Topic > Andrew Jackson, the common man's president of the United States

Andrew Jackson was the common man's president because he greatly improved the economic aspect of white men's lives during his presidency. However, some may argue that Jackson was not the common man's president because he continued to enable and encourage the mistreatment of marginalized groups such as American Indians. However, during his time as president, Jackson vetoed the renewal of the national bank, giving more power to the common man through state banks. Furthermore, he created the spoiler system, giving less wealthy men the opportunity to work in government, which was very rare at the time. Jackson also extended the opportunity to vote to property-owning white men as it became easier to purchase property due to westward expansion. These changes made by Jackson created greater economic opportunities and the potential for social climbing out of the lower class. The common white man benefited greatly from Jackson, supporting the idea that he was the common man's president. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Jackson eliminated the national bank, giving state banks more power, economically benefiting the common man. When the time came to renew the National Bank's charter, the president vetoed the renewal. Jackson believed that the bank took money away from the common man because it was run by the wealthier part of the population, trying to benefit themselves and not the majority of the population. The semi-private bank had investors drawn exclusively from the wealthier class as few commoners could afford to invest in the bank. Jackson saw this consolidation of power among the wealthy as corrupt and dangerous to the common man, the bank and its investors wanted to make money, benefiting only a small portion of the population (Document B). Shortly before the veto, Jackson withdrew money from the national bank and deposited it in state banks, also known as “pet banks.” Pet banks were more likely to lend money to lower-class citizens who needed it, especially farmers. Jackson once decided to kill the national bank, declaring it unconstitutional (O'Donnell). This worked to the advantage of ordinary citizens because they were able to take out loans when they needed them, controversial whether they could pay them back or not. By employing lower-class people in various federal jobs, he not only limited the amount of elites in power, but also gave the lower classes the ability to earn more money. On the way to the Jackson presidency, he received help and support from many people and assured them that their support would not go without appreciation. Once elected, Jackson removed many elites from their positions in office, only to fill those seats with the common people who helped him achieve the presidency. Jackson referred to this action as the Spoils System as he distributed his spoils of victory. (O'Donnell). Many of his supporters lacked education and money, as he appealed to the "common man", attracting many farmers and other members of the lower classes. However, Jackson believed that the jobs were easy enough for the common man to perform. By offering these jobs to people from the lower classes instead of those from the higher end of society, it gave them the ability to earn more money than they would as farmers or even most merchants. This also provided them with the opportunity to move up a class..