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But you must remember, my fellow-citizens, eternal vigilance by the people is the price of liberty, and that you must pay the price if you wish to secure the blessing. Farewell Address

Farewell Address

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Legacy

Jackson was the first president who had been born in a log cabin and thus, the first to have come from humble beginnings. He worked his way up in the military to become a major general and led the defeat against the British at the Battle of New Orleans. He later became a judge and congressman. Though he lost his first bid to the presidency to John Quincy Adams, Jackson won the 1828 election in a landslide, promising to return government to the common people. Americans flocked to Washington, D.C. for the “people’s inaugural,” and the White House was open to all for the first time for the reception.

Jackson engaged in numerous conflicts with government officials during his presidency in his attempt to serve as the people’s representative. In an effort to redesign the national economy, Jackson fought to democratize banking so that the powerful Bank of the United States (which was becoming more and more corrupt) would have to compete with smaller banks. This was a tough battle because the U.S. Bank had been issuing inexpensive loans to congressmen and senators to maintain its power. Jackson vowed to use his veto to “strangle . . . the corrupting monster . . . [and eradicate] its ill-gotten power.” Earlier presidents had rarely used the veto, but Jackson saw it as a powerful resource. His veto of the U.S. Bank’s recharter is noted as the most significant veto in U.S. history because it completely redirected America’s economy. Jackson continued his attack on the U.S. Bank in his second term by ordering the withdrawal of all federal deposits. His secretary of the treasury refused, so Jackson fired him and appointed a secretary who would withdraw the deposits. The Senate passed a “resolution of censure” in retaliation, the only act of censure against a president that has ever passed. Jackson responded that as president, he was responsible to the people, not the Senate: “The people are the sovereign power. The officers are their agents.” The censure was officially expunged later in 1837.