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 3. The Spoils System vs. "Draining the Swamp"

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 3. The Spoils System vs. "Draining the Swamp"

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The “Spoils System” and the “Draining the Swamp” ideas from presidential leaders Andrew Jackson and Donald Trump, respectively, are extremely similar because their intentions are nearly identical. The “Spoils System” was a reward system implemented by Andrew Jackson during his term as president which granted political supporters of his cause with public office positions. He also surrounded himself with wealthy, influential elites and catered to their interests. The purpose of this doctrine was to further buttress his political influence by ensuring that there were people around him in power that he knew would back up his decisions and plans. This strategic method of ruling and rewarding those who supported him benefited him because it attracted more people to support his cause and at the same time, it gave him more influence and power whilst in office. In a similar nature, the “Draining the Swamp” idea from recent president Donald Trump was his promise to drain out or remove people in Washington who did not support him and replace them with his wealthy friends, loyal supporters, and family members. The intention behind this idea is rooted in the same as Jackson’s plan, which is to surround himself as a presidential power with influential, powerful people who would further raise his own power. This exchange of support for both Andrew Jackson and Donald Trump was effective because it ensured loyalty for both of the political leaders during their terms.

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Andrew Jackson:

Capitalized on his fame of being a war hero after the War of 1812 during the presidential election of 1824

He had lost this election from the electoral vote, however won the majority in which he felt the system was rigged and worked to delegitimize the new president John Quincy Adams

In the election of 1828, however, his greatest achievement was the widening of democratic space, bringing new groups of voters into politics and tripling his popular vote.

He had won the population of white working-class men through his campaigning and being close knit with the media and promoting things in his favor as well as helping bring down John Quincy Adams.

Donald Trump:

Similar to Jackson, Trump had capitalized on his popularity as a businessman and promoted his real estate victories and also won the majority of the white working-class

He capitalized through the use of media like Jackson in which he used sources like Twitter and campaign speeches to expand his demographic

Unlike Jackson, Trump lost the popular vote to Hillary by the millions but he similarly antagonized his opponent and felt as though things were rigged in a conspiracy. To be like Jackson, Trump would need to focus on winning the majority of those who voted for other candidates like Jackson had done.

Trump's victory contrasted with Jackson's in which his own was credited to the mechanics of the constitution and benefited from the American systems designed to filter the will of the people.

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1. Backround and Upbringing of each president

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1. Backround and Upbringing of each president

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Andrew Jackson was born in 1767 to a family in near poverty in South Carolina. His father died soon after he was born, so he grew up with a widowed mother and received little education as a young child. He became an attorney at seventeen years old and practiced law as well as pursuing other careers for many years. He became a hero in the War of 1812 as he led troops through the Battle of New Orleans. He eventually ran for president in 1824 with great political experience but lost to John Quincy Adams. Afterward, he began the “bargain and corruption” conspiracy against John Q. Adams and spent four years building a popular movement in favor of majority rule. Jackson defeated Adams in the election of 1828. In contrast to Andrew Jackson’s childhood, Donald Trump grew up in a well-off family. His father owned a real estate company, and Trump and his siblings eventually helped work the company. As a child, he was enrolled in the New York Military Academy. He then began his business career while still in college and by the 1980s, he had a reputation as a major real estate developer. He continued to build up his career and marketed his name as a brand, and eventually, his name had so much success tied to it that even when his plans failed, it did not make a dent in his career. He ran for office in 2016 with little political experience and won against Hillary Clinton.

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4.  Views on the extent of presidential power

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4.  Views on the extent of presidential power

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Both past presidential leaders had similar views and attitudes regarding the extent of presidential power. They both largely believed that the role of the executive branch or presidential power holds the most influence and weight compared to the other judicial and legislative branches. This caused them during their terms of presidency to operate with a more superior, independent attitude that influenced their decisions regarding handling economics and accepting acts that largely affected America as a country. For instance, Andrew Jackson ignored the federal court’s decision regarding the Worcester verses Georgia case in 1832 which was where the judicial branch retaliated against the Indian Act of Removal that displaced thousands of Native Americans and stated that the Cherokee Indians could not be forced to move. Jackson instead claimed that despite the branch and John Marshall having made their decision, they could not enforce it because as a president he would not accept it. As a result, he still enforced the removal of the Cherokees in the Trail of Tears of 1838. This situation demonstrates how Andrew Jackson viewed his influence as a president to be superior to other governmental powers, which fueled his controversial decisions during his term. In a similar way, Donald Trump also saw his influence as president to be higher than other powers meant to keep him in check. This resulted in him making bold statements such as, “I have an Article II [of the Constitution] where I have the right to do whatever I want as president.” This demonstrates how Donald Trump interpreted the second article in the Constitution that states his powers as president to give him superior power in comparison to the other branches. In all, this is how Andrew Jackson and Donald Trump have similar views in how the presidential office has an exceeding amount of power in comparison to the judicial and legislative branches.

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5. Changes in political parties that resulted from each presidency.

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5. Changes in political parties that resulted from each presidency.

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Trump-

Trump’s presidency led to the political parties becoming more divided and hateful toward each other

Trump’s controversial comments and personality have led political parties to become more isolated because people who do not support him feel inclined to view people who support him negatively and vice versa. Americans have interpreted his character in opposite ways- many Republicans said his words made them feel hopeful, informed, happy, etc, whereas many Democrats said his words made them feel concerned, angry, insulted, confused, etc. Many people have now stated that they no longer feel comfortable talking about politics with people they do not know well for fear that the other person may have opposing views and become hateful towards them.

Trump prioritized putting America first and making America great again, including having economic nationalism, a stricter immigration policy, and a more isolationist foreign policy, leading the Republican party to be a more nationalist party.

Trump’s presidency also made the political parties more divided by focusing on issues that are highly debated due to ideological differences within the US. This led the Republican party to embrace culture war issues, including opposition to critical race theory, LGBTQ+ rights, etc. This has led the division between the Republicans and Democrats (who have very opposite views regarding these issues) to become even more prominent.

Jackson-

After the election of 1828, the political parties under Jackson changed through such:

Prior to Jackson’s presidency, the Caucus System, a nomination system in which small groups of individuals within a party serving Congress choose the party’s candidate, was used. After his presidency, Party Conventions were used in which party members gathered in a convention to nominate candidates

The use of the Spoils system where political supporters could now be rewarded with public office used as a way to bring more people into politics

Jackson’s presidency contributed to the split of factions such as the Democrat and Whig Party because with his presidency there was a widened democratization of America as a victor for the common people by eliminating property requirements for voting. This, of course, led to the opposing view holders to form the Whig Party which criticized Jackson’s autocratic power of the executive branch. They supported the national bank which Jackson planned to destroy because he believed in taking the federal government out of economic development. Overall, Jackson’s presidency sealed the two-party system after the decline of the Democratic-Republican party.