Jacksonian Democracy Essays -- essays research papers

Jacksonian Democracy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jacksonian (Democracy, Society, etc.) is a term used to describe reform during the time of Andrew Jackson’s Presidency. Specifically Jacksonian Democracy refers to â€Å"the general extension of democracy that characterized U.S. politics from 1824 to 1828.† Jacksonian Democracy and its support came primarily from the lower classes as a rebellion of sorts apposing the aristocracy. Even though it stressed equality, it was pro-slavery and anti-Indian (not unlike Andrew Jackson). Also there was change in both the political parties and the social reforms. Jackson was seen as a westerner (even though he was from Tennessee) and a president of the common man. This we can see when he married women out of the lower classes and the upper class was astonished. Also, Jackson had opened the white house to everyone on his inauguration day.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During his time in office Political parties changed their names and were affirmed. Earlier when the term party was looked upon with similar meaning as faction, it represented a sort of selfishness and contention over unanimity that wasn’t needed in the government. The Democrats and the Whigs were the new names of the parties. The Whigs grew from the Republican Party and the Democrats form the Anti-Federalists. What brought this change were economic booms and downturns that had characterized the 19th century economy. Also Missouri Compromise (when Missouri’s proposed constitution admitted for slavery and to balance the states Maine was admitted as a free state) had a hand in bringing about the parties when a group of politicians (of whom Martin Van Buren was apart of) that were organized in a coalition for states rights and limited government that would be later supported by Andrew Jackson; also they help support Jackson for the presidency of 1828, they were known as the Democrats. Parties were also essential because they gave the Common man (which Jackson was all about) the power to compete (sort of) with the wealth, education, and social connections of the traditional leaders (fun?). The Whigs stood for Government controlled commercial development that incorporated what was called the American System, and wanted a high tariff that would benefit the North and its factories rather than the European competition, which meant more funds for the national governme... ... points in social reform from Jacksonian Democracy was abolition. The logic was that social reform also applied to slavery and almost more than any other institution. The reasoning behind this was that slaves resisted their own enslavement. Slavery was opposed in the 18th century by Quakers and few other whites, even though the American Revolution with its rhetoric about equal and universal rights called slavery into serious question. The Northern States abolished it and the Southern slave owners (upper south mind you) thought about liberating slaves. However it wasn’t until the 1830s that a number of middle class Norteà ±os (northerners) began to demand immediate emancipation of slaves for their incorporation as equals in the Republic. Just as other social reforms had taken root with mostly radical Norteà ±o Whigs, abolitionism soon found its way to them. This was a basis for the middle class revivals of the 1820s and 1830s. In closing this is what Jacksonian democracy incorporated; pretty much any reform that happened within the country during Andrew Jackson’s presidency. Source: Microsoft  ® Encarta  ® Reference Library 2005.  © 1993-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.