THE
JACKSONIAN ERA
THE AGE OF THE COMMON MAN
By Dan
Cho, Derek
Hommel
and Joe
Zurro
“The people is firm and tranquil in its
movements, and necessarily acts with
moderation, because it becomes but slowly
impregnated with new ideas; and effects no
changes, except in harmony with the
knowledge it has acquired.”
-George Bancroft, historian and Jacksonian
“In a country where offices are created
solely for the benefit of the people no man
has any more intrinsic right to official
station than another.”
-Andrew Jackson, President
[The] Introduction:
A very brief history until 1828
By the time General Andrew Jackson was elected into office,
America had undergone radical changes, such as the shift
toward a market economy and immense population growth.
With this population growth came a shift westward, which in
turn brought about the creation of improved transportation,
including canals, highways, railroads and steamships.
Regional political divisions had become quite pronounced.
By 1824, the masses were already beginning to
favor Jackson, but John Quincy Adams took the
election through the House of Representatives
after gaining the support of Henry Clay, who
became Adams’ Secretary of State (hence the
‘Corrupt Bargain’ accusations from Jacksonians).
But Adams was ignorant of the changing political
atmosphere, as seen by his proposition to give
Federal support for internal improvements. This
did not sit well with those who opposed the
'American System', which had grown in number
since 1819.
So in 1828, Jackson took the presidential office,
much due to his national reputation as a war
hero and as a representative to the common
man. Jackson used his association with the
everyman to in turn help make the
government better work for the masses. If
anything, the barriers holding people back
from influence and power were reduced
during Jackson’s presidency, allowing a more
democratic functioning of the government.
Jacksonian politicians attempted to make
decisions that would benefit the majority.
[Political] Aspects of
Democratic Expansion:
1828 - 1840
Political Aspects on Expansion
 Suffrage
 By 1821, New York, Maryland, South Carolina,
Massachusetts and Connecticut all reduced
voting requirements
 By the end of the 18th century, most states had
done away with property requirements, instead
charging ‘poll taxes’
 No new state admitted between 1796 and 1821
had property requirements for voting
 Shift from voting out loud (viva voce) to ballots
 Members of electoral college were selected by
popular vote in most states
 Blacks and women still lacked suffrage
Political Aspects on Expansion
 Changing campaign methods
 Attempted to appeal to the masses
 Beginning in the early 1800’s, both Federalists
and Republicans tried to appeal to the common
people by hosting free barbecues and clambakes
 In the election of 1828, both parties used
propaganda; Jackson was accused of being an
unlearned man, while Adams was portrayed as
too aloof and aristocractic
 Jackson used his image as a war hero to
increase his popularity
Political Aspects on Expansion
 The ‘Job’ of Politicians
 Politicians now had to serve the ‘common
people’, and do away with the previous belief of
running the government through a small
aristocracy.
 Jackson and the “Rotation in office”
 Jackson believed that:
 any man with common sense could undertake
government duty
 Constant rotation of government staff would
prevent corruption by greed and give jobs to
more people
 Called the ‘Spoils System” by critics
 Did not cause much uproar
Political Aspects on Expansion
 The Multi-Party System
 Jacksonian Democrats v. Whigs (later the
Republicans)
 Third parties, such as the Anti-Masonic* and
Working Man’s Parties, arose from the belief that
some voices were not being heard
 This is a democratic aspect because more
parties meant that more people had a better
chance of voicing more specific wants in
government
* Anti-Masonic was a Whig-supporting group that was against the fraternal
order of the Masonic Lodges, which were exclusive clubs for the rich.
[Democratic] Issues
Of the Jacksonian Era
ISSUE: The 2nd National Bank


Jackson vetoed the Bank believing that
there was too much cash flow and that
power was concentrated in the
aristocracy.
Jackson took money out of federal
banks and placed it into state banks

This allowed state banks to make more
loans, namely to speculators.
ISSUE: The 2nd National Bank


Jackson wished to limit the power of the
deposit (“pet”) banks, but caved in and
eventually signed the Deposit Act, which
created more deposit banks and limited
Federal control over them.
Was this Democratic:


YES, in theory: it attempted to take power from
the rich bank owners
NO: it just put power into state banks
ISSUE: Nullification

Calhoun argued that only tariffs that were to
raise revenue were constitutional



This was despite the fact that the Constitution
gave the federal government the right to levy
tariffs
Tariff of 1828 was meant to deter shipping into
the US, so it was ‘unconstitutional’ to Calhoun – it
didn’t benefit all equally (it helped the North)
Calhoun followed the Kentucky and Virginia
compromises in stating that the US was a compact
between states and that states had the right to
deny, or ‘nullify’ an unjust law
ISSUE: Nullification

South Carolina issued the South Carolina
Exposition and Protest, written by Calhoun,
arguing against the tariff.


SC feared that a government that passed sectional
tariffs would also go against slavery
SC was one of two states to have slaves as a
majority of the population


Slave revolts, such as Nat Turner’s, led to fear in slave
states like SC
In November 1832, SC nullified Tariffs of
1828 and 1832
ISSUE: Nullification

Jackson’s “Olive Branch and the Sword”

Tariff of 1833 – Compromise Tariff


Force Bill



Provided gradual lowering of duties from 1833
to 1842
Allowed the federal government to collect taxes
and customs duties by force
Made primarily against South Carolina
Called the “Compromise of 1833”
ISSUE: Nullification

Was this democratic?


YES: because it preserved the Union
NO: went against South Carolina’s wishes
and gave more power to the government

On a side note, this hurt Jackson, since pronullification ‘nullifiers’ in the South joined the
Whig party after this
ISSUE: Charles River Bridge

Owners of Charles River Bridge connecting
Boston and Cambridge declared that their
charter granted them a monopoly



They sued the proprietors of the competing
Warren Bridge
1837, the Supreme Court ruled against the Charles
River Bridge owners
Protected democracy because if the owners won,
turnpike charters could be used against competing
railroad and canal construction
[Alexis] de Tocqueville:
A foreign view of American
democracy
Alexis de Tocqueville






Born in 1805 in Paris
Family was highly aristocratic
Learned man – studied law
Began to believe that the French aristocracy
was in decline – adapted more liberal views
Visited America and Britain in 1831-1832 to
study their governments
Published Democracy in America in 1835,
continuing the series in 1840
Democracy in America




Tocqueville saw democracy as the inevitable
product of government, and hoped to study it
to discover its strengths and weaknesses
Tocqueville was heavily influenced by his own
aristocratic upbringing, which made him take
a critical look at American democracy
Part I focused on democracy as a whole in
America and the institutions created to
perpetuate it
Part II focused on the mentality of Americans
Democracy in America cont’d –
Pros and Cons

PROS:

Progress is encouraged, since there is always
hope of excelling, instead of being isolated by
class restrictions




“Aristocratic nations are naturally too apt to narrow the
scope of human perfectibility; democratic nations
expand it beyond compass”
Judicial Review in America
Freedom of Press
Freedom of Religion
Democracy in America cont’d –
Pros and Cons

CONS:

‘Mediocrity’ – since everyone has an ‘equal’
chance to excel, but only a few can actually ‘make
it’, many people with equal skill are left out



“On my arrival to the United States I was surprised to
find so much distinguished talent among the subjects,
and so little among the heads of the Government”
Possibility of despotism from the ‘majority rule’
Equality itself – could stifle government’s function
in the search to ‘please everyone’
[Social] Democracy
Women’s Rights
Social Aspects of the Expansion: Women’s Rights


Women’s Rights: Early women’s
rights advocates such as
Lucretia Mott and the Grimke
sisters argued against both
racial and gender discrimination.
The abolitionist William Lloyd
Garrison argued in The
Liberator against the
exploitation of women slaves.


The Seneca Fall’s Convention:
A women’s rights conference
pushing for the passage of
twelve resolutions in favor of
women’s rights such as
suffrage.
Women’s rights did not gain
very much attention until after
the civil war due to other
problems like the Temperance
movement against alcohol,
public school reforms and the
abolitionist movement.
Lucretia Mott
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Conclusion
• The actual electoral processes moved toward
democracy by creating ballot voting, eliminating
property restrictions, and, in some states,
selecting the members of the electoral college
through popular vote
• Events such as Jackson’s veto of the Bank, the
striking down of monopolies and the limiting of
the government offices to reduce corruption
showed the movement toward democracy.
• More people had the ability to work in
government