andrew jackson quotes

1. Andrew Jackson
on the American Presidency

2. Jackson did not want to run for the presidency, thinking himself a better army
commander than a political leader.
As told to H.M. Brackenridge, Jackson's secretary, in 1821; quoted by James Parton, The Life of Andrew
Jackson (1860), vol. II, ch. XXVI (Houghton Mifflin and Co., 1888), page 354. Parton cites his source as
H.M. Brackenridge, Letters, page 8.
“Do they think that I am such a damned fool as to
think myself fit for President of the United States?
No, sir; I know what I am fit for. I can command a
body of men in a rough way, but I am not fit to be
President.”

3. This is an interesting quote because Jackson was politically opposed to his
predecessor, John Quincy Adams. His agreement to run for president was in
part inspired by his dislike of John Calhoun, his presidential opponent and
Adam’s Vice President.
Bates, Christopher G. The Early Republic and Antebellum America: An Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural,
and Economic History. Armonk, NY: Sharpe Reference, 2010. Print.
“I've got big shoes to fill. This is my chance to do
something. I have to seize the moment.”

4. Jackson included this in response to being censured by the senate for
dismantling the Bank of the United States. Throughout his presidency he
maintained the supremacy of the executive branch, going aroung the senate
and the supreme court at various times.
"The Avalon Project : President Jackson's Message of Protest to the Senate; April 15, 1834." The Avalon Project :
President Jackson's Message of Protest to the Senate; April 15, 1834. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 June 2015.
“It was settled by the Constitution, the laws,
and the whole practice of the government
that the entire executive power is vested in
the President of the United States.”

5. Assuming that this quote applies to his own office as well as the government
in a larger sense, this provides an interesting perspective of what he might
have thought about other presidents, especially those he disagreed with.
"Avalon Project - President Jackson's Veto Message Regarding the Bank of the United States; July 10, 1832."
Avalon Project - President Jackson's Veto Message Regarding the Bank of the United States; July 10, 1832. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 24 June 2015.
"There are no necessary evils in government. Its
evils exist only in its abuses."