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Dbq Essay: How Democratic Was Jacksonian Democracy?

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How Democratic was Jacksonian Democracy? When describing democracy, it can be related to ideals that empower the people, such as: fairness, representation, equality, opportunity, and freedom. In the early 1800’s, these democratic ideals began to transform American culture and politics as they seemed to suffuse every aspect of society. By the 1820’s and 1830’s, America even attracted the interest of many foreigners who were impressed by the democratic character of life. They were surprised by the equality of conditions and saw American society as far more egalitarian than any society in Europe (Keene, 228). This new wave of democracy also thrived through politics and by 1828, almost every single state chose their presidential elector by letting …show more content…

Along with the new way of choosing presidential electors, there was a dramatic move towards the expansion of suffrage with the hopes to expand the right to vote to all white men, and by the late 1820’s most voting restrictions for white men had been removed. One political figure whose career flourished from this was Andrew Jackson as he appealed to the people’s interests and ideas to win the presidential election of 1828. He had campaigned his commitment to democracy to the public by insisting that he was for the common man, displaying himself as one of them, and promising that he would be a voice for the people. By playing this democratic game, Jackson was seen as a symbol of the new age of democracy, but in reality, the democratic ideals of his presidency were not as democratic as he campaigned. Referred to by many as “King Mob”, Jackson had a domineering, undemocratic way of ruling and he failed to include groups such as African Americans and …show more content…

Although, rather than act on the interests of the people during his presidency, Jackson seemed to only act on his own interests as he exhibited a “my way or the highway” mentality that led to undemocratic actions. This mentality can be seen through his spoils system where Jackson replaced government officeholders with people who were his political supporters and who were loyal to him. His appointments did not really take into consideration the qualifications or the skills of the new officeholders, but he only really cared about their loyalty to him and 20 percent of the original officeholders lost their jobs due to this new policy (Keene, 237). Jackson’s controlling mentality was also demonstrated through the bank war as he vetoed Congress’s bill to recharter the National Bank. Although the veto was popular to many as it attacked the rich and powerful and appealed to the humble members of society, he had to be sure the bank could not be revived by withdrawing all federal funds (Keene, 250). This was a rash move that could seriously damage the economy, and Jackson had to fire two people until he found someone who was willing to become secretary of the Treasury and follow his orders. Many people viewed Jackson’s actions in the Bank War as tyrannical and the political cartoon titled King

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