Explain the basic principles of Jacksonian Democracy. Which principles are part of modern American politics? Answer in a complete paragraph with topic sentence and a minimum of 8-10 sentences.

The Jackson Presidency :

Andrew Jackson’s presidency was a highly controversial period characterized by Jacksonian democracy and the rise of the common man.

Explanation:

Jacksonian Democracy

“Jacksonian democracy” refers to the period of time (roughly 1828–1840) dominated by the controversial presidency of Andrew Jackson (1829–1837). Jackson, a westerner and the hero of the Battle of New Orleans (1815), ran for the presidency in 1824 but lost to John Quincy Adams. He ran again in 1828 and won in a landslide.

Jacksonian democracy was the political movement toward greater democracy for the common man. Jackson’s policies followed Jeffersonian democracy, which had dominated the previous political era. The Democratic-Republican Party of the Jeffersonians had become factionalized in the 1820s, and Jackson’s supporters began to form the modern Democratic Party; they fought the rival Adams and anti-Jacksonian factions, which soon emerged as the Whigs.

While Jeffersonians favored educated men (though they opposed inherited elites), the Jacksonians gave little weight to education. The Whigs were the inheritors of Jeffersonian democracy in terms of promoting schools and colleges. In contrast to the Jeffersonian era, Jacksonian democracy promoted the strength of the presidency and executive branch at the expense of Congress, while also seeking to broaden the public’s participation in government. Jacksonians demanded elected (not appointed) judges and rewrote many state constitutions to reflect these new values. There was usually a consensus among both Jacksonians and Whigs that battles over slavery should be avoided.

The Philosophy

Jacksonian democracy was built on the principles of expanded suffrage, Manifest Destiny, patronage, strict constructionism, and laissez-faire economics.

Expanded Suffrage

The Jacksonians believed that voting rights should be extended to all white men. By 1820, universal white-male suffrage was the norm, and by 1850, nearly all requirements to own property or pay taxes had been dropped. The fact that many men were now legally allowed to vote did not necessarily mean they would, and local parties systematically sought out potential voters and pulled them to the polls. Voter turnout soared during the Second Party System, reaching about 80 percent of the adult white men by 1840.

Manifest Destiny

The concept of “Manifest Destiny” was the belief that white Americans would inevitably settle the American West and expand control from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific and that the West should be settled by yeoman farmers. However, the Free Soil Jacksonians, notably Martin Van Buren, argued for limitations on slavery in the new areas to enable the poor white man to flourish; they split with the main party briefly in 1848. The Whigs generally opposed Manifest Destiny and expansion, saying the nation should build up its cities.

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