Jeffersonian & Jacksonian Democracy Comparison
Questions
Political
To what extent was universal
white manhood suffrage
achieved?
Which citizens were
considered eligible for office
holding?
Jeffersonian Democracy
Believed property requirement was a test of
character that man of initiative should be
able to meet
Jacksonian Democracy
Property requirements for voting had been
eliminated
Believed the educated elite should rule,
although he proposed education for all to
prepare poorer individuals for public office
Believed all men were qualified to hold
office and that political positions should be
rotated
How were candidates for
president chosen?
Candidates were chosen by caucuses of
political leaders
Nominating conventions were introduced
during Jackson’s time
Economic
In what way did Jackson
expand the concepts of the
“chosen class”?
How did each man view
industrialization?
Yeoman farmer as the “chosen class”
Jackson included planters, farmers, laborers,
and mechanics in “chosen class”
Originally feared the consequences of
industrialization
Accepted industry as essential to American
economy
How did the Charles River
Bridge v. Warren Bridge
decision affect the access to
corporate charters prevalent in
Jefferson’s time?
What was each man’s attitude
toward the Bank of the United
States?
Social
What was each man’s attitude
toward slavery?
What was each man’s attitude
toward equality for women &
American Indians
How did each man view
education?
In J’s time corporate charters were granted to
favorites of state legislators & often implied
monopoly rights to a business
Roger Taney, Jackson’s appointee as Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court, ruled in
Charles River Bridge decision that corporate
charters should be available to all who chose
to risk starting a business
Jackson saw Bank as a monopoly of the rich
How did each hope to remove
obstacles to upward social
mobility?
Religious
To what extent was separation
of church and state
accomplished in each period?
Both disapproved – originally at least,
disagreed with a loose interpretation of the
elastic clause
Owned slaves, saw slavery as an evil that
time would eradicate
Owned slaves, but seemed little interested in
abolition
Neither man saw women or American
Indians as equals
Had a particularly negative attitude toward
Native Americans
An educated man himself, believed
education was necessary for office-holding
and for preparing citizens for participation in
a democracy
Education & ambition were keys to success;
however, he was never able to build support
for his proposed system of public education
Had little education & believed education
was relatively unimportant
Most state constitutions had eliminated
established churches after the Revolution;
Ended the Bank & with it, control over
credit, CRB decision opened opportunities
for individuals to get corporate charters &
thus rise on both economic and social
ladders. Jackson, a self-made man, believed
his economic progress had accounted for his
own upward social mobility & others could
follow his example
Massachusetts, the last state to maintain an
established church, ended the practice in
1834
Use American Pageant p. 256-272 and the chart titled “Jeffersonian & Jacksonian
Democracy Competition” to answer the following
1. In what respects was Jacksonian Democracy more democratic than Jeffersonian
Democracy?
2. In what ways did each of the following contribute to the growth of democracy
between 1800 and 1840?
a.
b.
c.
d.
State constitutions:
Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge decision:
Changes in political party procedures:
Actions taken by Jackson himself:
3. To what extent was Andrew Jackson responsible for changes in the period often
called “Jacksonian Democracy”?
4. Did democratic changes in the “Age of Jackson” have greater political or
economic impact? Explain your answer.
5. Both Jefferson and Jackson used the slogan “Equal rights for all, special
privileges for none.” To what extent did neither one achieve his goals?
6. How did the periods of Jeffersonian Democracy and Jacksonian Democracy
illustrate the idea that democracy is a process rather than a conclusion?