Jacksonian Democracy & Whig Values Emerging from the Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans in the 1830’s, came a new party, led by the famous Andrew Jackson. This new party derived the same principle of appealing to the average American that their predecessors did. The Jacksonian Democrats took it a step further though, and boasted their dedication to the “common man” by insisting that the government bowed to the will of the people. They were also a proponent of smaller government, and that all positions of the state be elected directly by the populous. The main principle of the Jacksonian Democrats, was “the majority is to govern”, in which Jackson himself also stated that “[the people had the right] of electing their Chief Magistrate” …show more content…
A good majority of it’s patrons were from the coastal and urban areas, whilst Jacksonian Democrats voters mainly came from rural and agrarian societies; generally, more economically developed areas would vote Whig. The campaigns were like religious revivals, as they predominantly campaigned only near election time. The party was quite homogeneous as well, as it drew on evangelical Protestantism, but the Democrats were not, and more likely to accept cultural
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.
The Jacksonian Democracy was a 19th-century political philosophy in the United States that believed greater democracy for the common man. Andrew jackson the leader of the philosophy brought about many changes in the government. Jacksonian Democrats viewed themselves as the guardians of the United States constitution, individual liberty, political democracy, and equality of economic opportunity. They were somewhat able to protect political democracy and equality of economic opportunity, but they were not guardians of the constitution or individual liberty.
When it came to political matters the Jacksonians “Democrats” favored states' rights and frowned upon the Federal Government’s involvement in social and economic affairs. The Democrats portrayed and thought of themselves as the common man, a lower-class person who made his living off the land. They also promoted the idea that anyone could hold a government position. This would glorify the individual and its mind.
uring the 1830’s to the 1850’s, two seemingly contrasting parities displayed various forms of similarities. Examining ideals, the Democratic party and the Whig party were generally opposed to each other. The Jacksonian Democratic Party and the whig party were generally opposed to each other in their ideals. The democrats were devoted to jefferson's idea of an agrarian society run by the common man, whereas the wings promoted the industry and manufacturing of the north'd states. presidency, however, birthed a common ground between them. While the practices between the political parties remained constant, actual ideologies varied between Whigs and Democrats.
The creation of the Democratic Party and the abolishment of the national bank are a few of the several decisions Andrew Jackson made that benefited the U.S. Using the time between elections, Jackson’s supporters created the Democratic Party which would represent common people, such as ordinary farmers, workers, and the poor (Hart et al 259). The creation of this new political organization gave common people the right to
Jacksonian Democracy describes the time from when Andrew Jackson became the seventh president of the United States in 1829 till the end of his second term in 1837 (Shi and Tindall, 319). He was the first president that didn’t come from a prominent colonial family. His “common man” background lead him to being a popular political figure among the common people. This lead to him and his supporters forming America’s democratic party. A democracy is a system of government where the people or citizens exercise power directly or elect representatives from among themselves to form a governing body. Andrew Jackson and his supporters greatly supported the idea of democracy. They wanted the common people of America to have more power when it came to
Looking at the ballots of 1828 and 1832, Andrew Jackson was clearly labeled as a Democratic Republic, a party founded by Thomas Jefferson. These Democrats supposedly believed in the ideas of a limited central government, states’ rights, and protection of the liberty of individuals. However, based on these principles, tyrannous “King Andrew I” may not be as democratic as one may think. Jackson shifted the Presidency to a more personal style, by vetoing anything that disagreed with his own beliefs, rather than the beliefs of the people. Through the Indian Removal Act, the Spoils System, and the Bank War, Andrew Jackson revealed himself to be a non-democrat who cared more about himself than the people. And among these people, natives and slaves were given the least liberties out of all the racial groups in America at the time.
He clearly proclaimed that he was the "champion of the common man" and believed that their interests were being ignored by the horrible national economic plans of Clay and Adams. A man named Van Buren helped Jackson create a new democratic party that centered three main chief qualities. First it declared to be the party of ordinary farmers and workers. Second, it opposed the special privileges of economic elites. Third, was to offer affordable western land to ordinary white
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 the two-party system, supporters of Jackson were Democrats and supporters of his rival, Henry Clay, were the Whigs. The Democratic Party resembled the old Republican party of Jefferson, while the Whigs represented the Federalist party of Hamilton.
The Jacksonian Democratic Party and the Whig Party each, exemplified different beliefs on the role of the federal government in the economy and towards westward expansion in the 1830s and 1840s. However, the Jacksonian, laissez faire supporting Democrats and the economic nationalistic Whig party shared almost no beliefs except for the removal of American Indians in the areas their supporters wished to settle. The lack of similarities is because the Whigs formed their own party to oppose President Jackson’s strong-armed leadership style and policies which earned him the nickname “King Andrew.” The Jacksonian Democratic Party evolved out of the Democratic-Republican Party in the early 1800s, the core of its membership was composed of farmers, immigrants, and white Southerners. The Whigs formed in 1834 and lasted for 20 years, they were the major political party that opposed Andrew Jackson. The Whigs were created based upon the Federalist beliefs in a strong federal government and adopted many Federalist and National Republican policy ideas, including federal funding for internal improvements, a central bank, and high tariffs to protect the growth of manufacturing enterprises. Overall, the Jacksonian Democratic agrarian Party and the industrialization supporting Whig Party had different beliefs toward the role of the federal government in the economy and towards westward expansion.
Watson surmises that with this threat, politically active citizens were ripe for a political party system that would protect their independence and liberty. Enter Andrew Jackson, who appealed to those voters who felt threatened by the changing economic picture. Jackson and his supporters believed that the Republican/Whig political party represented an elitist, aristocratic government that would put the ever expanding economy and their own profit above the liberty and good of the majority and it was the good of the majority that Jackson would rely on with great success. He believed that the preservation of the Republic depended on the majority and the majority was represented by independent farmers, who were profiting the least from the Market Revolution. Believing that any government based on aristocracy could become corrupt, he felt that that the best way was to treat all of the citizens alike and turn the rule of the country over to the majority. This majority, with the fiery General Andrew Jackson as their leader, would create the Democratic Party.
However Democratic precincts in Irish Catholic and German immigrant communities, found to have a bigger appeal and thus the Democrats often sharpened their appeal to the poor by ridiculing the Whigs' aristocratic pretensions. Protestant religious revivals also injected a moralistic element into the Whig
Political democracy was one of the resurfacing interests during the Jacksonian Era. Jacksonian Democrats saw it as their duty to protect the government run