Andrew Jackson Dbq

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There are many elements that make up a great president. Strong leadership skills, the ability to make choices that will change the country for the better, and the ability to make decisions with the best interest of the people in mind are to name a few. Some people would argue that Andrew Jackson was a great president. Others would argue the opposite. Jackson is known for being somewhat of a contradiction because while he did many good things for this country, his methods were rather cruel and unfair. However, at the end of the day Andrew Jackson got things done and that is why I am pro Jackson. In 1828, Congress passed a tariff that raised prices on imported manufactured goods made of wool and iron. This infuriated South Carolina because they…show more content…
This motive was formalized in the Indian Removal Act of 1830 which Jackson supported. The law provided funds for “five civilized tribes” ( Seminole, Choctaw, Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw) to be relocated. The Supreme Court struggled to find a solution and ruled that because the natives themselves were not considered to be “citizens”, the federal government had no power to protect them. However, in 1832, they flipped their case by stating that although the natives were not citizens, they were still considered to be their own “nation” and only the federal government could make treaties with nations, not states-- so Georgia could not remove them. Jackson took it upon himself to present an ultimatum to the natives. He gave the natives a false sense of choice and in an exerpt from the State of the Union Address, Jackson describes what would become of these southern tribes almost in a sympathetic way, “Our ancestors found them the uncontrolled possessors of these vast regions. By persuasion and force they have been made to retire from river to river and from mountain to mountain, until some of the tribes have become extinct and others have left but remnants to preserve for a while their once terrible names. Surrounded by the whites with their arts of civilization, which by destroying the resources of the savage doom him to weakness and decay, the fate of the Mohegan, the Narragansett, and the Delaware is fast over-taking the Choctaw, the Cherokee, and the Creek. That this fate surely awaits them if they remain within the limits of the States does not admit of a doubt”. In the end Jackson got his way and in the winter 1838-1839, federal troops moved the Cherokees from Georgia to Oklahoma on a route known as the “Trail of Tears”. At least 25% of the native americans died during the forced move. It is
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