Jackson's Presidency

When Jackson died, an observer said, "If Andy Jackson decides on heaven, that's where he'ii go!"

The contrast between the presidencies of John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson is stark. Adams was well educated, worldly, highly articulate and experienced in international affairs. In demeanor he was subtle, diplomatic—if sometimes stuffy or pedantic—and he was perhaps the most intelligent and (for his time) best educated president in American history. As a Harvard graduate and son of a former president, his beginnings were anything but humble.

Jackson's popularity was based on his skills as an Indian fighter and war hero. The Battle of New Orleans was seen as a victory for the American farmer, affirmed the value of "undisciplined" fighters as opposed to the British regulars, and was thus seen as a triumph of "Americanism." When elected president, Jackson was a wealthy man of property and a slave owner, but his origins were humble. Jackson was a symbol of the new age of democracy— the "age of the common man"—both an average and ideal American who was able to draw support from every section and social class. Jackson could be charming, and he was generally honest; there was never any doubt about his courage, either physical or moral. However, he was anything but a thoughtful, subtle intellectual. (He had resigned from his first tour in the Senate because he found the endless deliberations too boring.)

Jackson, a true Westerner at heart and a slave holder, resented the North and East. On the other hand, he did not buy into the states' rights philosophy that was growing stronger in that era. He had reputation as a hotheaded brawler who never forgave enemies. He was not above using that reputation to make an impression on people. (In a famous incident in the White House, he apparently lost his temper and fumed at some unwelcome guests, who fled in horror. When they had gone, he turned to an aide, grinned and said, "They thought I was mad, didn't they?")

Jackson grew in office of president and made that office more democratic. He did not attempt to remain above politics; he was a political infighter who saw his role as protecting the people from the excesses of Congress. His presidency was one piece of a long struggle over the nature of governmental power and authority: at which end of Pennsylvania Avenue does the real power reside, in Congress or the White House? Jackson saw the office of President as a protection against the power usurpers of the House, the Senate and the Supreme Court.