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Andrew Jackson's election in 1828 is described as The Revolution of 1828. It brought to power the first American President not rooted in the Eastern aristocracy. He was elected by the "common" man and acted within that mandate.

Jackson's Presidency is the beginning of the modern Presidency, one in which the powers vested in the office of the President grew immensely.

Jackson was the first President to introduce the spoils system to national government, basing appointments on political support. Thus, patronage - present on a state level - became predominant on a national level. Jackson used his function as the head of the party to enhance his power.

Jackson used his veto power extensively. He vetoed more bills in his term of office than all the previous presidents put together. Jackson was also the first to use the pocket veto, a delaying tactic in which the President does not sign a bill within ten days of the end of the Congressional term, preventing it from becoming law.

One of Jackson's major tests as President came over the issue of tariff and nullification. This conflict masked the larger issue of states rights. There had been rising sectional unhappiness over the higher tariffs imposed by the federal government. South Carolina objected outright to the tariffs, and to counteract the tariffs, passed a nullification act. Jackson refused to tolerate such an act, and threatened to hang those supporting it. Eventually, a compromise was reached, but not before the groundwork was laid for an ongoing tension between the states and the Presidency which would eventually lead to the Civil War.

Jackson was a major opponent of the Second Bank of the United States, considered an instrument of the Eastern establishment. He succeeded in having the bank's charter revoked.

When Jackson retired from the Presidency, he departed with his popularity intact and the Presidency a much stronger institution

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12y ago

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