Democracy During The Jacksonian Democracy

1082 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Historical roots of american democracy

Democracy is what America is built upon, however, it has changed vastly throughout the years. Democracy allows the people to have a say in what the government decides. Americans fought so hard to get away from a monarchy so that they could be free in what they believe in and how they live, although, there has to be some rules for the better of the people, and that is where democracy come into play as a happy medium. Since many did not want anything that closely resembled a monarch, many opposed expanding the government and giving it more power because they feared it would function just as a monarch. This caused many debates and changes in democracy. Specifically, from Thomas Jefferson to Andrew Jackson, differences in the American Republic …show more content…

The Jacksonian democracy changed the way Americans voted forever because it allowed all white males to be able to vote which was not permitted before. It sparked a precedence that all should be able to vote, years later women and then African Americans would be allowed to vote, but not during the Jacksonian democracy. Another effect the changes had on America was the desire to abolish slavery. Jackson had no desire to abolish it and even owned slaves, this lack of desire prolonged slavery several years. Slavery was so cruel and ruined so many peoples and families’ lives and had such a huge effect on African Americans lives. Also, the Native Americans were affected by Jacksonian democracy as well. Many of the Indians did not agree with the Indian Removal Act and did not wish to move out of their homes that they had been in before the colonists came. This is why it was so controversial, because many were forced out of their homes. It was not fair to the Indians but Jackson was doing it to expand land within the states borders. Overall, the transition from the Jeffersonian democracy to the Jacksonian democracy Started a more progressive era of democracy as well as shaping the political groups that are now present today in …show more content…

Not only did he change the way of voting by supporting the common man and letting all white males vote instead of just the ones who owned property but he also changed politics by creating the democratic party, who supported his ideal. The conservatives followed after, forming a group who opposed Jacksons ideas. It is important to know how a political party started and know what they believed in, in order to best fit someone into a group. Both presidents had their own way of doing things in different times and stages of America. There were different circumstances and issues during both presidencies that caused them to make decisions that would affect the future of America and its democracy. Many lives such as the Native Americans’ and African Americans lives were affected by these choices. Lastly, throughout the presidency of Thomas Jefferson to Andrew Jackson, changes in the American Republic took place, the explanations for these differences can be pinpointed, and the importance of these differences in the future of the American Republic development can be

Show More
Related

  • DBQ On Jacksonian Democrats

    487 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Strict/Loose Jacksonian Democracy

    1064 Words  | 3 Pages

    Based on the following doctrines, I believe the extent of characterization of the two parties was not completely accurate during the presidencies of Madison and Jefferson, because of key pieces of evidence that proves inconsistencies during the period between 1801 and 1817. In the following essay, I will provide information supporting my thesis, which describes the changing feelings by each party and the reasoning behind such changes.

    Read More

  • Louisiana Purchase Dbq

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    The effect on people from this era though continues way past these times. The Jacksonian Democracy's policy was the right to vote, for men with white skin slowly over time. This policy was passed to represent what Andrew believed in which was that a typical white man should be more involved in the process of democrats, something that was substantially in conflict with the Founding Fathers' beliefs, who put a complicated voting process in place precisely to get away from giving too much capability to the ordinary man. By spreading out suffrage, Andrew filled the nation with more of a democratic teachings and character. Another big influence the democracy had was the westward regional growth. With James Polk as President, In 1845, the United States conquered Texas, In 1846, signed an agreement with the British to divide the region of Oregon, and battled with Mexico (Also 1846) to have ownership over the Southwest and California. The regional growth of this gave the nation a lot of resources such as gold found in California, in addition to substantial territory for people to live on, but it had a bad impact on American Indians, because many of them were forced to move somewhere

    Read More

  • Jacksonian Democracy DBQ

    776 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the 1820’s - 1830’s America went through some would call a political revolution when government issues were diverted from being only for the elite to now they would include the common man as well. This change of power brought a lot of power to the people contributing to the Jacksonian democratic belief of guarding the Constitution. Yet, many of the people under Jackson still saw no change in their liberties, as they did not meet the Jacksonians target audience of white males. Despite expanding the political conversation, Jacksonian Democrats used the Constitution to limit individual liberty and political democracy by only protecting the rights of only a select few of people and seeking to fulfill their goal of obtaining their own  gain and maintenance of the then status quo lifestyle therefore not truly guarding the Constitution.

    Read More

  • Jacksonian Democracy Dbq

    1046 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Andrew Jackson Document Based Question

    1140 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Andrew Jackson Dbq Essay

    878 Words  | 2 Pages

    Andrew Jackson was a man that people see that he is a good person and others say he is a terrible person. Andrew Jackson can be bad person and a good person it depends what type of person is Andrew Jackson is he going to help out the world or is he going to mess up the world? Democracy is a form of government were the people have a right to assist in the law making process. If Jackson didn’t support the people and wasn’t in the government the bank and the people would be in a huge mess. Andrew Jackson was very democratic and there are political , economic and geographic ways to prove it.

    Read More

  • Jacksonian Era Dbq

    949 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Jacksonian Era was a time of great change for American citizens and the federal government of the United States itself. This period of time that started with Andrew Jackson’s election in 1828 is sometimes known as the “democratization of politics” for the United States, and many documents can be analyzed to conclude if this statement is true. Democracy is commonly known as the people's right to vote, and Jackson gave many more opportunities for Americans to vote. The majority of Americans wished for the removal of Native Americans and these Indians were very unpopular among American citizens, so, for his people, Jackson did all he could to rid America of the Indians through the Indian Removal Act. Jackson did what was beneficial for American civilian’s wants, needs, and finances. The positively evolving rights to vote, the removal of unwanted Indians, and keeping lower and middle class citizens on the forefront of Jackson’s mind led to the Jacksonian Era being a time of democratization of politics.

    Read More

  • The Reasons Why Andrew Jackson Was Democratic?

    1497 Words  | 3 Pages

    He made the Native Americans feel unwelcomed in their own country by taking their land and shipping them off were they would not bother a white man. Jackson also changed the voting system to benefit his own needs while in office. He was also overwhelmed by the amount of power he possessed and eventually succumbed to the temptations of selfishness. Although President Andrew Jackson was certainly not democratic, he allowed future presidents to learn from his mistakes so that history does not repeat itself. His time as president offered guidance to the true democracy America uses today in its

    Read More

  • Jacksonian Democracy

    779 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Jacksonians and President Jackson proved to be both keepers and offenders of political democracy. Jacksonians did not protect political democracy for non-white men. The Cherokees and African Americans were persecuted almost entirely by the Jacksonian Democrats. They protected the interests of the poor and rich white-man; protecting the interests of farmers, mechanics, and laborers by keeping the rich from gaining too much power. Jackson and his democrats did a great deal to protect the common man. Universal Manhood Suffrage was also an important factor in the political democracy of the United States. By giving all white men the right to vote it helped lessen the power of the upper class.

    Read More

  • Jacksonian Democracy

    1629 Words  | 4 Pages

    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 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

    Read More

  • Democracy In The 19th Century

    1358 Words  | 3 Pages

    Democracy in the United States became prominent in the early to mid 19th century. Andrew Jackson, the 7th president of the United States, was inaugurated in 1829 and was best known as the person who mainstreamed democracy in America. Because he came from a humble background, he was the “genuine common man.” (Foner, pg. 303) He claimed he recognized the needs of the people and spoke on behalf of the majority [farmers, laborers].

    Read More

  • America's Democracy

    1078 Words  | 3 Pages

    America's Democracy The United States of America is a republic, or representative democracy. Democracy, a word that comes to us from Greek, literally means the people rule (Romance, July 8). This broad definition leaves unanswered a few important details such as who are the people, how shall they rule, and what should they rule on (July 8). Defining the answers to those questions means defining a model for a democratic system.

    Read More

  • Jacksonian Democracy

    1144 Words  | 3 Pages

    Topic: Jacksonian Democrats viewed themselves as the guardians of the United States Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of economic opportunity.

    Read More

  • Andrew Jackson Hero

    1169 Words  | 3 Pages

    In between the election of 1824 and the election of 1828, Jackson and his supporters created the Democratic political party. According to the textbook, “This new party, they promised would would represent ordinary farmers, workers, and the poor, not the rich and well-born who had taken control of the Republican Party” (Hart, 2005). During the election of 1828, many new democrats voted. Previously, only educated men who owned property were allowed to vote. Now, the common people, like farmers from the west, were also given the right to vote. For this reason, the amount of voters significantly increased. Also, Jackson introduced the United States to the idea of mudslinging which is still used today. Mudslinging is a campaign strategy that consists of outing your opponents down in order to get more votes. Additionally, democrats replaced the caucus system with nominating conventions. So, instead of congress committees choosing political candidates, delegates from the states chose them. Furthermore, Jackson exchanged federal employees with democratic supporters. As stated in the textbook, “Rotating people in office was more democratic than lifetime service, he said, because it gave more people a chance to serve their government” (Hart, 2005). This was called the spoils system, it returned the government to a democracy, and made it equitable. Moreover, a bureaucratic government was introduced. This is a form of government that is still used today where non-elected officials can hold office positions. Though one may argue Andrew Jackson’s spoil systems resemble tyrannical acts, his intentions were to ameliorate the government. Prior to this, the government was overpowered by republicans; president Jackson returned it to impartiality. This is significant because Jackson and his supporters created a major political party that is still standing to this day. Likewise, the majority of the population were common

    Read More

More about Democracy During The Jacksonian Democracy

Open Document