“The President is the direct representative of the American people,” Jackson declared. Moreover, he is “responsible to them.” That last statement was totally novel. It was a modern idea in keeping with the democratic spirit of the times, but it was certainly not one the Whigs could approve with their philosophy about legislative government constituting the basis of republican rule. They insisted that the President was responsible to Congress. The opposition press agreed that Jackson’s statement about his rights and his relationship to the American people had “produced everywhere as great a
...more
