What people said about
him…
 “I feel
much alarmed at the
prospect of seeing General
Jackson president. He is the
most unfit man I know for such a
place…he is a dangerous man.”
-Thomas Jefferson
 “He
is ignorant, passionate,
hypocritical, corrupt, and easily
swayed by the basest men who
surround him. I cannot believe that
the killing of two thousand
Englishmen at New Orleans
qualifies a person for the various
difficult and complicated duties of
the presidency.”
-Henry Clay
 “A
barbarian who cannot write a
sentence of grammar and can
hardly spell his own name.
Incompetent both by his
ignorance and by the fury of his
passions.”
-John Q. Adams
The Election of 1824
Jackson won the popular vote but not
the majority, so the House of
Representatives had to decide
 Henry Clay, Speaker of House,
influenced them to elect John Quincy
Adams
 Once in office, Adams appointed Clay as
Secretary of State
 Jackson’s supporters claimed the two
men had a “corrupt bargain

Election of 1828
Lots of “mudslinging” during the
campaign
 Many states were expanding suffrage
and the number of voters tripled
 Many states no longer required owning
property
 Jackson was supported by thousands of
first time voters

Love Him
 Jackson’s status as
a war hero
made him popular
 The fact that he did not come
from a wealthy family helped
people relate to him
Hate Him
Politicians and elite
I didn’t think he’d
feared he was
invite the people
unpredictable,
“en masse!”
stubborn, and too
independent
 Feared he would give
too much power to
the common man
This is decidedly
 People feared the
erroneous!!
“Reign of King Mob”

Power to the People
 How
did the people
gain more power during
the Age of Jackson?
The Spoils System
 Any
and all government jobs
taken and given to
friends/supporters
 Jackson supported the spoils
system by saying
 Any “intelligent” person could
hold office
 Used
to keep a
To the VICTOR
goes the
small group of
SPOILS!!!
politicians from
controlling the
government
 In the words of one
of his supporters
“To the victor goes
the spoils.”
Egalitarian
 Jackson feared the
power of the
government
 Attacked (sometimes literally)
any politician or law he thought
was corrupt or dangerous to
liberty
 Did
not believe in special privilege for
the wealthy
 Thought bank favored the rich
Vetoes
Jackson worked independently of
Congress and politicians
 Vetoed more acts of Congress than the
six previous presidents
 Earned himself the nickname “King
Andrew I”
