Andrew Jackson's Presidency: John Adams And Thomas Jefferson

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The Presidency of Andrew Jackson Unlike some of his predecessors, such as John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who exemplified the idea of an elite president, Andrew Jackson represented a common-man president. Although Jackson’s victory in the Battle of New Orleans earned him the title of a hero during the Madison administration, he was in many ways a political and social outsider. For instance, whereas Adams had served as vice president and Jefferson as secretary of state, Jackson had very little exposure to the executive administration. In other words, because Jackson had very little to no experiences in national politics and diplomacy, he was a political outsider. Outside of the landscape, Jackson, as historian Sean Wilentz notes, was also a social outsider, for he had little experience with Congress, received zero exposure to the executive administration, and displayed an …show more content…
In contrast to Washington, who viewed the proper role of a presidential veto was to strike down policies that were deemed unconstitutional as opposed to policies that were deemed unwise on face value, Jackson redefined the proper of the presidential veto by insisting that the president had the obligation to reject bills he felt would “injure” the nation. Taking this principle, Jackson vetoed the national bank bill, arguing that the re-chartering a national bank was not only unwise but also unconstitutional. This bank veto not only illustrates conflict between the executive and the legislative branch but resulted in significant changes between the two branches. For instance, Jackson’s veto of the national bank greatly altered the relationship between the legislative branch and the executive branch, for Congress, as a result, would need to take into consideration the president’s opinion to avoid the risk of a presidential