, the intent of the author was to portray him in this positive heroic light. By using this as the title it becomes the first thing that readers think of when Andrew Jackson comes to mind. Even though Marsalek did mention a few of the bad decisions made by the heavily wrote about all of the good things that Jackson did as president specifically what he did for the common man. The author also mentioned his childhood which could be considered very similar to the way common men lived to further emphasize the similarities between Jackson and the Common Man. After reading the portrait i definitely think he was a hero
4. Devin Roberts January 25, 2018 at 11:36 pm

   1.Andrew Jackson was a hero of the common man because he was once a common man himself. Andrew Jackson knew what the common man wanted. Andrew Jackson made it. He was what every common man aspires to be. Andrew Jackson’s heart and soul was with the common man of America. He knew their dreams, their desires, and the way that they wanted America to be run. He believed that the common man could achieve their dreams in his America. Andrew Jackson had an extremely tough childhood where he was an orphan and grew up without a father. Jackson was somebody who was in extreme poverty. He lived the American Dream. Andrew Jackson did the impossible in America. He worked and scratched his way up the ladder of opportunity in this country. Andrew Jackson was always a man of the people, by the people and for the people.
   2. Andrew Jackson was a dictatorial president. Andrew Jackson had absolutely no respect for the rule of law in this country. He overstepped his bounds and repeatedly disrespected this nations constitution. Andrew Jackson was an authoritarian leader who used his office to spoil him and his supporters and so they could enrich themselves. Jackson was not a man for the people he was phony populist who did not have the interests of the American people in mind. Andrew Jackson kicked a whole ethnic group of people out of America because he didn’t like them. That is not how runs a country. His racism and his bigotry had no bounds. He was a horrible president who put on an act about caring about people but in reality he didn’t.
   3. I do think that the author thought that Andrew Jackson was a very good president. I think this because he says that in the title. The title is “Andrew Jackson Flamboyant Hero of the Common Man.” Just by the title you see that the author has a thing for Andrew Jackson. You can see when in the writing that he says that Andrew Jackson was a hero the common man. The Author rarely says anything about how Jackson did any bad things. He doesn’t say anything about the Indian Removal policy or any of the bad things of the presidency of Andrew Jackson. I disagree with the author on Andrew Jackson. I think that Andrew Jackson was not a good president because of the turmoil that the country was in during that time period and what he did to hundreds of thousands of people was very inhumane and cruel. Andrew Jackson put the presidency on a pedal stool for him and his followers and not for the people of America.
5. Jonathan Giha January 26, 2018 at 8:47 am

   Jon G.
   1.
   Andrew Jackson was a hero of the common man for several reasons, including that he shared their enemies, he wasn’t an elite, and he tried to keep the union together. What I mean when I say that he shared their enemies is that the British and the Indians almost hated by the common man, and Andrew Jackson was known for fighting against them. This gave him the reputation of a war hero and an upstanding american with the common folk. Andrew Jackson was very unfortunate in his upbringing, with his Father dying very early and his mother being killed before he reached adulthood, and on top of all that he was poor. These things gave him his stubborn personality and his understanding of the problems that many poorer families have, both of which made him advocate for the common man. When John Calhoun stirred up trouble in South Carolina and they threatened to leave the Union, Jackson’s judgement was swift and would have been severe if a compromise hadn’t been agreed to. This shows that he was a hero of the common man because he realized that if he allowed one state to secede, more would follow and the country would descend into anarchy.
   2.
   Andrew Jackson was a dictatorial president for several reasons, including his ignorance of Supreme Court decisions, his harsh treatment of Indians, and his affinity to use force in all his conflicts. When the Supreme Court ruled against Georgia in Cherokee Nation vs. GA and Worcester vs. Georgia, Jackson allegedly said “John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it!” which is blatantly against the constitution and what a good president would do. In Spanish Florida, he illegally invaded and slaughtered Indians, including women and children. This reflects his attitudes about the presidency – it doesn’t matter if it’s legal or right, he will do what he wants. Before Jackson was running for president, he pretty much challenged anyone that said anything bad about him or his wife to a duel. Once again, this reflects his attitudes about the presidency – he tries to solve every issue with force. An example of this is when South Carolina made a slight threat of secession, and Jackson immediately wanted to send in the army to resolve the issue.
   3.
   I think the author was on the “hero of the people” side. I think this because the author usually framed Jackson’s actions in terms of popularity rather than morality, which is definitely something that someone who liked him would do. I do not agree with him, because I think that although Jackson’s harsh treatment of Indians and ignorance of Supreme Court decisions were popular with his voters, they were extremely immoral and/or dangerous things to do.