Will Albers
How democratic was Andrew Jackson? Andrew Jackson the seventh president of the United States who was beloved by many. He was born between North and South Carolina in 1767. He grew up poor. Democratic means that the people determine the President, Congress and all public offices. People does not include Native Americans or slaves. Andrew Jackson was Democratic. Andrew Jackson was democratic because of government equality, the Indian Removal Act, and because he was a common man. Andrew Jackson supported government equality. In Andrew Jackson’s letter to Congress, he said, “...no one man has any more… right to (government jobs) than another…”(Document 6). This shows that Jackson wanted every man to have an equal opportunity to hold
Fifteen years after Andrew Jackson perished, he continued to receive presidential ballots for presidency. This could possibly have been a reason why Andrew Jackson was one of the most popular U.S. presidents in history. For the first time the U.S received a different type of presidential leader in the year 1823. He was the first president to be known as the people's president as well as to also serve the common man and fight to make the branch of the executive be a more democratic office. Overall, there were many ways in which Andrew Jackson promoted democracy such as the Nullification Crisis, The Peoples First President, and Jackson The War Hero.
In the span of 20 years, 42 states elected by the people, and 27 states elected by the legislature. (Document 1). The election of Jackson was considered a “revolution,” because of its peaceful transfer of power. This revolution was different from any other, because it was achieved by ballots rather than bullets. Jacksonians cried, “Shall the people rule?” and the answer was, “The people shall rule!” Andrew Jackson was so notable that people have come 500 miles to see him and think that the country is rescued from some dreadful danger. It is said Jackson’s victory accelerated the transfer of national power from the country-house to the farmhouse, from the East to the West, and from the snobs to the mobs. If Jackson was a hero of the gentleman farmer, he was surely a hero of the dirt farmer. Jackson was democratic because he granted all men equal rights, and believed that the common man is just as good as the wealthy. This is how he got all his support, most of which came from the common man. We must also consider that he was a common man who became successful as president. He disagreed with the wealthy, who tried to empower the common man/farmers, and was a large supporter of wester farmers, low tariffs, and pet banks, rather than a national bank. (Document 2).
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.
Did Andrew Jackson support the people and their rights? Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States. He vetoed the National Bank because he said that it only supported the rich and was unconstitutional. Also Andrew Jackson set a land territory west of the Mississippi River for the Indian tribes and adopted a little Native American boy who was left from his tribe. How democratic was Andrew Jackson? Democracy is a form of government where the people have a right to assist in the law making process. Andrew Jackson was democratic in many political, economic, and geographic ways.
According to several historical documents, President Andrew Jackson was not democratic because he used the “spoils system”, ignored other government officials input, and refused to recognize certain groups, such as the Native Americans.
Jacksonian Democrats believed that they were protecting individual liberty, political democracy, the equality of economic opportunity, and upholding the rights of the Constitution of the United States. In my opinion, the Jacksonians were, to some extent, guardians of the United States. However, the Jacksonians did have their flaws.
With the dissipating property qualifications, Jackson did little to help others who needed rights for which the Constitution was created. “We hold these truths self evident that all men are created equal” (Doc. A). Yes, it does say all men, but Jackson did nothing to help men who needed it the most. He did not help men such as blacks and native americans and did nothing about women's rights. During his presidency, women were petitioning for rights and jobs besides factory workers, stay at home mothers, and school teachers and yet he did nothing about it. Also, he did not help workers who wanted labor unions. Instead, he stated that the employer has full control over them and that it was illegal to form labor unions. Then there is the slavery issue which no president had yet
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.
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.
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.
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
In addition to creating a more democratic country, Jackson also tried to establish equal economic opportunity for the people of America. The best example of this is the vetoing of the charter of the Bank of the United States. The bank was a huge monopoly. It was ran by aristocrats, most of which were from England. Nicholas Biddle, who was the president of the bank, often used funds from the bank to lend money to the members of Congress, thus wining their support.
According to Document 1, Four states had taken away property requirements for voting, so that basically every white male could vote. Jackson appealed to these voters who were the “common man.” In addition to that, Andrew Jackson’s campaign slogan was, “Vote for us if you believe that the people should govern.” This evidence helps to explain why Andrew Jackson is a democratic supporter of the people because he was the definition of democratic with Jackson wanting social and political equality got all with his support of expanded suffrage and his campaign being about how the people should govern.
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.
First, Andrew Jackson was a democratic president because he encouraged democracy. During the election of 1828, Jackson came off as a “common man” and a lot of the Americans felt as if he would make the US more democratic by having less power given to the government and more power given to the people. The people felt that he would make the commoners feel equal to the wealthier people (document 2). Evidently, Jackson was a democratic president, for he gave more power to the people and less to the rich and thriving. He opened a whole new door of opportunity for common men. He said