Although Jackson insisted that this post-inaugural job shuffle was simply a "rotation in office," the scheme was dubbed "the spoils system" after Senator William Marcy's comment on the matter: "To the victors belong the spoils of the enemy." A notable beneficiary of such spoils and an old friend of Jackson, the infamous Samuel Swartwout was appointed to serve the government as a collector of customs in New York. Jackson ignored his advisors' repeated warnings about Swartwout's untrustworthiness, and the greedy appointee absconded from office with over a million dollars of government money. The spoils system distinctly reflects the immoral practices of Andrew Jackson's term as president and the crime of Samuel Swartwout serves as an example of the treachery and fraudulence that was instituted in Washington on account of Jackson's deplorable appointments of unqualified men into office.
Another example of Andrew Jackson's unethical conduct as president was the passing of his ruinous Indian Removal Act of 1830, which forced the extraction of some 100,000 Native Americans from their home territories and resulted in a myriad of deaths along the Indians' journey on the arduous Trail of Tears. Previously to the Removal Act, numerous Indian tribes had made concerted efforts to civilize their societies to live harmoniously with the Americans who would foreseeably encroach on their territory. Unfortunately for these "Five Civilized Tribes," neither Andrew Jackson nor the Georgia legislature was satisfied with Indian efforts to blend into American culture, and a declaration by the Georgia legislature claimed jurisdiction over Cherokee land and internal affairs. The declaration was thrice trumped by Chief Justice John Marshall in court. However, headstrong "Old Hickory" disregarded these rulings and mocked his judicial counterpart by scoffing: "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it.
