Was Andrew Jackson A Good President

A great president is someone who is a strong leader, makes choices that will change the country for the better, and does what is best for the good of all the people. Some people would consider Andrew Jackson to be a great president because he did things such as revolutionizing presidential campaigning, which made him the first modern president, and using his presidential power to veto bills that he saw unfit or harmful. Others would argue that Andrew Jackson was a terrible president because he enforced Indian removal and that he abused his power to veto in an effort to intimidate and take more control over congress. Andrew Jackson is now know for being somewhat of a conundrum or contradiction because he did do a lot of good for our country but at the same time did thing that could be considered cruel and unjust.

Andrew Jackson is considered a good president because he forever changed the way presidential campaigns are held.
Instead running on a party platform Andrew Jackson appealed to the people. He held huge rallies and made several appearances. By doing this Andrew Jackson got the people more involved with the presidential elections and won their votes with all of his public exposure. To this day presidential campaigns are held much like Andrew Jackson’s campaigns making him the first modern president.

Andrew Jackson can also be considered a terrible president.
One thing Andrew Jackson did that most people today disagree with is the Indian Removal Act. In 1830 Andrew Jackson instated the Indian Removal Act. This act evicted thousands of Native American families, specifically Cherokees, from their homes in the Carolinas and Georgia so that white families could move into their homes, because the population was expanding and there was not enough room for everyone. The Native American people were forced to walk from their homes to an area designated for them called Oklahoma. The Native Americans made this journey during the fall and winter of 1830 with nothing but the clothes on their backs. This journey which became known as “the trail of tears” was a brutal journey to Oklahoma, diseases spread quickly and many people died of illness, exhaustion, and starvation. Nearly 2000 Native Americans died because of the Indian Removal Act which is the main reason why people would consider Jackson to be a horrible
president.

I believe Jackson was a cruel and power hungry president. Not only did he abuse his power to veto to try to make himself more powerful than congress he also caused the death of nearly 2000 Native Americans by evicting them from their homes. Andrew Jackson wanted to be the center and most powerful branch of the government which was supposed to be impossible because our government has a system of checks and balances to keep any one branch from becoming more powerful than another. Despite all of this Jackson tries to gain more power by abusing his power to veto and using to intimidate congress. Jackson also instated the Indian Removal Act. This Act moved thousands of Indian families from their homes to land designated for them in Oklahoma even after the Native Americans had made so many advances in becoming civilized so they would be accepted by the government and by other American citizens. The native who were evicted from their homes were forced to walk all the way to Oklahoma in the cold of the winter with nothing but the clothes on their backs. This walk was responsible fir the death of nearly 2000 Native Americans. A good president would not jeopardize the lives of innocent people or try to steal power to make himself the center of the government. For these reasons I believe that even though Jackson may have done some things to help our country, overall he was a horrible president.