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How Did Andrew Jackson Justify His Actions

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Andrew Jackson is a general in the US army. In 1818, he writes a report to the US secretary of War, John Calhoun . During this time the Seminole indians have been attacking the Americans living on the frontier in Georgia. Calhoun has directed General Jackson to campaign against the Seminole indians. Jackson has recently taken over the Spanish Fort St. Marks. (Jackson, 256) Jackson’s report to Calhoun justifies his actions during his campaign and states that it was done within the spirit of both Calhoun and the US President’s approval.
There are three points that Jackson makes in his report to justify his actions. First, he believes there is an outside force instigating the Seminole indians to attack Americans. Second, Jackson believes that the Seminoles intend to take over the Spanish forts in order to sustain a war …show more content…
“On the commencement of my operations I was strongly impressed with a belief that this Indian war had been excited by some unprincipled foreign, or private agents.”(Jackson, 256) During Jackson’s sacking of the Spanish Fort St. Marks he finds evidence of two countries helping to aid the Seminole indians. He found documents that showed the Spanish were purchasing property taken from US citizens by the indians. Also during the raid two English men were found in the Spanish fort. Papers found aboard their shipping vessel implicated them in aiding the Seminole indians, an enemy of the United States. (Jackson, 257) “The capture of his Schooner near the mouth of Suwaney river by my aid de camp Mr Gadsden, and the papers found on board unveiled his corrupt transactions as well as those of a Capt Armbrister” (Jackson, 257) Jackson’s intuition proves to be correct when this documentation was uncovered. The documentation was shared with Calhoun in order to prove he was justified in taking the Spanish Fort, although the order was not explicitly given by

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