Jeffersonian and Jacksonian Democracy are extremely similar in nature. Jeffersonian democracy named after Thomas Jefferson refers to “one of two dominant political outlooks and movements in the United States from the 1790s to the 1820s.” They were deeply dedicated to republicanism in the United States. In order the words, they were strong advocates for the right of the people; their right to freedom and specially the people’s right to have a choice. They rejected the old British form of government and were disgusted by any form of inherited political power. They saw political power as something which is given by the people and can be taken away by the people. The Jacksonian party held similar views; they also wanted a “greater democracy for the common man. If not separated by different time period …show more content…
they could have almost been the same ideology. Of course, there are a few difference in ideology given that they are not the same group. For example, the Jeffersonians did infact “opposed inherited elites” but they still wanted educated men to be in power which at the time were usually elites anyway. The Jacksonians turns this idea completely on its head. They gave little weight to education, according to their ideology, as long as you are a free white man you were fit to fully participate in the affairs of the government. They were both against the idea that only the wealthy aristocrats were fit to have a say in how the republic was governed. They advocated for the right of the common white man to participating in government; They both believe that “all men are created in equal” therefore, they both wanted to lower the requirements for voting. They believe that individual states were responsible for their own governing thus, they were fierce opponents of a large federal government. Both of these men saw a big and overly powerful central government as detrimental to democracy and would ultimately lead to corruption and tyranny. Jefferson believed that “"If ever this vast country is brought under a single government, it will be one of the most extensive corruption...Our country is too large to have all its affairs directed by a single government." According to both of these ideas The Federal government wasn’t to meddle in the affairs of the state. In their eyes the states were capable of operating independently from each other and the federal government. The federal government would be in charge of commerce as dictated by the constitution and any other foreign affairs because they wanted to be united when it concern the rest of the world. Thomas jefferson himself was a strong advocate for the concept that the government is an institution created to protect the people's interest. He was against a big government for fear that with all that power, the government would deviate from its duty as protector, become tyrannical, and oppress the very people it is supposed to protect. Andrew Jackson believed in the power of the people because he was the first president elected directly by the people. Both the jeffersonian and the jacksonians despised the Bank of The United States. When referring to it Thomas Jefferson said "It would swallow up all the delegated powers [of the states], and reduce the whole to one power..." Andrew Jackson called it a “monster institution that would do nothing but make the wealthy wealthier at the expense of the working class.” In fact Andrew Jackson managed to get rid of the bank by stopping it from renewing its charter. Although they were both advocating for the rights of the common man to be able to vote and hold public office, their idea of who constitute the common men differ.
To Thomas Jefferson, the common man was a man able to support himself without the working for someone else; These consisted mostly of farmers and some property owners. However, he did not trust people who were not self-employed. Jackson’s idea of the common man was much more inclusive; the common citizen was every, free, adult, white male regardless of whether they were property owners or not. In that sense, because their view of who made up the common man was different their policies to help the common man were a little bit different. The Jeffersonians democrats wanted to limit the property requirement to vote, but a property requirement should exist nonetheless because it was believed to be a test of character. The Jacksonians however wanted to completely eradicate the property requirement. The Jeffersonians believed that the educated elite was best fit to rule but proposed that education should be made available to all citizens. The Jacksonian believed that all free adult males were fit to hold
office. There is definitely influence of those two ideologies in United States politics today. Interestingly, it’s not in one singular party. One can find traces of those parties in both the modern democratic and republican party. The democratic party of today stresses the importance of a person’s right to chose but their policy seem to be in favor of having a larger government. Through their policy One can observe that they would like the government to play a role in a majority of the people’s lives. The republican party is similar to these ideologies in the sense that they want to protect state's right or at least they claim to.
It is agreeable that the Jacksonian Democrats perceived themselves as strict guardians of the United States Constitution. It is not agreeable with how they went about preserving the political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of economic opportunity they stood for. While trying to create this balance, Jackson used tactics favorable only to his opinion. Jackson’s main idea was to rid of aristocracy, giving the power to the poorer classes, standing against rich white men. The flaw in their scheme was that the people who came up with this idea were all rich white men.
Jacksonian Democrats help create a more democratic America and because of this, believed themselves to be many things, real and fictional. In most cases they perceived themselves as defenders of equal economic opportunity, even though they sometimes put their own interests before those of the people. They also thought of themselves as guardians of political democracy, while at the same time using class differences to their advantage and emotionalized speeches, lacking real intellectual merit, to stir support. Jacksonian Democrats felt that they were the protectors of the Constitution and of individual liberties but many times they put their rivalry with the Northeastern industry and Whig politics before these things. While Jacksonians have much correct in their view of themselves as guardians of political democracy, equal economic opportunity and individual liberty, they were often more important in developing these concepts than protecting them.
During The Jacksonian Era many different views and ideas were predominant about the United States. The Jacksonian Democrats were a loose coalition of different peoples and interests pulled together by a common practical idea. That idea was that they all were followers of President Andrew Jackson. Jacksonian Democrats viewed themselves as guardians of the Constitution when in fact they were not. When dealing with politics and ideas within the Democratic Party of the time the Jacksonians proved to be both guardians and violators of the Constitution. Individual liberty is another area in which the Jacksonians were advocates to different sides of the topic at different times. The Jacksonians also proved to be champions for equality of economic opportunity. The Jacksonians demonstrated themselves to be, not the proponents they thought they were, but instead violators of the US Constitution.
The Jacksonian Democrats and Whigs were predominantly opposing forces in the 1830-1840’s; however, one can see instances where they worked together in certain Political and Economic issues. Economically, the Jacksonian Democrats were against the National Bank and Protective Tariff, while the Whigs supported it, and politically, the Jacksonian Democrats were more liberal, calling for the rapid expansion and growth of the country and slavery while the Whigs were more conservative on the issues of Manifest Destiny and slavery. Jacksonian Democrats were essentially greatly Anti-Federalist, supporting law and actions that reduce the amount of power of the federal government, while the Whigs were mainly federalists who supported the federal government and sought to make it stronger through their various economic and political policies.
Having grown up in not the wealthiest family, Andrew Jackson considered himself to be the President of the “common man.” He believed that the rich held too much of the power and would bid to the governments wishes for their own selfish purposes. (Doc B) As a supposed guardian of the constitution, Jackson believed that “all men are created equal.” (Doc A) He believed that every white man, landowner or not, had the right to vote. While Jackson did expand political democracy because of this opinion, he still did not implement the constitution to ...
As the young colonies of America broke away from their mother country and began to grow and develop into an effective democratic nation, many changes occurred. As the democracy began to grow, two main political parties developed, the Jeffersonian Republicans and the Federalists. Each party had different views on how the government should be run. The Jeffersonian Republicans believed in strong state governments, a weak central government, and a strict construction of the Constitution. The Federalists opted for a powerful central government with weaker state governments, and a loose interpretation of the Constitution. Throughout the years, the political parties have grown, developed, and even dispersed into totally new factions. Many of the inconsistencies and changes can be noted throughout the presidencies of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.
Jefferson feared a strong central government. Thomas Jefferson feared industrialization and the consequences that would come along with it. He feared industrialization because this allowed people to make money without being a farmer. He supported the farmers so he did not want to disappoint them by supporting the industrialization idea. He felt like farming was important especially to their families. Jefferson believed ordinary citizens should be able to be educated and know what was right. During the Jefferson democracy, education was important to prepare and to hold office. Jefferson also felt like education was very important so he built schools to enhance the people’s knowledge so they can become better at reading and writing. Education was necessary and the key to success in Jefferson’s democracy. When it came to politics, Jefferson believed that a man has to have a piece of land in order to vote. For religious reformation in the Jeffersonian democracy, Jefferson believed that religion should be practiced freely. Jefferson did own slaves, but since he felt that slavery was wrong he prohibited slaves to be
Laborers were in unrest during the 1820’s and 1830’s due to the inhumane conditions they worked and lived in, because many were often non-english speaking immigrants that were immediately forced to fend for themselves, and because machinery was being introduced - the steel that threatened to steal their jobs. Another huge strain that forced people to work was the constant availability of hands; you were replaceable. In short, the unrest among the laborers was caused by the threat of a machine or another person taking your job, and the constant stress of being a foreigner in a hustling town when people constantly turned their backs to you.
Throughout the period dating from 1801 to 1817, the United States government was primarily controlled by the Jeffersonian Republican party, whereas the Federalist Party began to slowly fade away from public view. The Jeffersonian Republican party, led by Thomas Jefferson, professed to favor a weak central government through the support of more states' rights, "...that the states are independent... to...themselves...and united as to everything respecting foreign nations." (Document A). The Federalists of the United States were known as the loose constructionists, where if there is something which the constitution does not state, then it should be allowed to be done. The Jeffersonian Republicans were known as strict constructionists for their views towards the constitution that if there is anything that is not in the constitution, then it cannot be done. The Jeffersonian Republican party centered many of their political moves on the basis of creating a strong agricultural society with a weakly centralized government where each of the states have more rights to govern themselves, where the Federalist party believed more strongly on industrializing the nation and creating a strong central government. Even though strict constructionism was the idea behind the Jeffersonian Republican party, both Thomas Jefferson and James Madison both have evidence against them which can prove that they were not strict constructionists. This is based on different political moves made by these two presidents which are more towards the Federalist side of things opposed to their own Republican and strict constructionist ideas.
middle of paper ... ... Such is the way in which the two styles viewed the American Nation and its relationship with Europe specifically; with the Jeffersonians envisioning an isolated nation built upon the idea of a natural aristocracy and the Jacksonians pushing for a more connected country empowered by the common ‘white’ man. The most defining difference between the two democracies, however, was the way in which the two’s personal views penetrated their governments policies and ideals and thus manipulated their democracies.
Jefferson’s beliefs in local self government created differences between himself and Alexander Hamilton which created the Federalists (Hamilton followers) and the Democrat Republican’s (Jefferson followers).
Following the war of 1812, there was much growth, expansion, and social change occurring within America. This was especially true during the passing years of 1820s to 1830s. Andrew Jackson (old hickory) was a hero during this time, because he had succeeded in winning the battle of New Orleans, making him incredibly popular among the people. Andre Jackson decided to run for the office of President of the United States. Jackson believed himself to be a spokesman of the common man and thought that the government should be for, and ran by the farmers, and urban workers. His many followers, known as Jacksonian democrats, held this same opinion. Together, they felt themselves to be the guardians of the Constitution, political democracy, individual
The Jacksonian Democrats had at least one misconception about themselves; they did not strive to guard the individual liberty of all Americans. They were yet to break away completely from the old beliefs that one race was superior to another. However, they did have some clear perceptions of the purpose they served. They protected the Constitution and the rights it gave to Americans by promoting equality of economic opportunity and by advancing political democracy.
“The people reign in the American political world as the deity does in the universe, they are caused and the aim of all things; everything comes from them everything is absorbed in them” At this point, the people ruled the American political world compared to god and the universe. Everything that comes politically to the people comes back to them, Jackson represented the common men he was the “people's president” in his speeches and writing, Jackson celebrated majority rule and the dignity of the common people as a matter of fact Jackson's life reflected the nation's own story of expanding opportunity as a result Jackson's strengthened himself against congress by forcing a direct link with his voters from here on he dominated his cabinet,
Jeffersonian and Jacksonian Democracy Jeffersonian and Jacksonian democracy are the same in just about every regard. Their views and goals as presidents are the same. Both are in favor of the common man and feel that it is the common people who should have the biggest influence on government, not the wealthy aristocrats. They also support states rights and feel that the federal government should not get involved with the state affairs. Both men's actions clearly show that the common man does not include minorities.