Andrew Jackson, Research Paper Example

Why was Andrew Jackson a significant change in the line of Presidents?

Andrew Jackson was a significant change in the line of Presidents because he was the first Presidential representative of the Democratic Party, and therefore, arguably the instigator of party politics in the United States.

Andrew Jackson was the first candidate of the Democratic Party, indeed it was mostly through his efforts that the Party took shape in the first place (Aldrich 97). As Jackson saw it the new party was to represent “the people”, that is the everyday working people; the very same that he thought elected him to the Presidency in 1829 (Howe 386).

Consequently, the new party’s focus on grass roots support was a shift away from previous Presidential elections. Jackson, the son of an immigrant from a working class family, represented a change. He was certainly not considered one of the political, economic or social elite; who up until then had dominated American Presidential politics (Aldrich 97). As John Aldrich has described it, the Democratic Party was “the first, national, mass-based partying history”, consequently the election of Jackson was a considerable shift away from previous lines of American Presidents.

Indeed, “Jacksonian Democracy” left a lasting legacy in American politics. Referring to its working class roots, the term has come to represent those political leaders more interested in supporting the poorer members of society; farmers, small business owners and “struggling pioneers, for example (Behrman 103). Indeed, banks were one of the biggest targets for Jackson, he considered them almost anti-democratic and certainly anti-independence (Howe 376).

Overall, Andrew Jackson’s was a significant change in the line of Presidents. A hero of the people, rather than the elite, Jackson set the course of party politics in the United States. Two hundred years later and the ideals espoused by Jackson – fairness, support for the working community, equality – are still platforms of the present day Democratic Party. Consequently, Jackson Presidency was an important change in American politics.