Democratic is when citizens vote for all elected officials. Many had defied political system as it was, and thrived towards to create a democratic system that will be beneficial for America as a whole. Andrew Jackson was one of those individuals who challenged the government’s views, and whose name is tied closely to democracy. This essay will focus on the aspects that made this president so great and how democratic was he in actual fact. Unlike the first six presidents of America, Andrew Jackson did not hail from a wealthy family. Indeed he was an average individual and was born into a very poor family deprived from basic things in life. Twenty-nine of age, he was elected as the first US House of Representatives in Tennessee, and a year prior to that elected to senate. He served in office as president from 1829 until 1837 and he was popular with the public, so prominent that votes were still in his favor even after he died. (Background Essay). The richer individuals chiefly of the earliest foundation of America had more authority in politics than the average person. Andrew Jackson ...
Throughout his presidency, Andrew Jackson was regarded as both a tyrant (Document E) as well a democratic rembrandt. However, by the conclusion of his rule, Andrew Jackson’s America had emerged as a pseudo democracy, strongly supported and advocated for, but falling short and ultimately failing. The drastic reforms during the Age of Jackson brought about radical changes to the young nation that would be felt throughout the country and would set the foundation for politics today. President Andrew Jackson reformed the American voting system, made significant moves against the National Bank, sparked the beginning of democratic reform movements, and most importantly gave the Common Man a voice in the government. These democratic initiatives, however, were not seen everywhere as America was slowly divided by differing views on contentious topics and individualistic ideals. Jacksonian America, did not promote the democratic
Andrew Jackson, revered as the first common man to become President, symbolized the average citizen having the opportunity to climb the ranks within America 's democratic system. However, the profits of Jackson 's administration succeed in concealing his immoral procedures and behavior. Jackson 's methods worked accordingly to the reasoning of the father of political science, Machiavelli, who said, “The end justifies the means”. He achiev...
Andrew Jackson was born along the boarder between North and South Carolina in 1767. Jackson spent most of his life as an orphan, which probably caused him to express the common man’s importance in America. Jackson went on to become a war hero, being the hero of the battle of New Orleans. Jackson’s unjust loss to Adams in the 1824 election shifted his focus to bringing down Adams. This allowed Jackson to go on to win the 1828 election, where he started his presidency.
As new voters made demands on government, they learned the power of political organization. National issues became as much topics of conversation as local issues had always been. As national parties built stronger state and local ties, they began to rely upon a growing number of "professional politicians." These changes helped to initiate the spoils system. This practice of appointing people to government positions based on party loyalty and party service was not an entirely new development, but Jackson was the first to oust large numbers of government employees in order to appoint his followers to office. He argued that there should be a rotation in office. Some believed that the spoils system set a poor precedent. Jackson amplified presidential power by using the veto more than all previous presidents.
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.
Having grown up in not the wealthiest family, Andrew Jackson considered himself to be the President of the “common man.” He believed that the rich held too much of the power and would bid to the governments wishes for their own selfish purposes. (Doc B) As a supposed guardian of the constitution, Jackson believed that “all men are created equal.” (Doc A) He believed that every white man, landowner or not, had the right to vote. While Jackson did expand political democracy because of this opinion, he still did not implement the constitution to ...
The Jacksonian Period from 1824 to 1848 has been characterized as the era of the “common man.” Jackson’s election to presidency was based on the fact that he himself did not come from a wealthy background so in return, during his presidency he openly advocated for the rights of the “common man”. Although the era did not always stay true to its name, both economic aspects and reform movements caused the Jacksonian period to mostly live up to its characterization as "the era of the common man.”
Andrew Jackson began a whole new era in American history. Amongst his greatest accomplishments were evoking the "common man" to be interested in government and tailoring democracy to satisfy the same "common man's" needs. Of course, Jackson could not go about making such radical changes without supporters, but that never surfaced as a problem. Jacksonian Democrats, as they came to be called, were great in number during the 1820's and 1830's. They advocated all of the issues that President Jackson did, and did so with great vigor. They thought of themselves very highly because they recognized their responsibilities as American citizens. They realized that as political leaders they had a true purpose- to protect and serve the American people. The Jacksonians justified their view of themselves in their sincere attempts to guard the United States Constitution by both promoting equality of economic opportunity and increasing political democracy, but they had their downfalls with issues of individual liberties.
To those pursuing the highest echelon of power in the United States- the Presidential office in the 1830’s, pedigree, privilege, and wealth were the necessary virtues of birth for those trying to imitate the leadership, poise, and brevity of a Washington or an Adams. Yet, Andrew Jackson was born into none of these and one day assumed the coveted position of President of the United States. Andrew Jackson was truly the first American leader to be a “Man of the People.” He was a man who truly understood the plight of the common man, and he exemplified the words so gloriously preserved in the constitution. Jackson was a president of the people, elected by the people, and for the people.
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.
He was elected by popular vote. Jackson wanted to cater to the common people. Jackson was the first president to become a democrat. The other presidents before him were either a federalist, democratic-republican or a republican. He vetoed more than twelve bills than his six predecessors. He wanted to make sure his people were treated fairly. The first president, George Washington, to the sixth president, John Quincy Adams, only vetoed nine bills. The first six presidents before him were wealthy and educated. Andrew Jackson did not have much money and felt education was not really necessary. Overall, Jackson seemed to be a hero compared to the other presidents before him.
There were a number of social and economic changes occurring in the Union in the 1800s that produced the ideal environment for Andrew Jackson’s rise to power. The new market economy was “producing a more stratified, unequal society, at the same time the nations politics were becoming more democratic.” (Davidson p.207) The Panic of 1819 led to America’s first major depression. (Davidson p.201) Many Americans believed that the depression was caused by the policies and corruption in the federal government and the national bank. In turn, Americans called for equal opportunity and “agreed that one primary objective of government was to safeguard opportunity.” (Davidson p.207) Thus the new market economy and call for equal opportunity led to increased democracy and voter participation.
Andrew Jackson’s time as president marked a major historical shift for the United States. According to Jackson’s biographer James Partin, populist technocrat was not among the contradictions exhibited by his subject. In the eyes of the historians interviewed, advanced a more far-reaching role for the federal government was not one of Jackson’s key accomplishments. In addition to all the popularity, he gained, advocated more democracy in the realm of voting rights was not a reason Jackson remained controversial. Jackson was viewed during his lifetime as the most popular living president due to the fact that he resolved current issue that the people at that time were experiencing. He made executive decisions based on his personal beliefs and
Andrew Jackson was born and raised in the south and his family was never too wealthy. When he became president, his main ideal was that anybody, no matter if they are rich or poor, can become successful. He was a president of the people and he took many measures to ensure that they could and would have a role in government. One of these actions was the creation of the spoils system. The spoils system is an arrangement in which the president
Andrew Jackson was undoubtedly a man of the people. He was the first president to be chosen by the people and his background was not that of a typical president. He was not born into a rich family. Jackson's favored the general public rather than the wealthy. His election shifted the balance of power from the wealthy East Coast, to farmers and small businesspeople in the west. Jackson vetoed more bills than all previous presidents did in an attempt to help the common man.