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Andrew Jackson served two terms as president, 1829–1837, setting a highly aggressive tone for an era, the "Age of Jackson". Historian James Sellers says "Andrew Jackson's masterful personality was enough by itself to make him one of the most controversial figures ever to stride across the American stage."〔Charles Grier Sellers, Jr., "Andrew Jackson versus the Historians," ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'' (1958) 44#4 , pp. 615-634 (in JSTOR )〕 His most controversial presidential actions included removal of the Indians from the southeast, the destruction of the Bank of the United States, his use of patronage to build his Democratic Party, his hard money policies that led to a recession in 1837, and above all and his threat to use military force against the state of South Carolina to make it stop nullifying federal laws. He was the main founder of the modern Democratic Party and its iconic hero. A violent man who fought many duels and fought and threatened others he was always a fierce partisan, with as many friends as enemies. Nicknamed "Old Hickory" he became the most influential and controversial political figure during the 1820s and 1830s. As the Second Party System formed in the early 1830s, Jackson led the new Democratic Party. He was known for his violent temper and numerous pistol duels. He fought the new Whig Party which tried to use federal power to to modernize the economy through support for banking, tariffs on manufactured imports, and internal improvements such as canals and harbors. He destroyed the national bank because he believed only "hard money" (gold and silver) was honest. With the 1830 Indian Removal Act he supervised the relocation of Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi. Jackson thought it was necessary for their survival, but many critics continue to attack him for it in the 21st century. Like all jet Jeffersonians, Jackson was fearful for the survival of republican values and constantly sought out political enemies he alleged were subverting of those values. Running for president in 1824, Jackson narrowly lost to John Quincy Adams even though Jackson had more votes. He denounced the "corrupt bargain" by Adams and Henry Clay that cost him the White House. In coalition with politicians from New York and Virginia, he mobilized his Western support and founded a political force that became the Democratic Party. In the Election of 1828 he won by a landslide. The Adams campaigners called him and his wife Rachel Jackson "bigamists"; she then died and he called the slanderers "murderers," swearing never to forgive them. As president, his struggles with Congress were personified in his bitter rivalry with Henry Clay, who led the opposition (the emerging Whig Party). His greatest crisis was the threat of secession from South Carolina over the "Tariff of Abominations" which Congress had enacted under Adams. Jackson denied the right of South Carolina to nullify federal law. The Nullification Crisis was defused when the tariff was amended and Jackson threatened the use of military force if South Carolina (or any other state) challenged national authority. The episode, coupled with his military victories, made him an iconic figure in the history of American nationalism. Jackson further mobilized his supporters by a long, bitter, successful battle to destroy the Second Bank of the United States. The bank president, Nicholas Biddle, proved a tough adversary, but Jackson finally destroyed him and his banks. He denounced banks, and paper money, as tools for corruption and political evil. Jackson became the iconic figure of democracy at a time when practically all white men could vote. It was he who opened the bureaucracy to the average voter, promising rotation in office. His critics denounced it the "spoils system." He helped pass the Indian Removal Act, which relocated native tribes that wanted to retain their legal sovereignty to the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). The hardships came after he left office but critics vilified the removal as the "Trail of Tears." He again defeated Henry Clay in the 1832 Presidential Election. The nationwide economic depression, call the Panic of 1837, began as he left office, and critics at the time blamed to Jackson's policies. 21st-century economic historians reject the charges and say the troubles were not primarily due to Jackson's policies. His political principles, called Jacksonian democracy, permeated American politics until the rise of the slavery issue in the 1850s. Well into the 20th century Jackson symbolized his era--the "Age of Jackson" and served as an iconic figure of American democracy and American nationalism.〔John William Ward, ''Andrew Jackson: Symbol for an age'' (1962)〕 To this day he is celebrated as the representative hero of the Democratic Party. ==First term== On March 4, 1829, Andrew Jackson became the first United States president-elect to take the oath of office on the East Portico of the U.S. Capitol.〔http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/pihtml/pinotable.html ''Inaugurals of Presidents of the United States: Some Precedents and Notable Events''. Library of Congress.〕 Jackson was a moralist who saw the world in black-and-white. Langston argues that he made himself a sort of high priest or "pontifex maximus" of the American civil religion. He demanded justification by good works.〔Thomas S. Langston, "A rumor of sovereignty: The people, their presidents, and civil religion in the age of Jackson," ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' (1993), 23#4 pp 669-82〕 Jackson was the first President to invite the public to attend the White House ball honoring his first inauguration. Many poor people came to the inaugural ball in their homemade clothes and rough-hewn manners. The crowd became so large that the guards could not keep them out of the White House, which became so crowded with people that dishes and decorative pieces inside were broken. Some people stood on good chairs in muddied boots just to get a look at the President. The crowd had become so wild that the attendants poured punch in tubs and put it on the White House lawn to lure people outside. Jackson's raucous populism earned him the nickname "King Mob".〔Edwin A. Miles, "The First People's Inaugural--1829." ''Tennessee Historical Quarterly'' (1978): 293-307. (in JSTOR )〕 Jackson believed that his presidential authority was derived from the people and the presidential office was above party politics. Instead of choosing party leaders, Jackson chose "plain, businessmen" whom he intended to control. Jackson chose Martin Van Buren as Secretary of State, John Eaton Secretary of War, Samuel Ingham Secretary of Treasury, John Branch Secretary of Navy, John Berrien as Attorney General, and William T. Barry as postmaster general. Jackson's first choice of Cabinet proved to be unsuccessful, full of bitter partisanship and gossip, especially between Eaton, Vice President John C. Calhoun, and Van Buren. By the spring of 1831, all (except Barry) had been forced to resign. Jackson's following cabinet selections worked better together. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Presidency of Andrew Jackson」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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