Siddharth Kona

Mrs. Regan
AP U.S. History
October 22, 2014
Andrew Jackson Prosecution Paper
In Andrew Jacksons two terms as president, which has spanned from March 4, 1829- March 3, 1837 (today),
there is definite evidence of a blatant and deliberate abuse of his executive power. He has far overstepped the boundaries
that were clearly outlined to him as president, and regardless of any justified purposes or moral goals that he, or any of his
admirers, may argue that he had, he should be impeached and dismissed from office. Proof exists for all three of the
indictments formed against Mr. Jackson (Undermining the separation of powers by illegally expanding the powers of the
executive branch, undermining the federal system of government of the United States by eroding the power of State
governments, and undermining the economy of the United States by ill-advised and politically-motivated actions), and the
House of Representatives has already made the intelligent decision to impeach Andrew Jackson for his actions. Therefore,
at this point any attempt defending or justifying these actions should simply be brushed aside. Due to his unconstitutional
behavior in the position of president, I believe that at least 2/3 of the Senate, if not its entirety, should vote for the
conviction and dismissal of President Andrew Jackson from office.
The first indictment states that President Jackson undermined the separation of powers by illegally expanding the
powers of the executive branch. The first part of this indictment mentions his Excessive vetoes of congressional action,
which are in violation of the voice of the people. An example of the excessive vetoing issued by President Jackson was
the Mayville Road veto, in which he vetoed Congress right to purchase stock in the Maysville, Washington, Paris, and
Lexington Turnpike Road Company, solely based on the opinion that federal money should not be used for local matters.
It gave both Jackson and the presidents that will follow him an unfounded sense that they have the right to veto at their
own leisure, an idea which greatly increases the power of the executive branch. The second part of this indictment deals
with Jacksons refusal to enforce the Supreme Courts decisions, such as in the case of Worcester vs. Georgia, in which
Chief Justice John Marshall declared that the Cherokee tribe was a denominated domestic dependent nation". Even after
this ruling, Jackson allowed Georgia to enforce the hard labor that it had originally intended for the Cherokee-supporting
whites. A third major change Andrew Jackson has made in the executive branch came as a result of his spoils system, a
quite corrupted system if you ask me, in which he replaced all federal officials with his own supporters. As if this wasnt
unethical enough, this change replaced hundreds of educated, upper-class North-Easterners with uneducated Westerners.
Andrew Jackson then went as far as to attempt justification for this action by saying the duties of those positions were
simple and plain. This will also pave the way for justification of this devious act among future presidents, increasing
the power of the executive branch.
The second indictment states that Andrew Jackson undermined the federal system of government of the
United States by eroding the power of state governments. The case in hand was the nullification crisis, in which
President Jackson took it upon himself to deprive the state of South Carolina of its rights. Firstly, he issued a
protective industrial tariff (the tariff of 1832) to a state that was almost completely agricultural. Then, when the state
rejected the tax and wanted to secede, Jackson introduced a Force Bill that would allow a right to use armed forces
to force South Carolina to pay its taxes. This takes away not the states right to secede, but its right to nullify a tariff
that would hurt the states financial status.
The third indictment against President Andrew Jackson is the statement that he undermined the economy of
the United States by ill-advised and politically-motivated actions. An example is Andrew Jacksons veto of a bill that
would recharter the Second Bank of the U.S. This bill was completely constitutional, yet Andrew Jackson, based on
the political dislike of the fact that Congress couldnt oversee the actions of the Bank, decided to veto the bill. This
action alone was a major deviation from the norm of vetoing only due to unconstitutionality, let alone its aftereffects.
Andrew Jackson was never truly qualified to be president. He did not have the education or the political
experience to become president, but due to his image as the hero of the common man, he managed. With his reckless

behavior in office, eight years has been far too long, and regardless of his motives for all of the illegal acts he ahs
committed in office, I believe he must be impeached and convicted as soon as possible.
"What Was the US Supreme Court Case Worcester v. Georgia and What Was the Court's Decision?" Answers. Answers
Corporation, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.

"The Spoils Sytem, Where It Came From and What It Meant." About. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.