President Andrew Jackson and Democracy

Andrew Jackson’s presidency is amongst the most disputable presidency in American history. He was a unique politician who was very strategic in his missions. He was bold, fearless and authoritative. However, this president was very popular amongst ordinary citizens despite being in a poor relationship with the USA congress. Andrew Jackson served for two terms as USA president, and his driving force was his unwavering personality. The number of things he did to remain relevant and retain power for the two terms was very unexceptional and challenging to comprehend whether his leadership entailed democratic principles or democratic rhetoric. However, from this discussion, president Andrew seems to have entirely relied on democratic rhetoric throughout his presidency to retain power.

During his early life, Andrew Jackson remained an excellent leader who advanced from one rank to another having done law. Ended up winning the trust of the voters where he managed to vie for the senatorial position successfully. Through his ambitions, he ran for the highest position in the land and undoubtfully made it. Therefore, this shows his election was democratic, and the USA citizens believed in him. When he ascended to power, his style of leadership completely changed. He became self-obsessed to the extent of rejecting all the proposals that the Congress enacted. Congress did not have an easy time with this president because he always made sure that he had a strong link with the voters who are more powerful than the Congress. Unfortunately, the USA voters did not know that president Andrew was a hypocrite who was very much obsessed with power and greed. All the decisions he made were to serve his interest. Hence, he did not apply democratic principles but rather democratic rhetoric.

President Andrew’s leadership was full of controversy throughout his tenure. He was not in good terms with some organs of the government. A couple of his government officials were not happy with President Jackson because of his leadership style that threatened the stability of USA democracy. Hence, they formed an opposition party to challenge his leadership style. Specifically, president Andrew was not in good terms with the USA Congress. He rejected most of the enactments that were made by Congress. Out of the eight years Andrew Jackson served as a president, president Andrew assented one bill having rejected over 12 bills, unlike his predecessors. Surprisingly, the only bill he approved was out of his commands and directives. Therefore, it can be seen that president Andrew used democratic rhetoric to boost his agendas and this can be confirmed by the fact that he could keep blackmailing the public (voters) to remain popular amongst them.

Moreover, president Andrew seemed to have applied dictatorial kind of leadership. He never wanted to be opposed in any way. Most of his cabinet members were forced to abide by his wishes. Those who went against his wish could get punished for their disloyalty. Therefore, this a good indication that president Andrew Jackson did not promote democracy in his reign.

President Andrew is in the records of the most unpopular presidents in the American history because he used to blackmail voters by pretending to promote democratic leadership yet on the other side of leadership, he acted contrary and in a dictatorship way. He is a vengeful person who did not believe in dialogue and negotiations. President Andrew mercilessly imposed a heavy punishment to the Bank of the United States where the president directed US states to boycott banking money with the said bank. He went ahead and directed them to withdraw their money from the bank. It consequently, led to economic crises in the USA. He had vowed to bring down the bank because of the responsibility that it played regarding revealing confidential information to the public. The information was about the poor management of finances by the president’s government. Indeed, president Andrew eventually retaliated by ordering all states funds to be withdrawn from the bank have it banked on other local banks (‘Andrew Jackson’). Therefore, this depicts that president Andrew Jackson did not entertain democratic principles at all.

Moreover, Andrew Jackson was not a good president because his reign was marked with violence and hatred. His style of demonizing those who crossed him reveal that the president did not promote freedom of expression. A good president would allow anyone to express their feelings and opinions without being threatened. President Andrew was a self-centered person, and he hardly knew nothing regarding democracy. Also, the fact that he pioneered for the relationship between the American citizens and the Bank of the United States is a clear indication that he was incompetent and less knowledgeable in matters of democracy and conflict resolution. Andrew did not consider having a dialogue with the Banks’ managers to settle the differences. Instead, he decided to bring it down to show how mighty he is.

Besides, president Andrew operated the United States of America as his personal property. He did not work with those in the government. He instead formed his cabinet that was loyal to his style of leadership. No one was allowed to go against him as it would lead to expulsion. In addition to running the country like his property, he promoted poor economic and political systems that were harmful to the country. He believed in laissez-faire to promote economic and political liberty which resulted in inequality and unfairness. Also, he did not adequately protect Indians who were being forced to leave specific regions of the USA through mass eviction. He was not in good terms with Cherokee Indian chief, and this made it quite impossible for the Indians to protest against their removal successfully.

Today, almost every nation across the globe has achieved a high level of democratic principles which governs the operations of a country. Most of the countries and states in the modern world does not entertain democratic rhetoric, and therefore, the leadership of president Jackson is no longer applicable today. The president cannot do everything without representing the interest of the voters. Democracy has led to sanity in the political world where voters have exclusive rights regarding the running of any nation. In modern times, a president cannot make selfish decisions because the decisions would affect the entire nation.

In many countries where leaders tend to be dictatorial, they are evicted from the office through mass action and therefore, how democracy is being upheld in modern times is entirely satisfactory. In particular, the USA is amongst the most democratic countries in the world. Congress is independent, and it cannot be influenced or coerced to make decisions to benefit a single party. The freedom of expression amongst the government top executive is guaranteed, and one cannot be sacked for opposing the ideas of the president.