Old Hickory

The common consensus seems to be that Andrew Jackson was a "bad" President. It is illogical how we sometimes choose who was "good" and who was "bad". The pattern seems to be that Presidents who didn't have a well-known scandal, or who got us through a war are widely considered "good", regardless of the policies implemented.

So why is Jackson considered bad? I asked around and all evidence seems to point to his treatment of the Indians as an officer in the Army and as President. As a soldier he was under direction in the Battle of Orleans, and against the Seminoles he used what many deemed excessive force. Some historians believe that he was purposefully given ambiguous orders by President Taylor, so in the case of blow-back, Taylor could deny responsibility.

Those are his lesser offenses as far as history is concerned. The bigger issue is Andrew Jackson's role in the "Trail of Tears". During his administration he was able to negotiate a contract with John Ridge to purchase Cherokee land and relocate them. John Ridge was actually a leader of a small faction, and not recognized among the Cherokee as a tribal leader (some argue that Jackson knew this). 15,000 Cherokees petitioned that the contract was illegal.

The misconception is Jackson's role in actually forcing the Cherokee off their land. It was my understanding that he was the party responsible (everyone I have talked to, thought this was the case as well). It was actually Jackson's successor, Martin Van Buren, who sent soldiers to kill 4,000 Cherokees and run them off their land. Although Jackson did play a part in all this, he is not the monster we perceive him to be.

The reason I appreciate Jackson is he was a man of principle. He fought the Central Bank tooth and nail. In his campaign for re-election he stated, "Bank and no Jackson, or no bank and Jackson!" Nicholas Biddle was the director of the Central Bank and a formidable opponent. He tried all sorts of political manipulation to force Jackson's hand:

• Biddle asked congress to renew the charter early during Jackson's campaign, assuming Jackson would not fight it, in order to be re-elected.
• He employed Daniel Webster's oratory skills to combat Jackson's veto.
• Biddle printed 300,000 copies of Jackson's veto message (which was in accordance with the constitution) and distributed it with the notion that, "If the bank thinks this is so bad to distribute it, it must be bad."
• After Jackson withdrew Federal Deposits, Biddle severely contracted the money supply to initiate a panic-depression that would be blamed on Jackson.
• Jackson, in turn, was the first President censured by the Senate.

Biddle was a prideful man. He couldn't help but boast in his power to disrupt the economy. In wake of these boasts Governor Wolf (of PA) came out with a public denunciation of the Bank and Biddle. This turned the tides and Congress voted to pass all 3 resolutions of the President's bank policy. The censure was formally rescinded.

Jackson had earned the hate of both monetary scientists and bankers worldwide. Jackson survived an assassination attempt by Richard Lawrence who was deemed not guilty by reason of insanity. Later in life Lawrence claimed that he had been in touch with powerful people in Europe who promised to protect him if he were caught.

Jackson was willing to risk his political career (and risked his life, although I don't know if he did that willingly) to fight the bank. Not everything he did was a perfect success, but what he accomplished in defending the constitution with regard to banking and monetary policy was paramount. Had we followed his example to this day we wouldn't be dealing with corporate bailouts, we would have a smaller national debt (if any at all), and the American taxpayer wouldn't be subsidizing our banking system with the hidden tax called inflation.

All in all, I would have to say "Old Hickory" was an American Hero.