Jacksonian Democracy

Jacksonian Democrats viewed themselves as the guardians of the United States Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of economic opportunity. However, the Jacksonian Democrats were in a catch 22. In order for them to protect the interests of the common man, they at times had to violate the very things for which they stood. By doing this, the Jacksonian Democrats stressed the importance of the power of the common man, at times by violating their own principles.

One reason why Jackson was not democratic is his use of the spoils system. “King Andrew the first...born to command” (cartoon of Jackson that appeared in the presidential election of 1832). This cartoon shows how he felt like he could do whatever he wanted to further himself. “no one man has any more...right to (government jobs) than another” (Andrew Jackson’s letter to Congress). The spoils system gave government jobs to supporters of the political leader, often leading to fraud and inefficiency. Using power to reward people who are your supporters, rather than due to skill and experience, is wrong. It is also excluding certain people from having a say in the government, and getting what should be theirs, which is not democratic.

Jacksonian Democrats believed that they were protecting individual liberty, political democracy, the equality of economic opportunity, and upholding the rights of the Constitution of the United States. In my opinion, the Jacksonians were, to some extent, guardians of the United States. However, the Jacksonians did have their flaws.

Supporting the Democratic Party they believed “government should adopt a hands-off attitude toward the economy and not award special favors to entrenched economic interests” (Foner, p. 380). These views were opposed by parties like the Whigs which believed that the American national government should be strengthened. Foner states “Whigs united behind the American system, believing that via a protective tariff, a national bank, and aid to internal improvements, the federal government could guide economic development” (Foner, p. 381). Jackson’s opposition to the stronger national government essentially created opposing sides to the development of America. Jackson’s strong stance on issues like the national banks and government is what accounted for hostilities that he stirred up among people with opposing views. Though these beliefs created hostility from opposing views they were also what created such a strong following from the Democratic

Was Andrew Jackson the democratic figure our great nation needed in the mid 1800’s? From 1828 to 1836, Andrew Jackson served as president in the United States of America. During that time, the country was torn in half due to controversies such as the eviction of the national bank, the Indian Removal, and the spoils system. Although some people believed Jackson was fair to the common man, Jackson acted undemocratically during his presidency because he was not fair to everyone and only listened to his supporters.

The Jacksonian Democrats were very important in the revolutions in political democracy that took place during this period. During this period universal white male suffrage took place and was the first step towards the revolution of the common man in politics. Also, Jackson's acceptance and support of the two-party system helped create a more democratic America in which people with similar views could unite in their support of a singular candidate. Many "working men" of this time period had felt they had been taken advantage of and misrepresented by tyrannical aristocrats who treated them poorly (A). Jackson used this to his advantage with emotionalized speeches exploiting class differences. However, it should be said that during this time period the amount of voters increased dramatically which means that more Americans were involved in American politics (D). Jackson's use of the "Kitchen Cabinet" kept his knowledge of critics and the wants and needs of the people up

The Jacksonian democracy of the 1820s-1830s is often associated with an expansion of the political influence, economic opportunities, and social equality available to “the common man,” a concept of the masses which President Andrew Jackson and his newly founded Democratic party came to represent. The new administration certainly saw gains for the majority; namely, public participation in government increased to unprecedented levels, and several economic decisions were made to favor the people over monopolies. Beginning with their exaggerated portrayal of the “corrupt” 1824 election however, the Jacksonian democrats also left a legacy of substantial miscalculations

In his veto message, Jackson wrote, "It is to be regretted that rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes." This was true, since the bank was used to provide for the interests of the rich and not the common men such as the small farmers and urban workers.

Citizens were becoming more involved with their politics. This was mostly due to Jackson being more like the working class voters and sharing many of their same views and getting them involved through various rallies and other get together's. They greatly accepted his theory of democracy and that it should offer “equal protection and equal benefits” to all white males and favor no region or class.

     During the administration of Andrew Jackson, the United States was a nation of change both politically and socially. American society was a society of opportunity. Americans felt that, given a chance, they could make a better life for themselves. This was the era of the common people, the era of democracy. Andrew Jackson appealed to the American people because he stood for values many regarded with favor. However democratic Jackson may seem, he was more tyrant-like than any of his predecessors. His major offerings to the nation included majority rule and a popular presidency, however offered no benefits to women, African Americans, nor Native Americans. Jacksonian Democracy was

In addition to creating a more democratic country, Jackson also tried to establish equal economic opportunity for the people of America. The best example of this is the vetoing of the charter of the Bank of the United States. The bank was a huge monopoly. It was ran by aristocrats, most of which were from England. Nicholas Biddle, who was the president of the bank, often used funds from the bank to lend money to the members of Congress, thus wining their support.

Although the “Age of Jackson” wasn’t a time era, which brought forth a great political, social, or economic freedom and equality to the U.S., it did in fact put our country through a metamorphosis in our political lives of the nation. The start of a new presidency (Jackson’s presidency) was accompanied by huge numbers of Hickoryites (Jacksonian supporters) and official hopefuls. Many of these hopefuls were granted their desire of holding office, which is one of the changes brought into Washington by Andrew Jackson.

How Democratic was Jacksonian Democracy? Jacksonian Democracy changed the political standing of the United States forever. This political system guaranteed that the representatives of the people would be chosen by the people, no more elected legislature. Jackson’s democracy was seen in two different ways, democratic or undemocratic.

“When I was President of the Senate he was a Senator, and he could never speak on account of the rashness of his feelings. I have seen him attempt it repeatedly, and as often choke with rage. His passions are no doubt cooler now...but he is a dangerous man.” (Bailey 250). This quote comes from Thomas Jefferson when talking about Andrew Jackson and how Jackson is as a person. Similar to Jackson, the Jacksonian Democracy is a dangerous, independent, but a productive way of looking at life. Dangerous because of the land policy he had regarding what to do with the Cherokee Indians especially with the resulting Trail of Tears, which included the Indian Removal Act. Independent because of his whole role in removing the Bank of the United States.

The Jacksonian era began in 1828 through President Andrew Jackson’s election to office, where he began to enact some reforms which included the increasing participation of the general public in government affairs, strengthening the executive and president’s office at the expense of Congress, and demanding elected rather than appointed judges (Cigler et al., 2016). Moreover, Jacksonians categorized the American people into two groups which comprised of the people and the aristocrats. On the other hand, Whigs was an American party which name originated from the Patriots in the age of the American Revolution that believed in an Industrial America and were completely opposed to the presidency of Andrew Jackson. The Whigs party was formed by democratic Republicans led by Henry Clay who identified themselves as contemporary opponents of the government in power (Cigler et al., 2016). Furthermore, the Whigs believed in governmental power that promoted the moral health of the country by temperance legislation while also being comfortable with market