Monday, March 12, 2012

Andrew Jackson: A Man Of The People?

Andrew Jackson, after being humiliated by Clay and J.Q. Adams in the 1824 Election, vowed to exact his revenge on the two men.  And so he did.  By spreading unbelievable lies, even by today's standards, Jackson won the personality contest against Adams in 1828 (largely because Adams had no personality).  Four years later he defeated Henry Clay in the Election of 1832 completing his vow.  The difficult campaigning cost him his dear wife Rachel, a loss from which he never fully recovered.

During his eight years in office, Jackson faced three major crises/events: Indian Removal, the South Carolina Nullification Crisis and the Veto of the National Bank.  The political cartoon below addresses one of those issues.  Which one do you think it is?  Was the author of this cartoon, who to this day is unknown, a supporter or opponent of Jackson?  In your comments explain how you came to this decision by using the elements in the cartoon.

20 comments:

  1. To me this cartoon is a representation of all of them combined. Each part stands for something different. The thing that stood out to me was the ripped paper on the floor. I think it stands for the Indian Removal Act, because he went directly against what the supreme court said and forced the Cherokee to go. The paper in his hand says "veto" so obviously that stands for the Veto of the National Bank. The whole outfit to me represents how he was going to do things his way and his way only in the Nullification act. The whole cartoon itself represents how Andrew Jackson thought he was the king of the world and everyone would do what he said when he said it. I think the author was against Jackson because he made him look like a dictator. In a way the cartoon portrays Jackson how he really is. (151)

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  2. The cartoon is a reflection of all three events, it does have a reference to the veto of the National Bank in the picture but, I think the cartoonist is fed up with all the decisions Jackson made. The artist was definitely an opponent of Jackson. He portrays him as a tyrant who is destroying the Constitution. The cartoon has a very negative vibe to it. It also has on the outside "Born to Command" The cartoonist, I think, is trying to portray Andrew Jackson's cockiness. He does think he was born to lead and he was the best to rule and he was a representative of the common people. Jackson really wasn't, and this cartoon shows it. (120)

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  3. I agree with Tori. I think that this is a depiction of all the things that Jackson did. It shows just how different some peoples' view on things can be. Jackson had many supporters. He was a war hero, and he had a "good" character, as he tried to make everyone believe. Jackson also had many people who couldn't stand the fact that he was in office. I think the author of this drawing is the latter. He probably couldn't believe how Jackson handled things. I mean, he ignored the ruling of the supreme court! He went above the law to get rid of the natives. And he only did that because he grew up with a hatred for them because he wanted to gain Florida. I don't really think that I would have liked him much either.
    (138)

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  4. I can't really pick out ONE of Jackson's issues that this cartoon addressed. Like Tori said, I think it makes a reference to all three. The piece of paper that Andrew Jackson is holding in his hand says “veto”, which I think is referring to veto of the National Bank. He is stepping on the Constitution, which could be referring to the South Carolina Nullification Crisis or the Indian Removal. The author obviously was opposed to Jackson. He was one of those people that you either loved or hated. The cartoon says “King Andrew the First”, which is saying that he was more of a king than a president. He did whatever he wanted instead of what the people wanted.

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  5. As soon as I looked at this cartoon, I immediately knew that the author was totally opposed to Jackson. I learned that many people thought that Jackson treated his presidency like he was the “king” of the United States, instead of a president. In the background of the picture, I see a throne, and Jackson is holding a scepter, and wearing a ‘kingly’ crown and cape. Jackson also appears to have a cocky, arrogant, and even almost smug expression on his face. The cartoon makes fun of Jackson by saying “King Andrew the First, Of Veto Memory, Born to Command, and Had I Been Consulted.” Like the others have said (I feel like I’m just repeating what they said…) It definitely seems to combine all three of Jackson’s crisis, which he ‘dealt’ with. The veto slip in his hand to the National Bank, him having ripped up the Constitution to show that he didn’t care what the people, or Supreme Court thought, he was going to do what he wanted whether they wanted him to or not. I probably wouldn’t care too much for this ‘kingly’ president either.
    words: 188

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  6. Andrew Jackson was definitely a very independent man. I agree with what pretty much everyone said about this picture about it being about all of the crises during his presidency. The veto paper in his hand symbolifies his vetoing of the Bank of the United States, which he obviously did not approve of. He is standing on the ripped up constitution because he completely disregarded what the Supreme Court said. The court voted for the Cherokee's case, when we were trying get them off thier land but Jackson forced them off anyway.
    Whoever did this comic obviously did not approve of the things Jackson was doing. He portays him as a tyrant, ruling with an "iron fist". He gave him a ceptor and king's crown and a gold apholstered throne. He was definately very kingly. (135)

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  8. I believe this is depicting the Trail of Tears. Jackson is standing on a ripped up Constitution showing that he did not care at all what it had to say. He is also holding a veto slip meaning that even though the Supreme Court said no to the Indian Removal Act, Jackson wanted it done. He is wearing a robe/cape and a crown. This shows that he thought he was high and mighty and no one could stop him from doing what he wanted. He is standing and you can see the arrogance seeping from his very being. You can tell he thinks he's king. This picture is used to depict Jackson as a tyrant or a dictator. It makes it seem as he has no mercy. In my opinion the creator of the cartoon did not like Jackson. He thought Jackson was conceited. Which was probably true… (149)

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  9. ALL HAIL KING JACKSON!!! At 1st I thought this cartoon was talking about the trail of tears and how he went against the courts decision. But, then I looked at the writing along the sides and it said veto on one of the sides and then I believe it said it was well in a sheet of paper in his hand. So then it was obivous that it was about his Veto of the National Bank. This left problems for presidents to come. You can tell whoever wrote this was completely against Jackson, because we built this nation because we did not want a king with too much power. So drawing that was an insult because none of us wanted a king. I think that Jackson was an impulsive man that gave himself more power than needed, but he was able to do something that no other president did and that was to be completely debt free. (157)

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  10. I think the saying "All Hail King Jackson" Erin made is right on. It is portraying him as a king. It seems to me whoever drew this cartoon is not in favor of Andrew Jackson. He has him dressed as a king meaning he thinks Andrew Jackson thinks he should be ruler of all. The picture definitely depicts the Veto of the National Bank since he is holding a paper that says "veto" in his hands. The papers underneath his feet show disregard toward what I think is the Constitution. The Nullification Crisis and the Indian Removal could be shown as something being stepped on. (106)

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  11. I think that the cartoon shows mostly the Indian Removal and the Veto of the National Bank. I don’t see how it shows the South Carolina Nullification Crisis. I think the author of this cartoon was neither an opponent nor a supporter of Andrew Jackson. I think he is neither an opponent nor a supporter because he doesn’t really badmouth Jackson but he doesn’t compliment him either. The cartoon says that he was born to command which is kind of true and he looks as if he is a king and kings are always the commander and sometimes even a hothead. That is how Jackson exactly was. Overall, the cartoon made Andrew Jackson look as if he was the king of the world. That is how Jackson wanted himself to be portrayed but he was only king of the world for eight years but I know he wishes it could have been longer. (154)

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  12. I think that this cartoon is talking about the Veto of the National Bank, even though Jackson stepping on the constitution could refer the Indian Removal act, because it goes against what congress was saying. The cartoon implies that the artist did NOT like the decisions Jackson was making. The words around the picture refer to Andrew Jackson being more of a king than a president, which was kind of true, because he was very stubborn and wanted to have full power over everything. This might not be a bad thing though, because he wouldn't have changed his views just because people pressure him to. the artist of this cartoon was definitely not a Jackson supporter, and makes it very obvious in this cartoon. 124 words

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  13. I believe that this political cartoon refers to how Jackson repeatedly vetoed the National Bank. The fact that it shows him holding a veto in his hand supports this theory. The born to command line references how he kept the rest of the government under his control. Since he was dressed up as a king standing on a ripped up constitution, the artist probably considered Jackson as man who does not care about what others want, and thinks he always knows what the right thing to do is. So yeah this guy hated Jackson’s guts and wanted to make sure everyone knew how bad Jackson was.(106)

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  14. I think that the cartoon is talking about the Veto of the National Bank. Also it is talking about the Indian Removal Act. I am not sure if the author is a supporter or opponent. There is a piece of ripped up paper on the floor. I think that stood for all three things, but mainly the Indian Removal Act. I think that it stood for all three because in the Indian Removal Act he didn't like what the Supreme Court Judge said so he “ripped it up" and did what he wanted to do. Also it stands for the National Bank because he didn't like them at all. Andrew Jackson also vetoed the South Carolina Nullification Act so I think the pieces of paper are like the paper that he had to sign for that Act. The words that go around the cartoon are very true. He liked to be in control and command over people. He also vetoed almost everything the people presented to him. It shows that Jackson wanted to be the king over everyone and maybe he thought he was for the time he served as our President. (193 words)

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  15. When I look at the picture it looks like Andrew Jackson is a king and not the president. I think the picture show the Indian Removal Act and the National Bank the most. Whoever drew this picture was not really a fan of Andrew Jackson. It does make him look really bad but not so good either. In the picture it show him standing on the constitution which is all ripped up, which goes along with the Indian Removal Act, as well as the veto slip in his hand for the National Bank. The Indian Removal Act was put down by the Supreme Court. Jackson did not care what people said or thought of him. 115

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  16. This picture is a perfect display of Jackson as the President. He used his power for his wants and himself and not for the people, and that’s exactly what kings do. I am pretty sure that the picture is the veto of the National Bank. First the little scroll says veto, and the only option you, fine sir, gave us that says veto is the bank. Second the picture outline says “of veto memory” so that just helps my case even more.” I don’t think that this is the Indian Removal Act because nothing in the picture hints toward it. The same thing applies to the South Carolina Nullification Crisis. Again I think that this is the veto of the National Bank. (122)

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  17. I think this picture shows the Veto of the Indian removal. For one think it shows him holding a paper that says “veto.” At first I thought it resembled the veto of the National Bank. After I thought about it some more it was kinda like him rejecting the treaties with the Native Americans. Another thing it says on the side is “of veto memory.” That kinda shows how he was forgetting the treaties and doing what he wanted. When it says “born to command” and “king Andrew the first” it shows how air headed the thot he was. When it says “had I been consulted” it shows how dumb they they thought he was doing what he did and he should have talked to others and gotten more advice before the removal. The torn up constitutions how he did not care about what it said. He was gonna do things his way no mater what it said. I think the artist of this opposed him for his poor decisions. (170)

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  18. Okay, so most of these diseases or goods are words that I have heard of, but I have no idea what they mean and how they affect you. So, I had to do a lot of research, but what I didn't was that cassava and manioc are basically the same thing. They are a starch from the plant's roots called the manihot. It is also the source of tapioca. Next, the disease called syphilis is a chronic infectious disease, where spirochete, spiraled shaped bacteria, affects almost any organ or tissue in the body, especially the genitals, skin, mucous membranes, aorta, brain, liver, bones, and nerves. The last disease that I was a bit unsure was malaria. Malaria is a disease that was transmitted from Africa to South America. It used to be caused by poisonous air being inhaled near swamps, but now it s is caused by a mosquito putting parasites into a humans blood steam and ultimately killing red blood cells. As you can see, these diseases are very deadly and sound kind of horrific. So I personally think that the diseases would be the most important trade, but also the worst at the same time. Although, the other trades were very important as well, the diseases affected the people the most, but not in a good way, but in mostly death. For example, 95% of the natives in the Americas were killed by the diseases that the Europeans brought over here. Lastly, I thought it would be really cool to see how the different religions were passed on over to the Americas, considering Columbus was supposed to spread the word of Christ, but instead went off killing people. Anyway, my profile picture is a map of the world and the religions in each area of the world.(299)

    P.S. Mo there is this cool website were you can goa nd look up words so you can find out what they mean!! its called dictionary.com! its ingenious!

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