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Why did they call Andrew Jackson king Jackson?
Andrew Jackson, who assumed the presidency as party politics were becoming more polarized, found himself labeled as nothing short of a dictator by his Democratic Party's oppos…ition, the Whigs. Unlike previous presidents, Jackson used his popularity and power as president to fill his cabinet with loyal Democratic followers. Jackson did not consult Congress in policymaking and used his power of the veto to assume control of the national government. As a result, many of Jackson's detractors and the political cartoonists of the day labeled Jackson "King Andrew." Whig leaders, such as Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, claimed that Jackson was more of an authoritarian and bully than a balanced president, often citing his relentless use of veto power. In 1832, Jackson vetoed the bill to recharter the controversial Second Bank of the United States, claiming, "The bank is trying to kill me, but I will kill it!" Jackson vetoed bills for political reasons, or simply because he disliked them, thus rejecting the tradition originated by George Washington that vetoes were rarely to be exercised by presidents in a republic. During his two terms in office, Washington used the veto power just twice; Jackson used it twelve times, more than all of his predecessors combined. (MORE)
