Essay On Jeffersonian Democracy

1641 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Federalists vs anti federalists dbq

How did the Shift from Jeffersonian to Jacksonian Democracy change American Values?
All of the values that we have as Americans have stemmed from the founding of our country and have evolved with the growth and expansion of our nation. In the election of 1800 Thomas Jefferson was elected, which started a period that was known as Jeffersonian Democracy. This was the term used to express the influence of Jefferson on American politicians; however it also outlines the political culture from 1800 to the late 1820’s. In the same sense Jacksonian Democracy does the same. Andrew Jackson was elected in 1828 and his influence lasted into the Mexican War through President Polk. During these early periods the United States developed and grew into what we understand it as today. American values expanded with the country and the shift from Jeffersonian to Jacksonian Democracy produced new values.
American Values in the 1800’s
In early United States, during the 1800's American values revolved around the new national experiment of democracy and the open land found in America. The revolution of 1800 was a significant success in the new political system because of the peaceful change from Federalist to Anti-Federalist power. Thomas Jefferson valued the success of the country and leaned towards states' rights as a president. And as one of the founders of our country his ideas were incorporated into many parts of the government. One of his most prominent suggestions for society was through his belief that the nation should be led by the educated elite, leading to the fact that there should be educated voters, which appears in the electoral college and his support of public schools. This influenced states to put property requirements in their sta...

... middle of paper ...

...ues very slightly. They were molded rather than changed. Racism, ethnocentrism, or supremacy, though not good, was present from the beginning of America with slavery. It grew and shaped itself to include Mexicans as well as African Americans, and it blended with nationalism through ethnocentric ability. The strong national identity, created by our new government and shaped by democracy and war, strengthened as the country expanded. Representation in the government expanded with the incorporations of mass democracy. As the country expanded, land became more available to common people who wished for the American Dream. Opportunity became more available for dreams of Americans and Immigrants. America progressed along its path expanding and changing the values of the people, until mass democracy of the Jacksonian era allowed the people to mold the values for themselves.

Show More
Related

  • Jeffersonian and Jacksonian Democracy

    1470 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Vast Influence of Thomas Jefferson

    689 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • AP HISTORY-Jacksonian Democracy

    663 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jacksonian democracy was created during the antebellum America. The Jackson democrats made an attempt to grant power to the lower classes while decreasing the influence of the rich and potent. The Jacksonian democrats viewed themselves as saviors of the common people and ruled by the means of a powerful executive branch who attempted to destroy aristocracy in America. In reality, they were typically very wealthy, they disregarded the capability of the federal government, and they desired equality only for the white man. The Jacksonian’s view of themselves was pompous because of their political views, their animosity towards minorities, and their economic policies.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Thomas Jefferson's From Notes on the State of Virginia

    700 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Aristotle's Legacy In The Federalist Papers

    2064 Words  | 5 Pages

    While the government of the United States owes its existence to the contents and careful thought behind the Constitution, some attention must be given to the contributions of a series of essays called the Federalist Papers towards this same institution. Espousing the virtues of equal representation, these documents also promote the ideals of competent representation for the populace and were instrumental in addressing opposition to the ratification of the Constitution during the fledgling years of the United States. With further reflection, the Federalists, as these essays are called, may in turn owe their existence, in terms of their intellectual underpinnings, to the writings of the philosopher and teacher, Aristotle.

    Read More

  • Questioning the Revolutionary Impact of the American War

    1041 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Democracy; racial and sexual equality; individual liberty of lifestyle; full freedom of thought, expression, and the press; eradication of religious authority from the legislative process and education; and full separation of church and state” (Jonathan Israel, A Revolution of the Mind: Radical Enlightenment and the Intellectual Origins of Modern Democracy). They wanted to create a new political framework that used those principles as the basis of the most important documents that founded the US. The reason to create this new political forms came from the need to calm the civil unrest, suppress rebellions and guarantee stability on the whole country. Those documents are still effective nowadays thanks to those political revelations that thorough the Revolutionary War made this country one of the most powerful in the

    Read More

  • Slavery in the Late 1700s and Early 1800s.

    820 Words  | 2 Pages

    The late 1700’s and early 1800’s can be mostly be tied to one issue, slavery. Slaves had huge impacts on the economy and early years of the United States. They impacted the market, were a major discussion of right and wrong in a lot of congressional meetings, and even though there were some free slaves they still didn’t have the right of other free people although they had much better conditions than those enslaved. With both the North and South having different viewpoints on the issue of slavery and rising tensions gave way to a war to finally determine whether slavery would be abolished or not. All these different factors helped give rise to democracy.

    Read More

  • Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton

    653 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jefferson’s agricultural viewpoint was vastly different from Hamilton’s manufacturing perspective. Though they both envisioned a great and prosperous nation, they had contrasting opinions on how this should occur. Hamilton, a Federalist, believed the rich and powerful should be the central government for all people, as they knew better how to foster and protect the em...

    Read More

  • Thomas Jefferson's Presidency

    1137 Words  | 3 Pages

    Thomas Jefferson was the third American President. Due to the fact that he was such an early President, he influenced our political system greatly, both in the short and long term with his seemingly quiet approach to congressional matters. During his presidency, many things happened that changed the United States as we know it. He coordinated the Louisiana Purchase, assisted in implementing the twelfth amendment, formed the character of the modern American President, and cut the U.S.’s war debt by a third.

    Read More

  • Jacksonian Democracy Dbq Essay

    1261 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 1820’s and 1830’s mark an era when the Jacksonian Democrats reigned supreme in American government. Led by President Andrew Jackson, the Democrats appealed to the common man and worked towards helping the general populace. The Jacksonians regarded themselves as the guardians of the Constitution and individual liberties, however, the Jacksonian Democrats did not act accordingly. They infringed upon the Constitution, exploited political democracy, tainted individual liberties, but at times defended economic opportunities.

    Read More

  • Thomas Jefferson

    738 Words  | 2 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Education In The 19th Century Essay

    547 Words  | 2 Pages

    Education was believed to have also been a key to self-advancement in this society. Education then became important for political means, the social good, and the individual good of citizens, states, and the United States as a whole. With the creation of a new education bill and the building of new schools, Thomas Jefferson strongly believed that providing education was “the most certain, and the most legitimate engine of government” as the people are “the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty” (Urban, 2009, p. 83). While many theories of educational systems were proposed during this time, schools were ultimately created at the local level by small groups of individuals.

    Read More

  • American Agrarianism In 1800

    1304 Words  | 3 Pages

    The revolution of 1800 introduced the first peaceful transition of power from Adams to Jefferson. Jefferson sought to change the American ideals of the 1800s, as the people accepted and demanded a change through the Electoral College. Once established in office, he reduced the size of the government, purchased the Louisiana territory, and advocated farming in America. It is known as Jeffersonian Democracy, however, the democracy was based off the notion of Agrarianism. Agrarianism can be defined as the social or political philosophy which values a rural society far more than an urban society; it advocates the concept of farmers being superior to paid workers, thus emphasizing the superior simple rural life style opposed to a far more complex

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Jefferson And Jacksonian Democracy

    1011 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Revolution of 1800

    1680 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...th of these ideas were significant, they did not truly change how the nation operated as a whole. For all his talk, Jefferson did little to change the Federalist policies established by his predecessors and ultimately ended up embracing many of them. Yes, the election represented change, but was the election was really the “Revolution of 1800”, as claimed by some? Perhaps the greatest proof against this idea is that the national government has more or less existed in the same form since it was established by the Constitution.

    Read More

More about Essay On Jeffersonian Democracy

Open Document