Era of Andrew Jackson

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“The era of Andrew Jackson was the era of the common man” Discuss. The era of Andrew Jackson is an era which is much debated amongst historians. Historians such as Donald Barr Chidsey (Here after DBC) see Andrew Jackson as a hero, while others such as Sean Wilentz portray Andrew Jackson as a villain. In the book “Andrew Jackson- Hero” DBC portrays the seventh President of the United States as a hero. According to DBC “Jackson became a National Hero when he defeated the British at New Orleans” This is in reference to Jackson’s efforts during the Battle of New Orleans in 1812 in which he was the command in chief and in which his strict Andrew Jackson was also seen as a hero by DBC due to the fact that he “took on a elite political system of which the will of the people was not always recognised by Congress”. in particular after the 1824 election in which Jackson, ran under the banner of the Democratic Republican Party, Jackson was not elected President due to the fact that he had failed to receive an electoral majority and despite getting a higher popular vote than John Quincy Adams the latter was elected. After Adams’ election in 1824, Jackson immediately began campaigning for the election four years later. He argued that the government had “stolen the election from the American people” by electing his opponent Adams as president despite receiving a less popular vote than Jackson. He also put himself to the people as an individual who had had to make his own way in the world, unlike the previous Presidents, including the current incumbent (John Quincy Adams) who had been born into wealthy families and had been given a great education. Jackson’s father had died prior to his birth while the remaining members of his family, his mother and two brothers had been killed during the Revolutionary War and therefore Jackson did not
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