passed out hickory sticks to remind people to vote for "Old Hickory." The party also spent lots of money and advertising space reminding voters of the "Corrupt Bargain" of 1824 which allowed John Quincy Adams to win the presidency and Henry Clay to gain Secretary of State. Jackson's common man appeal and his role as a political outsider helped him win election in 1828 and 1832.

Jackson ran as the first Westerner to hold the top office in the land. He vetoed any national attempts at internal improvements as he thought that they should be state-level affairs and they only served to create pork barrel projects that would benefit certain Congressmen. Jackson also did not renew the charter for the Bank of the United States, citing Eastern money interests as being corrupt. Jackson also freed most of the southeastern United States for white settlement by forcing Native Americans into Oklahoma. Jackson also rewarded those who helped him win election through the "spoils system;" this allowed the president to give government jobs to his supporters.

Several developments enabled Andrew Jackson to become president. One development was the "corrupt bargain" that was supposedly struck by John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay in the 1824 election. According to this rumor, Clay supported Adams for the presidency in exchange for a spot in his cabinet as secretary of state. Another development that led to the Jacksonian presidency was the decreasing popularity of President Adams and his administration. This decrease was due to his support for Panama's quest for independence, as well as the general feeling that the affluent Adams was out of touch with poor voters. Jackson's "log cabin" persona helped him take advantage of these feelings and helped him win the 1828 presidential election.

Jackson's hand in national politics can also be seen prior to the 1828 election. After the economic Panic of 1819, Jackson was one of the most vocal critics of the national bank. He was also one of the first politicians to openly blame the Monroe administration for the many problems facing the United States. Jackson viewed Monroe and his subordinates as incredibly corrupt. When he first ran for president in 1824, his stance against the banks and corruption formed the basis of his platform.

Andrew Jackson's rise to popularity occurred because of his legacy of military service. As a major general in the War of 1812, he fought the Creek Indians in a campaign that lasted for five months, won the Battle of Tohopeka in Alabama in 1814, and won the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. It was this last battle that resulted in Jackson being branded as a national war hero. In 1817, he continued his service by capturing Spanish posts at Pensacola and St. Mark's in order to claim the land for the United States; this played a large part of the acquisition of Florida in 1821 by the United States. 

It was this popularity that led many to suggest that he run for president. Despite his lack of interest in the position, he received a nomination and a seat in the Senate. The election results indicated that Jackson had won the popular vote, but no single candidate had won the majority of the electoral votes. Thus, the House of Representatives ended up making their selection, selecting Adams in what became known as the "corrupt bargain."

Jackson won the presidential election in 1828 and was sworn into office in 1829, marking a shift toward the West in American politics. He was known as the first "frontier president." Some of his most inhuman policies were born during this period, and he suggested that land west of the Mississippi be set aside for Indian tribes at the end of 1829, resulting in the passage of the Indian Removal Act in 1830.