APUSH/Michelena
Andrew Jackson DBQ
Document 1
Source: Library of Congress; originally printed in 1833
Document 2
Source: Congressional Debates (1827-1828), vol. 4, part 2, cols, 2401-2403 (April 19, 1828).
“ . . . have witnessed, with astonishment and regret, as a strong proof of the aristocratic tendency of every system of government, the melancholy fact that intelligent and honorable men upon this floor, in whose Congressional districts there is perhaps a single manufactory of iron, perhaps the very wealthiest man in the county, will give their votes, without the least compunction, to impose an odious and oppressive tax upon the remaining thousands of their poor constituents, to increase the profits of one wealthy nabob…
…I speak not the language of the demagogue, but the grave and solemn language of historical and philosophical truth, when I say that it is the very genius of this system, as exhibited in this and every other country, to tax the many and the poor for the benefit of the few and the wealthy.”
Document 3
Source: Boston Daily Atlas, quoted in the Daily National Intelligencer (Washington, D.C.), August 9, 1832.
“The Bank veto…is the most wholly radical and basely Jesuitical document that ever emanated from any administration, in any country…
…It falsely and wickedly alleges that the rich and powerful throughout the country are waging a war of oppression against the poor and the weak; and attempts to justify the President on the ground of its being his duty thus to protect the humble when so assailed…
…This veto seems to be the production of the whole Kitchen Cabinet [an informal group of advisors to Jackson]—of hypocrisy and arrogance; of imbecility and talent; of cunning, falsehood, and corruption—a very firebrand, intended to destroy their opponents, but which now, thanks to Him who can bring good out of evil, bids fair to light up a flame that shall consume its vile authors.”
Document 4
Source: J.D. Richardson, ed., Messages and Papers of the Presidents (1896), vol. 2, pp. 456-459 (December 8, 1829).
“The condition and ulterior destiny of the Indian tribes within the limits of some of our states have become objects of much interest and importance. It has long been the policy of the government to introduce among them the arts of civilization, in the hope of gradually reclaiming them from a wandering life. This policy has, however, been coupled with another wholly incompatible with its success. Professing a desire to civilize and settle them, we have at the same time lost no opportunity to purchase their lands and thrust them farther into the wilderness…
…As a means of effecting this end, I suggest for your consideration the propriety of setting apart an ample district west of the Mississippi, and without [outside] the limits of any state or territory now formed, to be guaranteed to the Indian tribes as long as they shall occupy it, each tribe having a distinct control over the portion designated for its use.”
Document 5
Source: Travel Times, 1800 and 1830
Document 6:
Source: The Election of 1828, Out of Many: A History of the American People, p. 269.
Document 7
Source: Letter to Judge Brook from Henry Clay, as quoted in Parton,
Life of Andrew Jackson. III, p. 594.
. . .I have less confidence than I formerly entertained in the virtue andintelligence of the people, and in the stability of our institutions. . .Are wenot governed now and have we not been for some time past pretty much bythe will of one man? And do not large masses of the people, perhaps amajority, seem disposed to follow him wherever he leads, through all hisinconsistencies. . .when we think that he is ignorant, passionate,hypocritical, corrupt, and easily swayed by the base men who surround
him, what can we think of the popular approbation which he receives?One thing only was wanted to complete the public degradation, and thatwas that he should name his successor.