The Jacksonian Era and Democracy

Calling the Jacksonian Period the era of “the common man” is misleading. During

most of this period, the “common man” struggled financially, politically, and socially. A

major defect in the characterization of this period is that the Jacksonian’s definition of a

“common man” was not very common at all. In fact, this characterization excluded the

common majorities of society such as women, blacks, and indians. Predominately, all roles

in society were held exclusively by middling to wealth white men. A few brave women

showed their frustration with the rigidly stratified social structure in the United States by

declaring“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created

equal;” Although the Jacksonian period has been celebrated as the era of the “common

man,” this characterization proves superficial in regards to economic development,

political progress, and reform movements as is seen in the financial Panic of 1837, the

increase in national and executive power, and in the inability of the anti-slavery and

woman’s right’s movements to aid common men and women during this era.

Although Jacksonian tried to help the “common man” through his economic

practices, his decisions proved to be self-centered and disastrous for the future American

economy. By Jackson’s presidency, the second Bank of the United States, or the B.U.S., had

become one of the most powerful institutions in American because it help to control and

stabilize the economy. However, many common people in the South and West favored

state banks over the centralized federal bank. President Andrew Jackson whole-heartedly

sided with the South and West since he believed that not just the the B.U.S. but all banks

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... or state’s. Clearly, even though Jackson tried to democratize

the government so that the common man could vote, he paid little attention to his interests

when they came in conflict with his own or the government’s.

From these examples, it becomes clear that the Jacksonian era cannot, in all honesty,

be called or celebrated as the age of the “common man.” True, a few advances were made

during this period through the democratizing of the government, the downfall of the B.U.S.

and the increase of educational opportunities, but these revisions in society did not

drastically change the problems at hand, and sometimes even caused them. In addition,

because the Jacksonian period failed to deal with the problems of the common indians,

slaves, and woman in America, it is more correctly named the “era in which the white,

middle-class men had the advantage.”