Jacksonian Democracy
The Jacksonian democracy was a movement that was championed and led by Jackson Andrew in 1828. The main aim of the campaign was to promote common people in the society with greater rights, from oppression by aristocracy rule. The movement also aimed to offer equality, regardless of class or race. The paper unearths the implication of the Jacksonian democracy on the cultural and societal ideas and the benefits to the people.
The Jacksonian democracy brought with it several political cultures and social setting changes like expanded suffrage and patronage. The expanded suffrage initiated during the Jacksonian Democracy supported the rights of all white men that had no ownership of the property to vote. In most states, only white men with property and wealth were allowed to participate in elections. Also, some of the democratic movement advocate for the removal of taxes in voter registration (Lumen, 2019). The movement also changed the monotonous government-appointed culture, where rotation of political appointees. There were also changes in the civil service officers, replacing them with loyal incompetent members of the party. Such decisions led to the development of corrupt offices, promoting bias in the community, and discouraging learned members of the society from taking part in office roles.
The first step of the party was to dismantle the National Bank, which favored the elite over the poor. Andrew Jackson opposition of the Bank was to ensure that all White countrymen were given equal opportunity as the elites. There was support to expand the new farmland, advocating for settlement of yeoman farmers in the South, and opposition of anti-immigrant nativism (Lumen, 2019). Therefore, there were labor movements formed by the urban workers, low tariffs for the Southerners, and White men’s economic independence, allowing them to act as they saw fit. Moreover, the Jacksonian Democracy promoted the use of hard money by State banks, which would benefit all White people equally. However, the movement was observed not to present full democracy as it did not consider Black people in election, allow Whites from poor societies to vie for positions in government, or for women to participate in voting. Andrew Jackson also enacted the Indian Removal Act, which resulted in the displacement of Native Americans from Southeastern states, leading to more slavery and expansion of land for the Whites. Therefore, the movement promoted equality for the poor, who had been oppressed by the elites and government.
Alexis de Tocqueville’s tour of America in 1831 gave him a more positive perception of American Democracy. The democracy was promoted by the Jackson Democracy, which empowered individuals with freedom. Tocqueville believed that separating religion and politics was a way towards freedom. His tour around in the interior parts of America concluded that the prosperity of democracy was promoted through social and political freedom and equality of individuals.
Conclusively, the Jacksonian Democracy was a period that promoted social and cultural changes in both the government and society. Modifications made by the party included the dismantling of the National Bank in favor of the elite class, removal of restrictions from voting such as ownership of land by Whites only, and payment of taxes. However, the party also discriminated against the Blacks from participating, poor farmers from running for office, and eviction of the Native Indians from the Southeastern States. Therefore, the Jacksonian Democracy promoted freedom, equality, and also discrimination to the country, portraying limitations to its democracy.
References
Lumen. (2019). The Jackson Administration | Boundless US History. Retrieved from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-ushistory/chapter/the-jackson-administration/