22. Topic: Andrew Jackson Thesis: Andrew Jackson advocated states’ rights. The party he founded, the Democratic Party, had evolved from the earlier Democratic-Republican Party, which had been led by Thomas Jefferson an earlier advocate of the states’ rights position. However, despite being a southerner and a slave owner himself, Jackson put the Union first. It is certain that the position taken by many Democrats during the Buchanan administration combined with the actions and leadership of the president himself must have sent Jackson spinning in his grave.