Those of us who attended the Jacksonian America lecture learned a little more about the nature of the very unique Andrew Jackson. Well at least I did. I knew Andrew Jackson was a bold preseident who intended to stand up for the "people" and he based his presidency around this idea. But I didn;t know the degree in which he created a strong imperial presidency. With Jackson's following emerging as the American Democracy party, as they called it, they were actually inferring they were against the aristocracy. We would formally know them as the Democratic party, I learned that this was the beginning of the idea of the vast distinction between the elite and the common person. Jackson thought he was the direct representative of the people as president, evern though that meant eligible white men who could vote, everything he did he felt like he was doing in the interest of the "people" and against the elite. Andrew Jackson would be the face of the Occupy movement going on today, standing in favor of the 99%. The word tyranny did come up in the lecture referring to Andrew Jackson. Well was he? Maybe... maybe not. I can't really assess that question but it is fair to bring up when discussing the way Jackson did somewhat abuse his power as president firing cabinet members and forcing Indians to resettle because Jackson knew what was best for them. It seems to me that Jackson expanded the power of the president, and the modern president seems to assume these expanded roles. Does that mean presidents now have more power then they deserve? Would our founders be acceptable of the role the president plays now? Would a president every be willing to go back to what the presidency was supposed to be before Jackson came in and messed it up? Jackson truly has made me question the role of the president, at least for right now. I wonder if another Andrew Jackson will ever rise up again, but I think we learned our lesson the first time. Who knows, I mean my name is also Andrew...but I don't have the audacity to ever do what Jackson did... and that is just assuming that I ever have the honor of being the president. But I like learning about Jackson, at least he was not afraid to stand up for what he thought was right.
McConnellCenter.org