Jackson Impeachment Positions
When weighing the arguments for and against the impeachment of Andrew Jackson it is of the utmost importance to keep in mind the legal grounds for impeachment. The constitution states in Article 2, Section 4 that the president may be removed for “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” Impeaching a president is a serious decision and it is important to separate the morality or merits of an action taken by a president from its legality.
The first case for the Impeachment of Andrew Jackson is based on his threat to use military force to make South Carolina pay the tariff of 1828. In Article 1, section 8, clause 15 congress is given the power “to provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel…
While the actions taken by the Jackson administration are morally apprehensible they do not form a basis for impeaching Jackson. The treaty of New Echota gave Jackson the right to exchange western land for the land in Georgia that the Cherokee occupied. While the treaty was not considered valid by the majority of the Cherokee people it was ratified by the senate meaning that Andrew Jackson was not violating the laws of the United States by acting under the treaty. After this treaty was passed actions taken by Jackson to remove the Cherokee Nation from Georgia, however morally wrong, were well within his rights as the president of the United States. It can be argued that Jackson should have been impeached for violating international law or committing war crimes. These arguments lack potency given that there were no international laws regarding the conduct of war at the time. Jackson’s actions resulted in the horrific events that would be remembered as “the trail of tears,” but in the process he did not do anything that would qualify him for…
