He believed that the people were the foundation of the country. Jackson believed that if officeholders held shorter terms the peoples" changing ideas could be more accurately represented in the government. Even he, a two term president, wanted Presidents to serve for a shorter duration. Jackson said, " extension of the law which limits appointment to four years. In a country where offices are created solely for the benefit of the people no one man has any more- (Letter to Congress, December 8, 1829). Jackson wanted every office to be held for a maximum of four years, including the presidency. He believed that this would be best for the people since the government was solely formed for the people. Jackson's actions proved that his thoughts were always in the best interest of the people. Even though his presidential term would be limited, he still wanted to change the law so that the people had more power in the government. Unlike many other presidents he was altruistic, not selfish. When he was pressured by his peers he did not surrender his beliefs. He was steadfast in his decision making and kept it in accordance with the wishes of the people.
Jackson did many other things that were in the best interest of the people. He had to fight the legislature to keep them from taking away too much power from the people. Jackson wanted the people of the United States to be represented throughout all actions of the Government. The Bank of the United States was not in the people's best interest. Jackson characterized the Bank as, "almost a monopoly of the foreign and domestic exchange." (Bank Veto Message to Congress, July 10, 1832). It turns out that a quarter of the Bank's stock was held by foreigners and the rest was held by a very small percentage of rich people. This directly contradicted Jackson's views of a Democratic society. Of the twenty-five Bank directors, none were chosen by ordinary citizens.
