American president who took office in 1829, styling himself a champion of the "common man". His rise coincided with the removal of property requirements for voting in many states, expanding suffrage to most white men. He introduced the "spoils system" of rewarding loyal supporters with government jobs, arguing it reduced corruption by rotating officeholders; critics said it concentrated power in the presidency, intensified partisan polarisation and encouraged incompetence and graft.
In 1817, as a general, Jackson invaded Spanish-claimed Florida, using scorched-earth tactics against the Seminole people—destroying villages, burning cornfields and executing captured leaders without due process. Congress investigated but chose not to censure him. He won over 55% of the popular vote in 1828. The cornerstone of his platform was the Indian Removal Act, which Congress narrowly passed in 1830 (102–97 in the House), banishing 60,000 Native Americans from their ancestral lands east of the Mississippi to "Indian Territory". Thousands died on the forced march west, known as the "Trail of Tears".
A Supreme Court ruling in 1832 should have protected tribes from displacement, but Jackson ignored it—a defiant precedent that would inspire future presidents. Jackson had personally negotiated many treaties with Native nations but viewed them as relics of an era when America was too weak to conquer. He argued Indigenous Americans should be treated as "subjects" not sovereigns.
Jackson was censured by the Senate in 1834 for removing federal deposits from the Second Bank of the United States without congressional approval. His opponents called him "King Andrew" and warned about the concentration of power in the executive branch.
QOTD: How can I miss you if you won't go away?