Andrew Jackson Constitutional Ideals

Andrew Jackson

    Andrew Jackson ran for two terms as the 7th president of the United States, from 1829-1837. He is often put in the same era as the 8th president Martin Van Buren who only ran for one term. They were both democrats by early 19th century standards, and they were both against the National Bank, however only one is often remembered today. Only Jackson has his face in our pockets and ran two terms.

     Jackson wanted to emanate presidents before him like Thomas Jefferson, but he was never the most methodical type and didn’t always go about it correctly. This is why he hated the National Bank, he was all for following the Constitution like Jefferson in theory. It was in practice he fell short, overall he did good for America by losing the 1st National Bank in an effort to stick to the Constitution, however he was more tyrannical than many give him credit for. For example, he used his political power against individuals he had personal issues with, and fought States’ rights to try to gain and keep more power for himself within the Federal system.

Martin Van Buren

     Martin Van Buren gets less credit and ultimately didn’t serve a second term even though he too aided in the loss of the 1st Bank and stayed true to the Constitution. This is where the Presidential system has some flaws. Van Buren didn’t remain president because he was too good and aligning himself with Constitutional rights. When he became president he came up with a new banking system so that a new National Bank wouldn’t need to be instated, aside from that, he didn’t do anything extraordinary, he stayed out of everything, minded his own business, did as little as possible. By the standard of the Constitution he was the best at his job out of every other president, but he was too “boring” for the public so to speak, they didn’t see any great accomplishments, so the more tyrannical of the two men was the most successful and is still today.