Andrew Jackson: A Great Political Leader

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In the article “The president who makes us who we are”, Jon Meacham mainly mentioned about Andrew Jackson’s ideas and contribution. Particularly, there are some policies Andrew Jackson instituted that can be viewed as innovative and precursors of the modern presidency. First, the president is the representative of the majority. He even plays an important role as the only “direct representative of the people”. All positions in congress are elected by officers. Congressmen or senators cannot completely reflect the common people will. Jackson once said “The people? The people, sir, are with me” when he was challenged by a visitor who understood more about the people than he did. Again, he was fully confident that he was the representative of…show more content…
Although Jackson was a strong supporter of the Union, influence that would be important to its cause in the Civil War 30 years later, he was responsible for the Second Bank of the United States destruction which led to a Panic followed his two-term presidency. Frankly, he showed limited knowledge about how the economics perform. During his presidency, he also amplified the power of the presidency. However, he made the executive branch over power when ignoring the Supreme Court decision. To congress, he recognized himself as a “direct representative” when senates or congressmen could not take that position. That’s the reason why he was called as “King Andrew”. Last but not least, he was largely responsible for the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and the "Trail of Tears" which killed many Native Americans inhumanely. For me, a great political leader must be the representative of the people, meaning that, he or she must know what people need, then has appropriate policies. About policies, they must be integrated with common people moral sense. The policies cannot harm any people inhumanely. The leader also has the leadership, well-trained knowledge about all aspects. He must balance the power of three branches of the government. The leader cannot abuse the power for personal
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