What Nickname does Andrew Jackson Deserve?

Andrew Jackson was the 7th president of the United States, presiding from 1829-1837. Jackson has earned himself many different nicknames, ranging from “Old Hickory” to “King Mob”. His two most popular labels were “The People’s President” and “King Andrew”. One reason he was called “The People’s President” was because he was known for defending the United States, even before he was president, by serving as a general in the War of 1812. Also, Jackson won the popular vote against John Quincy Adams in the election of 1824. Although Jackson did not win the whole election, he won the peoples vote by a huge majority. Lastly, Jackson was known as the “People’s President” because in 1828 he expanded suffrage by giving white, common men the right to vote. Therefore the property requirement for voting was eliminated in most states, which made for a more democratic election.

On the other side of the spectrum, Jackson was known as “King Andrew” which shines light on his less humane side. One huge reason for this nickname is because in 1830 Jackson forced the Native Americans from their homes in the southeast of the United States all the way to  across the Mississippi River. Too add on to that, Jackson goes completely against the Constitution by refusing to uphold the Supreme Court’s decision to let the Indians stay put. Another reason Jackson was known as “King Andrew” is because he caused the United States to go in to a complete economic crisis when he vetoed the Bank of the United States charter. This was only because he favored local banks that threw support towards him, which to the people seemed like a “King” kinda thing to do.

After learning all the facts about President Jackson, I believe that the title of “King Andrew” fits him more appropriately than “The People’s President”. For me, Jackson’s few, but huge indiscretions over power his democratic legacies. Even as a president, Jackson still has to uphold to the constitution. The way he forced the Native Americans out of their own territories shows he is not suitable to protect the unalienable rights of every American. I also believe that how Jackson “rotated the office” just to reward his supporters and ensure his future presidency was a very monarch-like thing to do. Through out everything we have learned about Jackson, I saw him some how abusing his power. For example he is known to “promote western expansion” but throughout the process he harmed the Native Americans. For every one reason he was known as “People’s President’ I see five reasons why he is known as “King Andrew.”