Jeffersonian Democracy v.
Jacksonian Democracy
Political
Suffrage
Jefferson believed a
• By Jackson’s time,
property requirement
property requirements
was a test of character
for voting had been
that a man of initiative
erased.
should be able to meet.
Office Holding
• Jefferson believed the • Jackson believed all
educated elite should
men were qualified to
rule, although he
hold office and that
proposed education for
political positions
all to prepare poorer
should be rotated.
individuals for public
office.
Nomination of President
• In Jefferson’s time,
candidates were
chosen by caucuses of
political leaders.
• Nominating
conventions were
introduced during
Jackson’s time.
Economic
Chosen Class
• Jefferson saw the
yeoman farmer as the
“chosen class”.
• Jackson also believed
in the farmer, but also
included the planters,
laborers, and
mechanics.
Industrialization
• Jefferson originally
feared the
consequences of
industrialization.
• Jackson accepted
industr4y as essential
to the American
economy.
Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge
• In Jefferson’s time
corporate charters
were granted to
favorites of state
legislators and often
implied monopoly
rights to a business.
• Chief Justice Roger
Taney, a Jackson
appointee, ruled in the
Charles River Bridge
decision that corporate
charters should be
available to all who
chose to risk starting a
business.
Bank of the U.S.
• Jefferson disapproved • Jackson saw the Bank
of the the Bank,
as a monopoly of the
originally, because he
rich.
disagreed with the
loose interpretation of
the elastic clause that
helped create the bank.
Social
Slavery
• Jefferson, who owned • Jackson, too, owned
slaves, saw slavery as
slaves but seemed
an evil that time would
little interested in
eradicate.
abolition.
Women and Native Americans
• Jefferson did not view
women or Native
Americans as equal.
• Jackson agreed with
Jefferson’s view, but
also had a particularly
negative attitude
toward Native
Americans.
Education
• Jefferson, an educated
man himself, believed
education was
necessary for officeholding and for
preparing citizens for
participation in a
democracy.
• Jackson had little
education and believed
education was
relatively unimportant.
Social Mobility
• Jefferson believed that
education and
ambition were keys to
success; however, he
was never able to
build support for his
proposed system of
public education.
• Jackson ended the Bank and
with it, control over credit, and
the Charles River Bridge
decision opened opportunities
for individuals to get corporate
charters and thus rise on both
the economic and social
ladders. Jackson, a self-made
man, believed his economic
progress had accounted for his
own upward social mobility,
and others would follow his
example.
Religion
Jefferson believed in
separation of church
and state.
• Jackson also believed
in the separation of
church and state.