Age of Jackson

Andrew Jackson came into power in 1828. While in political power, Jackson gave common people a chance to participate in the government. He did this through the spoils system, where new administrations hire their own supporters to replace supporters of the previous administration. With the spoil system, Jackson handed a massive number of jobs to his friends and allies. In 1816, congress increased the Tariff. The South’s economy depended on cotton exports. The high tariffs on goods reduced British exports to the U.S. and British bought less goods, damaging the south economy. In 1832, Congress raised tariffs again which caused south Carolinians to threaten to secede from the Union. Jackson responded to the raise of Tariffs by urging Congress to pass the Force Bill to allow federal government to use the military if state authorities resisted paying proper duties. A civil war seemed likely but Henry Clay forged a compromise to lower the tariff bill.Jackson defended federal power in the nullification crisis, but decreased federal power when it came to the Second Bank of the United States. He believed that the bank was an agent of wealthy people and that it did not care for the common people. In 1832, Jackson won reelection and instantly tried to kill the bank by withdrawing all government deposits and placing them in state banks called “pet banks.” This action angered many and many accused him of acting more like a king than like a president.
President Andrew Jackson started with good intents by trying to rule in favor of the common people. However his methods were to some extent harsh, and limited the powers of other branches. This is why some people consider his rule to be the closest to that of a monarchy.