Over 2000 years ago, the Greek philosopher Plato warned against the dangers of Mob Rule and the effects which may occur under such a government, stating that a Philosopher King would be better suited to run a country. Andrew Jackson would probably have agreed with such a statement, for he himself was more willing to direct the United States towards his own personal beliefs and economic aspirations than towards a government ruled completely by the people. In the 1820s and 1830s, Jacksonian Democrats held a majority of power within the US, labeling this period in history as the "Jacksonian Era", all the while pursuing personal and nationalistic goals in the name of the "common man". Giving the pretense of a false sense of equality to the ordinary persons of America, they pulled strings and made corrupt bargains which they viewed as necessary to keep "democracy" going. They viewed themselves as the guardians of not only the United States Constitution, but also political democracy, individual liberties, and equality of economic opportunity.
English: Andrew Jackson - 7 th President of the Un...
Portrait of Andrew Jackson, the seventh president ...
78 year old Andrew JacksonIn truth, they used these values, in particular the constitution, as facades to their political schemes.
In numerous cases, most notably Andrew Jackson's veto message, the Constitution of the United States was used to uphold the faulty decisions made by him and his supporters, with no clear interpretation as to why it is unconstitutional other than that it is his "opinion" to act thus. Even though such an "opinion" may be based more on personal profit and opinion than on the Constitution, he had the right to veto, and therefore used this right when he vetoed the rechartering of the national bank. In fact, he had during his presidency utilized vetoes considerably more than all of his predecessors put together. Before they had been able to dismantle the national bank,