Lesson 19: The Evolution of
Democracy from Jefferson to
Jackson
To what extent was universal white
manhood suffrage achieved?
Jefferson
• Property Requirements still in place; Jefferson
said a man of initiative should be able to meet
the requirements
Jackson
• No property requirements
Which citizens were considered
eligible for officeholding?
Jefferson
• Only the educated elite should rule but
propose education for all to prepare poorer
individuals to hold public office
Jackson
• All men are qualified. Political positions
should be rotated and parties should use the
spoils system
How were candidates for President
chosen?
Jefferson
• Chosen by caucuses of political leaders
Jackson
• Nominating conventions
In what way did Jackson expand the
concept of the “chosen class?”
Jefferson
• Yeoman Farmer was the chosen class
Jackson
• Add Planters, Laborers, and Mechanics to
chosen class of yeoman farmers
How did each man view
industrialization?
Jefferson
• Feared industrialization and was against the
protective tariff
Jackson
• Favored protective tariff and accepted
industry as essential to the American economy
How did the Charles River Bridge v Warren
Bridge decision affect the access to corporate
charters prevalent in Jefferson’s time?
Jefferson
• Corporate charters were only available to
favorites of state legislators and implied
monopoly control.
Jackson
• Court ruled that corporate charters should be
available to all who chose to risk starting a
business.
What was each man’s attitude toward
the Bank of the United States?
Jefferson
• Was against the BUS because he was a strict
constructionist
Jackson
• Was against the BUS because it was a
monopoly of the rich easterners;
What was each man’s attitude toward
slavery?
Jefferson
• Owned slaves but claimed that slavery was an
evil that time would bring to an end
Jackson
• Owned slaves, but had little or no interest in
abolition; saw the abolition movement as a
sectional issue that threatened the Union;
What was each man’s attitude toward
equality for women and Native Americans?
Jefferson
• Neither was equal and there was little
mention of equality for either group
Jackson
• Neither was equal and there was a particular
hatred toward Indians;
How did each man view education?
Jefferson
• Education was necessary in order to be a good
citizen.
Jackson
• Education was relatively unimportant
How did each hope to remove
obstacles to upward social mobility?
Jefferson
• Education and ambition is the key, and he
founded the University of Virginia, but there was
no national support for a system of public
education;
Jackson
• He killed the BUS and made it easier for common
people to get credit; opened opportunities for
progress by using the spoils system and said that
social mobility should be achieved through
economic progress.
To what extent was separation of church and state
accomplished in each period?
Jefferson
• Few established churches existed
• Jackson
All established churches were ended when
Massachusetts ended the practice in 1834