Andrew Jackson: Champion of Democracy or King Andrew I?

Andrew Jackson has been given two titles: "Champion of Democracy" and "King Andrew I." There is evidence that supports both sides but one of the titles seems to fit based on the amount of evidence.

Jackson, "The Man of the People," had all of America in the palm of his hand. Well, not all of America...More like all of the white men in america. He was a strong military leader, he started the Democratic party, he was a hero to many white men, and he added land to the US. He added land that is now known as Florida, Alabama, and Oklahoma. He was a owner of 100 African Americans. He isn't the biggest fan of Native Americans considering he kicked the majority of them off their land. Overall, the people of America felt that he was a good person to have running the country. He attracted more and more people to come to America.

In the early 19th century there was a big fuss about whether Andrew Jackson used patronage, or the spoils system. Patronage is when newly elected officials had given the government jobs to friends and supporters. The spoils system is the practice of giving appointed offices as rewards from the successful party in an election. He had been accused of both, but one document (Document I) had a crazy story that could possibly prove that he used both. During this time period Jackson appointed a former criminal named Samuel Swartwout to collect taxes around the city. Swartwout wasn't a professional in this part of business; he was a supporter of Andrew Jackson. Samuel Swartwout ended up stealing $1.2 million dollars, and fled with all of that money. The people trusted the government with their money, but someone from the government, who should not have even been apart of the government, had stolen all of their money.

Andrew "Man of the People" Jackson was not very fond of the natives that lived in New York. He forced the native Americans off of their land because people had found gold there. Having found gold on this land, the white people wanted to move there. Standing behind their leader they went on to say that native Americans shouldn't be treated as citizens, and can't claim their own land. Nothing was going to stop Jackson, and with that being said, he sent all of the Indians on a not-so-fun journey which is now called "The Trail of Tears." The Trail of Tears was an 800 plus mile journey that had started in Georgia, and ended in Oklahoma. The Trail of Tears was rightfully named considering that people from the government had gone into their home, after they had been kicked out, and took all of their stuff. These Indians traveled in the winter, they traveled with deadly diseases such as cholera and small pox. The natives tried to fight back but they were completely ignored by the others at home.

Again, I say that Andrew Jackson should not be on the 20 dollar bill. He wasn't for ALL of the people. He made wrong choices that led them to have a significantly less amount of money than they should've. Andrew Jackson should not be the face on the $20 bill.

Child Labor Today Seminar Reflection

In today's class we had a socratic seminar to discuss child labor that is currently going on. 

       One point I brought up to the class was that to know if the child made an item like a piece of clothing that it might not have been made well because the children were so young. Another point I brought up was that the children were being treated very poorly, and underwent punishments. For example, in the documentary we watched they said that a girl was locked up in the attic with a dead corpse in it as well.

        A point made by a lot of others in the group was about how the owners could fertilize the crops without the hazard of poisoning the children. One of those points was to fertilize the plants at night so the toxic material wouldn't be as bad by the morning.

      I felt that our group did really well with showing that we agreed or disagreed on a point someone else made. Also, we did a really good job on letting everyone have a chance to speak, and participate. I think that next time we shouldn't transition into questions so quickly because at certain points one person asked a question and another person answered it, but then we would change to a new question. Also, I think we should be given more time to get everyone's thoughts and opinions in. 

City Inspector's Report- Lancashire, England

For this assignment, I was pretending to be a city inspector, and my job was to get evidence of how poor or how well life and work were in an industrial city.

This report dated September 15, 1847 has been provided for the urban planning committees of various cities in England. My name is Kara D’Alessio, and as a mid-level city inspector I trust that you will use the information within to determine appropriate needs in urban planning for your municipalities. My report has been through as I have made use of all the sources available to me and have worked to guide you through my own analysis and critical thinking to a full description of the issues facing our cities.

On my journey to different factories and workplaces, I have found that there are positive views of Industrialization on life and work. Some of the factories were quite picturesque. At one of them I found out that injuries were quite rare, and when they did happen they were properly taken care of. (excerpt E, “Notes of a Tour in the Manufacturing Districts of Lancashire, 1842”).  Smoke coming out of the chimneys means food on families kitchen tables. This was their way of getting money.

The negative scenes that I witnessed were just repulsive. In excerpt D, “ The Life and Adventures of Michael Armstrong, The Factory Boy, Francis Trollope, 1840,” it was talking about how the children looked older than they were because of the working conditions. They had “hollow eyes,” “sunken cheeks,” and “distorted limbs.” They also had loud noises that severely hurt their ears, and they were working in vile scents such as human filth. This isn’t a setting for anyone to work in let alone children. From excerpt C, “The Factory Town, Ernest Jones, 1847,” it claimed that there was smoke that could suffocate you, and they were surrounded by fires. All you could hear in there was groaning from hard-working people. This is absolutely not the condition these people should work in.

I think that industrialization had a negative impact on living and working conditions. You shouldn’t work in a place that can kill you or decrease your health. It’s just disturbing and uncomfortable to be surrounded by all of that junk. I think that all of excerpt D was the most convincing because they talk about the state of the children who worked there, and that’s not how a human should look. You shouldn’t hear groaning from people or deep coughing. These factories were full of health hazards that could potentially result in death.

The Industrial Revolution, MakingItMagazine.net, http://www.makingitmagazine.net/?p=8003