In the early 1800s, America was rapidly changing. Workshops, run by craftspeople in the North, were being replaced by large-scale factories, owned by business people. Small family farms, from the South, began to give way to large cotton plantations, owned by wealthy white people and worked by enslaved African Americans. People began to believe they were losing power in their government. Some people began to think that only wealthy, property-owning men managed the government the best. Many people hoped for change. They put their trust in Andrew Jackson, hoping that Jackson would defend the rights of the common people and slave states.
When Jackson was popular, some states changed their qualifications for voters to grant more white male
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Adams, a Harvard graduate whose father had been the second president. The supporters of Jackson said that Adams was out of touch with everyday people. Adams supports said that Jackson was a hot tempered, crude, and ill-equipped to be president.
In the end Jackson beat Adams, winning a record number of popular votes. Jackson rewarded some of his supporters with government jobs. The Spoils system was the practice of giving government jobs to political backers, this was from “to the victor belong the spoils of the enemy.” Martin Van Buren was one of Jackson’s strongest allies in his official cabinet. Jackson also relied on his Kitchen Cabinet, an informal group of trusted advisers who sometimes met in the White House Kitchen.
Jackson’s three main issues were:
Regional Differences, Tariff of Abominations, and States Rights
In the early 1800s, there were three main U.S. regions, the North, the South, and the West. In 1827, the year before Jackson’s election, northern manufacturers began to demand a tariff on imported woolen goods. They wanted to protect their industries from foreign competition, such as Great Britain. British companies were driving American ones out of business with their inexpensive goods. The tariff northerners supported was so high, importing wool would be impossible. Southerners said the tariff would hurt our economy and opposed it. Congress placed a high tariff on imports, before Andrew Jackson took office.
The Age of Jackson, from the 1820 's to the 1830 's, was a period of American history full of contradictions, especially in regard to democracy. The period saw an immense increase in voter participation, nominating committees replaced caucuses, and electors began to be popularly elected. Yet, all of these voting changes affected only a minority of the American people: White, Anglo-Saxon males. So, though one can easily tell that White, Anglo-Saxon males were gaining
When Jackson was elected president he introduced the spoils system, which took away the jobs of highly trained federal men. These men were the most educated to hold office, but with the new system they were replaced with political supporters as a payment for supporting Jackson. He had a belief that if the same people stayed in the position, they would have more power. Removing the people from their position was not the best option, and showed that Jackson simply wanted to make the people happy, but was not doing what was best for the country. The majority of the men were uneducated common people. In the political cartoon, Office Hunters For The Year 1834, it shows that Jackson had complete control of the members of the kitchen,since they were his friends and would often obey him. Having all the control in the White House and control over the members of
Unlike the 1824 election Jackson won his presidency by the people’s voted and not the votes of the government. Even after he won the election he started the spoil system, where he threw out former appointees and replaced them with his friends. He also gave jobs to the Jacksonians, average citizens who were loyal to him. The Jacksonians became his primary advisors and earned their name, the “kitchen cabinet” because they would come into the White House through the kitchen. Jackson’s election brought a new style to campaigning.
Therefore, America went through many changed and growth during the eight years Jackson was President. “…Jackson rode to his inauguration in a horse-drawn carriage and left Washington eight years later on a train symbolized the dramatic changes occurring in the pace and tone of American life” (George Brown Tindall 441). As a result, to achieve this level of change crops and goods that were once used for the local community,
In 1824, there was only one political party, which was the Democratic-Republicans. The election of 1824 had no candidate getting the majority of the votes. Henry Clay used an advantage to make sure that Jackson stayed out of office and J.Q. Adams to become president. This political corruption made Jackson angry, so he decided to go against Adams in the 1828 election. We know that in the 1820's, states had allowed white men to vote. J.Q. Adams didn't want to campaign while Jackson campaigned to win over average males. Jackson had won by a landslide by appealing to the common folks and his presidency is known as "The Era of The Common Man." Before the inauguration of Jackson, inaugurations used to be small and private, but he made it public in
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
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.
Jackson, uneducated as he was, was a very shrewd man. Using the spoils system, he all but totally replaced the cabinet from the previous administration. By rewarding the men who had helped him reach his current state, he made it clear that the middleclass could improve their condition. The cabinet was no longer filled with wealthy men of status, but instead of more every day people.
Andrew Jackson, whose presidential term lasted from 1829-1837, was the first president to ever be chosen by the people to lead. Because he was not born into a rich family, people felt that they could relate to him better. He too preferred supporting the common public over the wealthy aristocrats. During Jackson’s period in office he was able to shift the majority of power in the United States to farmers and small businesses in the western part of the country. Jackson vetoed many bills in order to benefit common people and also created the spoils system to balance out his cabinet. Like Jefferson, Jackson was extremely opposed to the Bank of the U.S., believing that it would only make the wealthy even
The selection of officials of Jackson was in many cases the return of a financial grant during campaigning. The consideration of the ability to govern, have intelligence and responsibility etc. were ignored in the wake of compensation. Although opposites alike were granted power they were not always for the continuance of democracy.
Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States, elected in eighteen twenty-eight. Prior to his presidency Andrew Jackson was well known and favored for his success against the British in the war of eighteen-twelve. Upon election, Andrew Jackson became known as the people’s president gaining the majority of electoral votes over his opponent John quincy Adams.Throughout his presidency many events occurred that would shape America as a nation. During his time as President Andrew Jackson was both favored and hated by many individuals. His actions pleased certain groups of people, but would also cause for a loss of support amongst Americans. Jackson’s legacy would leave behind a strong willed group of supporters, known as the Democrat party, and the creation of opposed individuals known as the Whig party as well. His presidency would be viewed as time of improvements to some, but to others who strongly opposed his presidency, it would be seen as a time for unjust tariffs and conflict. Jackson’s presidency would be characterized by key events such as the Indian removal act, the nullification crisis, and the dispute known as the war against the bank, that would alter the nation forever.
He believed that all men were qualified to hold office, no matter on wealth or educational statuses. Jackson there-for removed property and religious qualifications
The Jacksonian Era was characterized by a change in the way the United States looked at man overall. Before the Jacksonian Era took place, wealthy or more educated men were the only ones who voted, held office, or nominated candidates for office. However, when the Jacksonian Era took place men were valued by their want to work and common sense so that almost every free white man had the ability to
Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson both had distinctive, memorable presidencies that changed the political and social landscape of America, but they are remembered particularly for being champions of common men. Unlike their political opponents and the presidents before them, they believed to some extent that all men could participate in the government and reflected these beliefs in their policies. Although both Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson worked to improve the lives and representation of common people, Jackson has the better claim to these titles due to his beliefs that all men should participate in the government and his commitment to universal white male suffrage. However, neither Jackson nor Jefferson showed much regard for common people who were not white males, and therefore neither represented the interests of common citizens nearly as well as they claimed to.
Jackson conversely championed, as Edward Pessen put it, the common ‘white’ man and was distrustful of the Jeffersonian natural aristocracy. Jackson was known to have had a simple rural background, the first president to be known by a nickname and the first President to have achieved the most prestigious office in America without rising through high office at Washington. All these factors strengthened the idea that his democracy favoured the common man, something the Jeffersonian could not claim. To Jacksonians, the country’s future lay in the hands of the common ‘white’ man, an idea supported through the fact that “the percentage of [the] eligible population that voted...[averaged] sixty-nine percent…Hence, from Jackson forward presidents could claim…they were the representatives of the people”. Countering the claim that Jackson favoured the common