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'''Andrew Jackson''' was the 7th [[President of the United States of America]], elected as a hero after his military triumphs over the Creek Indians of the Southeast and the British at New Orleans in 1815. As President (1829-1837), he destroyed the Bank of the United States, relocated the remaining southeastern Indians, and built a new political coalition, the Democratic party.  A self-made man, Indian fighter, war hero and a fighter (and duelist) who believed in action instead of words, he was the iconic Western folk hero. Nicknamed "Old Hickory" by his admirers, he typified popular democracy in the "Jacksonian Age" of the 1830s and 1840s, and became the leader of [[Jacksonian Democracy]] during the [[Second Party System]]. He was the founder of the [[Democratic Party]] and its hero because of his strong use of the federal government to bash conservatives and banks; liberals lost faith in Jackson when his harsh Indian policies became a negative in the 1960s.  Jackson was a political enemy of the Evangelical Protestants of the day, who denounced his policies and supported the opposition [[Whig Party]].

'''Andrew Jackson''' was the 7th [[President of the United States of America]], elected as a hero after his military triumphs over the Creek Indians of the Southeast and the British at New Orleans in 1815. As President (1829-1837), he destroyed the Bank of the United States, relocated the remaining southeastern Indians, and built a new political coalition, the Democratic party.  A self-made man, Indian fighter, war hero and a fighter (and duelist) who believed in action instead of words, he was the iconic Western folk hero. Nicknamed "Old Hickory" by his admirers, he typified popular democracy in the "Jacksonian Age" of the 1830s and 1840s, and became the leader of [[Jacksonian Democracy]] during the [[Second Party System]]. He was the founder of the [[Democratic Party]] and its hero because of his strong use of the federal government to bash conservatives and banks; the poor farmers and workers loved him because he embodied their hopes and fears, their passions and prejudices, their insight and ignorance, better than anyone. However liberals lost faith in Jackson when his harsh Indian policies became a negative in the 1960s.  Jackson was a political enemy of the Evangelical Protestants of the day, who denounced his policies and supported the opposition [[Whig Party]].

==Career==

==Career==

===Indian Removal===

===Indian Removal===

Jackson, with the backing of Southern politicians, sought to abrogate the standing treaties with the Chickasaw, Cherokee, Seminole, Creek, and Choctaw nations by evicting them from the land they lived on and relocating them to present-day Oklahoma. The idea was roundly decried as illegal and inhumane by evangelical Protestants, who had missionaries to the tribes, and by Whigs. Advocates of forced removal, mostly Democrats from the South, called removal a 'humane' and 'compassionate' move to assist a 'dying people.' The debate surrounding removal quickly became a North-South issue with Southern politicians calling their Northern counterparts 'demagogues' who sought 'to weaken the South' by allowing Indians to remain. In 1830, the resolution was approved by Congress and, assisted by Georgia state officials, Jackson began the process of evicting Native Americans. By 1835 the Cherokee, the last remaining Indian nation in the South, had signed the removal treaty and relocated to Oklahoma.<ref>Michael Morris, "Georgia and the Conversation over Indian Removal," ''Georgia Historical Quarterly'' 2007 91(4): 403-423, in [[EBSCO]]</ref>

Jackson, with the backing of Southern politicians, sought to abrogate the standing treaties with the Chickasaw, Cherokee, Seminole, Creek, and Choctaw nations by evicting them from the land they lived on and relocating them to present-day Oklahoma. The idea was roundly decried as illegal and inhumane by evangelical Protestants, who had missionaries to the tribes, and by Whigs. Advocates of forced removal, mostly Democrats from the South, called removal a 'humane' and 'compassionate' move to assist a 'dying people.' The debate surrounding removal quickly became a North-South issue with Southern politicians calling their Northern counterparts 'demagogues' who sought 'to weaken the South' by allowing Indians to remain. In 1830, the resolution was approved by Congress and, assisted by Georgia state officials, Jackson began the process of evicting Native Americans. By 1835 the Cherokee, the last remaining Indian nation in the South, had signed the removal treaty and relocated to Oklahoma.<ref>Michael Morris, "Georgia and the Conversation over Indian Removal," ''Georgia Historical Quarterly'' 2007 91(4): 403-423, in [[EBSCO]]</ref>  

 

Cave (2003) argues Jackson acted illegally in pressuring Indians to move west of the Mississippi River in the 1830s. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 called for voluntary removal and included safeguards for Indian rights, but Jackson ignored and distorted the act to suit his purposes. The newly formed Whig Party actively opposed Jackson's policies, and congressional legislation dealing with Indian removal was hotly debated and passed only by narrow margins. Had Jackson followed the legal dictates of the 1830 act, he probably would not have achieved Indian removal, says Cave. However Remini (2001) argued that the worst Jackson could be accused of was carrying out what most southern whites wanted at the time.<ref>Robert Remini, ''Andrew Jackson and his Indian Wars'' (2001)</ref>

Cave (2003) argues Jackson acted illegally in pressuring Indians to move west of the Mississippi River in the 1830s. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 called for voluntary removal and included safeguards for Indian rights, but Jackson ignored and distorted the act to suit his purposes. The newly formed Whig Party actively opposed Jackson's policies, and congressional legislation dealing with Indian removal was hotly debated and passed only by narrow margins. Had Jackson followed the legal dictates of the 1830 act, he probably would not have achieved Indian removal, says Cave.