Liberty & Power

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In Watson’s book, “Liberty and Power, The Politics of Jacksonian America”, he takes an analytical approach of America and its politics during the Age of Andrew Jackson. We go on a political tour about American politics and see how it developed and changed American culture. The author spends most of his time discussing the politics during the Jacksonian Era. Watson uses events and quotes from politicians to explain his opinion and to back up his theories. He also uses the economy and the mindset of the people, to support an influential argument about the beginning of American political parties and their importance in defining the political direction of the country. New inventions and infrastructure made it much easier to transport goods around the country. This was the birth of the Market Revolution. As transportation and communication evolved it made acquiring goods in the markets easier. Watson believed that the Market Revolution produced many economic inequalities, which later swelled to new concerns. He notes that, “the effects of the Market Revolution were far from uniform” and that “the opportunities generated by the canals did not extent more than forty miles on either side of their banks.” (p.28) This left an enormous number of Americans untouched by the influence. On the surface the Market Revolution was a very good thing for the United States given all of the opportunities and goods it provided. But when you peeled back the layers these new ideas did not benefit everyone and some lost in major ways. The Market Revolution proved to be a gamble for many farmers. While some husbandman bathed in success others lost almost everything they had. Watson does a great job in highlighting the pressure the Market Revol... ... middle of paper ... ... System where memberships are now life-long and predictions of elections are easily made, the liberty to decide which party to affiliate with has supported a powerful, unified government within the United States. Using examples of political campaign struggles, politician viewpoints, and his own thoughts on the major governmental issues of the time Watson does a great job of explaining how liberty and power have worked hand-in-hand throughout the years. The liberty won by our founding fathers has been and will remain a valued freedom within the United States. Watson understood that liberty is what enables us to live the free lives that we do and enables us to grow and experience the power that we do in this world. Through multiple conclusions about our country's past, he was able to make the relationship of liberty and power and Jacksonian America ever clearer.

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