Parris Skiouris
Ms. Kramer
APUSH
28 October 2014 Andrew Jackson was a president who did what he wanted. Jacksonian Democracy emerged as a result of the way that Andrew Jackson governed the United States. Jacksonian Democrats believed in protecting the true American values that the United Stated was founded on. Although Jacksonian Democrats were committed to defending the values on which the United States is based on such as the Constitution, political democracy, and equality of economic opportunity, they failed to fully protect individuals’ rights. The guidelines for the way the United States was governed were set in the Constitution. Jackson believed that his responsibility was to do what the people wanted since the people were the ones
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In Harriet Martineau’s Society In America, she states that she saw every man in the town as an independent man, and she noticed that the towns were very civilized and organized (Document 4). Political democracy was one of the many liberties that were introduced by the Jacksonian Democrats. The topic of removing Indians from United States land became a popular and important topic during the presidency of Jackson. Jackson’s Native American policy was that they should not be living on American lands that contained Americans. In 1830, Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act. The Indian Removal Act was a policy to move Native Americans out of American territory, and into Indian reservations West of the Mississippi River. Even though the Cherokee nation was as civilized as any other American city, Jackson persisted on forcing them out of their lands. Jacksonian Democrats also allowed slavery, which was very important for Jackson’s support from the south. In the Acts and Resolutions of South Carolina, it is stated that the right to own slaves is protected by the government, and it is an individual liberty (Document 2). During Jackson’s presidency, abolitionist movements began coming up. This became a big problem for the South because the South’s economy was still based on the need for slaves to work on …show more content…
Chief Justice Roger B. Taney believed that the government’s ability to tax was acceptable because the reason for taxing was to raise money for internal improvement for the United States (Document 3). The Bank of the United States was thought to be only for the benefit of the rich, and not the middle class and the poor. When presented the re-charter for the Bank of the United States, Jackson vetoed the charter and essentially “killed off” the Bank. Jackson was against the Bank because he believed it to be unconstitutional and economically unfair to the people, and “dangerous to the liberties of the people”. After the Bank was destroyed, Roger B. Taney took all of the gold and silver out of the Bank, and placed it into various state banks. This way, there was a more equal economic opportunity for the middle class and the
Unlike previous presidents, Andrew Jackson represented the common men. He and his followers did not support the aristocrats, but instead favored the interests of farmers and urban workers. When they gained power, the Jacksonian Democrats brought about great advances in creating a more democratic and economically equal society.
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
Jackson also gave government jobs to regular people. This was called the spoils system. He appointed people to federal jobs depending on whether they had campaigned for the Democratic Party. Anyone currently in office who was not a democratic was replaced with a democrat. This was called the spoils system because it promoted a corrupt government. He also believed in rotation in office. He wanted to make it possible for more democrats to have government jobs, so he limited a person's time in office to one term. The spoils system showed how one man was no better than another and helped build a strong two-party system.
Jackson firmly believed in quality of economic opportunity, which he showed several times throughout his presidency. He believed the national bank helped the wealthy elite and that state banks would help the common man more. Also by
According to his enemies, Andrew Jackson behaved more like a dictator/king than a democratic president. Jackson and his followers became the basis of the Democratic-Republican party, later known as the Democratic party. He believed in the spoils system, supported the common man, and equality for all people regardless of their social class. Although he had such positive features, he had some negatives as well. Jackson removed Native Americans from their homeland by signing the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which created the “Trail of Tears,” vetoed the National Bank (B.U.S), and was pro-slavery. Although a common man himself, Jackson became successful as president. This was one of his biggest motives to support the common man, rather than the
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
Was Andrew Jackson the democratic figure our great nation needed in the mid 1800’s? From 1828 to 1836, Andrew Jackson served as president in the United States of America. During that time, the country was torn in half due to controversies such as the eviction of the national bank, the Indian Removal, and the spoils system. Although some people believed Jackson was fair to the common man, Jackson acted undemocratically during his presidency because he was not fair to everyone and only listened to his supporters.
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.
When it comes to the Unites States Constitution, Jackson attempted to act as a guardian, but he only
During the administration of Andrew Jackson, the United States was a nation of change both politically and socially. American society was a society of opportunity. Americans felt that, given a chance, they could make a better life for themselves. This was the era of the common people, the era of democracy. Andrew Jackson appealed to the American people because he stood for values many regarded with favor. However democratic Jackson may seem, he was more tyrant-like than any of his predecessors. His major offerings to the nation included majority rule and a popular presidency, however offered no benefits to women, African Americans, nor Native Americans. Jacksonian Democracy was
To begin, Andrew Jackson was determined to get the people more representation in all branches of government. This was most likely because of the corrupt bargain that had so angered him due to the lack of democracy in the presidential election.
Jackson was the most democratic of any president at that time to come to power. In practically all areas of political application there was the existence of liberal thinking. This was especially apparent in his previously mentioned appointment of officials. Jackson considered the roles of officials fairly simple and could and should be carried out by all people not just the members of the socially and intellectually elite. The belief of complete equality is with out a doubt Jacksonian. Despite this already democratic view, Jackson took it one step further and appointed the illiterate and plain incompetent members of society to office.
Jackson’s version of democracy was in fact a democracy. He was not a very wealthy man, he owned a home and some land. Which was more than could be said about most Americans at the time. About ten percent of the Americans living there at that time owned enough land to vote. There was a law, stating that only white males with a good portion of land could vote in the presidential election. Andrew Jackson thought this system was so unfair, he created a new way to govern the citizens of the newly formed United States.
Andrew Jackson’s form and thought of democracy was very different from the democracy the founding fathers originally wanted for our country. The founding fathers wanted a country mostly ruled by Congress and they didn’t want “average Americans to have a role in choosing… [the] president” (Reinventing the Presidency). The founding fathers thought of the presidential branch as being weak and only good for doing what Congress wanted. Andrew Jackson the seventh president of the united states quickly showed the people how powerful his government position was by enforcing his right to veto bills Congress passed. Over Jackson's presidential term, he was a very different president than the founders originally wanted in office, and many people thought of his presidency as being very democratic. Jackson’s term as president may have seemed democratic, but when you look deeper into his laws and policies you can realize how his term wasn’t really that democratic.
Jacksonian (Democracy, Society, etc.) is a term used to describe reform during the time of Andrew Jackson’s Presidency. Specifically Jacksonian Democracy refers to “the general extension of democracy that characterized U.S. politics from 1824 to 1828.” Jacksonian Democracy and its support came primarily from the lower classes as a rebellion of sorts apposing the aristocracy. Even though it stressed equality, it was pro-slavery and anti-Indian (not unlike Andrew Jackson). Also there was change in both the political parties and the social reforms. Jackson was seen as a westerner (even though he was from Tennessee) and a president of the common man. This we can see when he married women