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Jeffersonian and jacksonian democracy
Jeffersonian and jacksonian democracy
Jeffersonian and jacksonian democracy
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The Jeffersonian Era (1800-1828) was a very important time in the United States. The Louisiana Purchase was made, which resulted in a major push for westward expansion. The U.S. resolved to war as a result over their confrontations with England. The Federalists lost power which then transferred the United States into the Era of Good Feelings due to a relatively peaceful period for the new nation. When the United States transitions to the 1820’s, major changes are obvious throughout the nation. The period between 1815 and 1840 was often referred to as the “Age of Jackson.” It ushered in radical changes in the nation’s political system, a major shift in social and cultural values, and the emergence of a national market system driven by technology, …show more content…
The Jeffersonian democracy was based on a government controlled by elites and property owners. During the Jeffersonian period the Virginia Dynasty dominated the White House, and enforced a property requirement in order for citizens to vote. The Founders defined democracy as “direct rule by the people.” However, they rejected this democratic approach to government. Jacksonian democracy, in opposition to the what the Founders defined democracy as, was government by the people. As a result, an extension of suffrage was given, and offices that had been appointed were now elected. During the age of Jackson the spoils system took place, which proved that the “common man” could serve in the government. Throughout the Age of Jackson there was a formation of the second Two Party system. The Whigs were led by Henry Clay and Jackson led the Democrats. With these two systems in place, the U.S. citizens developed an interest in the two political parties and flocked to the gatherings of both the Whigs and the …show more content…
When Jefferson was president he had a vision of an agrarian nation. During his era there were economic problems, as seen in the result of his Embargo Act. During the Jacksonian period, the Economic Crisis of 1819 led to an American political interest in the economy. Westward expansion into the land of the Louisiana Purchase increased land ownership. Even more land was gathered when Jackson forced the Indian Removal Act through congress, which resulted in the death of more than 4,000 Indians on the Trail of Tears. During this period the new market economy was also born, and it brought classes into contact with one another. During this interest the U.S. transportation and factory system was born, which connected the U.S. to the world. New industry, steamboats, factories, roads, and canals were all introduced to these Jacksonian
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.
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.
Thomas Jefferson has an amazing role in our lives today from the hard work and time he spent to make an easier future for all of us. There are days that some of us could not thrive as the people we are without the appliances he made to make challenging tasks easier for us. Some people look up to him because he never stopped doing great things and never stopped showing unselfishness. Thomas Jefferson revolutionized the world of the 18th century and centuries to come. Thomas Jefferson was one of the most influential people of the 18th century because he was one of the founding fathers of America, he was the founder of the University of Virginia, and he was the creator of many life changing inventions, which drastically changed the world.
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.
In “From Notes on the State of Virginia,” Thomas Jefferson includes some proposed alterations to the Virginia Laws and discusses some differences between blacks and whites. First, he describes one of the proposed revisions regarding slavery: All slaves born after the enactment of the alteration will be freed; they will live with their parents till a certain age, then be nurtured at public disbursement and sent out of state to form their own colonies such that intermarrying and conflicts can be avoided between blacks and whites. Next, Jefferson indicates some physical differences between blacks and whites, including skin color, hair, amount of exudates secreted by kidneys and glands, level of transpiration, structure in the pulmonary organ, amount of sleep, and calmness when facing dangers. As he notes, these differences point out that blacks are inferior to whites in terms of their bodies. In addition, Jefferson also asserts that the blacks’ reasoning and imagination are much inferior to the whites’ after he observes some of the art work and writings from the blacks. As a result, based on his observation, he draws a conclusion that whites are superior to blacks in terms of both body and mind. However, Jefferson’s use of hasty generalization, begging the question, and insulting language in his analysis is a huge flaw which ruins the credibility of his argument and offenses his readers.
The years between 1815 and 1840 had many changes. Politics become more democracized with more voters, campaigns and candidates changed tactics in hopes of appealing to more people. This was all brought about by the significant economic developments of the century, including transportation, the American system, and more. Each and every one of these events has shaped the way our country runs today.
Not to mention, in the early 1800s, slavery was becoming an increasingly sectional issue, meaning that it was dividing the nation along regional lines intensively. Indeed historians have traditionally labeled the period after the War of 1812 as the “Era of Good Feelings”, but the tension between nationalism and sectionalism increased additionally, which were inevitably conspicuous and began to impair the economy, intensifying sectionalism by the means of slavery and expansion and added disunity within the government. The “good feelings” abruptly ended in 1819 when a financial terror called the Panic of 1819 threw the American economy into turmoil. The panic caused a period of economic growth, inflation, and land speculation, all of which had destabilized the economy. Banks lent money to businessmen who were seeking to buy new land to build factories for their industries; however, accompanying this expansion was inflation, which occurred after the War of 1812.... ...
The years after the civil war left one half of America, the north, satisfied and the other half, the south, mostly dissatisfied. Therefore the last third of the nineteenth century, 1865-1900, was a time period in which America was mending, repairing, improving, reshaping, and reconstructing its society, economy, culture, and policies. Basically it was changing everything it stood for. This continual change can be seen in the following events that took place during this time. These events are both causes and effects of why America is what it is today. These are some examples: the reconstruction of the south, the great movement towards the west, the agricultural revolution, the rise of industrialism, the completion of the transcontinental railroad, and America's growth to gaining world power. All of these are reasons and events that characterize America as being an ever-changing nation.
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.
At the time Andrew Jackson was president, there was a fast growing population and a desire for more land. Because of this, expansion was inevitable. To the west, many native Indian tribes were settled. Andrew Jackson spent a good deal of his presidency dealing with the removal of the Indians in western land. Throughout the 1800’s, westward expansion harmed the natives, was an invasion of their land, which led to war and tension between the natives and America, specifically the Cherokee Nation.
The argument structure of the text is well orginized and very clear to understan. It contains lots of logical reasoning which you can see later in history really helps African-Americans become equal in society. The argument was also very well supported and gave lots og good reasoning to what and why they wanted that. Thomas Jerffersons quote "We hold these truthes to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." This quote later helps the freedom of slaves and them becoming equal human beings in society and are able to vote and have all the same right as white people and also means no more segragation.
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.
The Indian Removal Act in the short term shaped the Natives culture and society very notably. The Indian Removal Act caused the destruction of Native American tribes, and lead to a loss of tradition and culture. However, it did allow for the Americans to gain the land needed to build their growing country and meet their economic desires. Desires that President Andrew Jackson had pushed for at Congress in his first inaugural speech, and had made an important policy for his presidency, as he viewed the results as beneficial, to “not only the states immediately concerned, but to the harmony of the union”. The harmony of the union was perceived to be gained at the loss of Native culture, as Jackson represented himself as the man of the people,
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]. However, critics of Jackson and democracy called him “King Andrew I” because of his apparent abuse of presidential power [vetoing]. These critics believed he favored the majority so much that it violated the U.S. constitution, and they stated he was straying too far away from the plan originally set for the United States. Because of the extreme shift of power to the majority, the limiting of rights of the few [merchants, industrialists] and the abuse of power under Jackson’s democracy, the foundational documents set in the constitution was violated, and the work of the preceding presidents were all but lost.
American society has been impacted by many factors throughout the years, including land, technology, presidential power, and human rights. Presidential power was expanded by the presidency of Andrew Jackson. The rapid expansion of technology began during the industrial revolution. The expansion of human rights started with the treatment of Native Americans. All of these factors drastically changed America into the society that it is today. But land, in particular, has had the most massive effect on numerous aspects of modern America, such as the discovery of valuable resources and goods, and the inducement of other massive expansions.