Jacksonian democracy

Jacksonian democracy refers to the populist political ideology of President Andrew Jackson who called for government to be the champion of the “common man.” Jackson’s political career was shaped by his rural upbringing, his experiences as an army general, and two bitterly fought presidential campaigns. He believed that farmers and working Americans had been ignored by corrupt politicians who held elitist ideas about governing. Among the core beliefs of Jacksonian democracy were expanding voting rights, limiting government power, curbing political patronage, and increasing the size of the United States. The period of Jacksonian democracy began with his first election in 1828 and continued throughout his second term and into the administrations of several other presidents, ending around 1850.

Background

Andrew Jackson was born in 1767 in the rural backwoods of the Carolinas. His father died before he was born, and his mother and both his brothers died of illnesses during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). Despite a limited childhood education, Jackson studied law as a teenager and became a lawyer. He eventually moved to the Tennessee territory and was elected to Congress when Tennessee became a state in 1796. He was elected to the US Senate a year later, but he despised the job and quit after a few months.

During the War of 1812 (1812–1815), Jackson commanded a militia unit and was later appointed a major general in the US Army. His tough and often stubborn demeanor earned him the nickname “Old Hickory” from his troops, who compared him to a strong hickory tree. In January 1815, Jackson led his forces to the greatest American victory of the war, a defeat of the British at the Battle of New Orleans. Afterward, the American public viewed Jackson as a war hero.

By the 1820s, Jackson’s popularity was so great that he began to have aspirations of running for president. He entered the 1824 presidential race and received the most popular and electoral votes in a crowded field of four candidates. However, his 99 electoral votes fell short of the 131 majority needed to win. By law, the election was sent to the House of Representatives, where a winner would be decided. The House voted for John Quincy Adams, the son of a former president and the candidate who finished second in both the popular and electoral vote. Jackson was furious and angrily condemned the vote as a “corrupt bargain.” Jackson and Adams faced off again in the 1828 election, a campaign known for its negativity and vicious name-calling. This time, Jackson easily won the presidency.

Overview

The political party formed by Jackson and his supporters in the 1828 election was called the Democratic Party, and is one of the two major political parties in the United States today. Jackson’s message throughout that campaign was that American democracy had been corrupted by leaders who felt government should be reserved for a privileged few. He believed that government should be the voice of the average working people, not just the wealthy aristocracy. Jackson carried that message with him to the White House, stating that the president should wield his power to be a strong representative of what he called the “common man.” He often used that power to veto legislation and put pressure on Congress to follow his political agenda.

Prior to the 1828 election, most state voting laws in the United States allowed only White male landowners or taxpayers to vote. When Jackson won in 1828, that election was the first in which many states expanded their voting rights to include all White males. During his two terms, Jackson continued to push for the expansion of voting rights in all states. This effort continued after he left office, and by 1856, North Carolina became the last state to drop landowning requirements for voters. Despite the move toward expanding voting rights, Jackson was never in favor of giving non-Whites or women the right to vote. African American males were eventually allowed to vote in 1870, and women were given that right in 1920.

Jackson believed that the federal government should remain limited in scope and stay away from over-regulating the economy. He was a staunch proponent of states’ rights, but at times, he used the power of the central government to enforce national law. For example, in 1832, Jackson threatened South Carolina with military force when the state refused to adhere to a federal tariff law. He was also vehemently opposed to the Bank of the United States, a joint public-private institution responsible for the financial transactions of the nation. Jackson saw the bank as a symbol of wealthy corporate control and vetoed its reauthorization in 1832.

Jackson also viewed the political appointee system in the United States as allowing corrupt officials to remain entrenched in government positions for life. He believed that appointees should be rotated out of office and replaced with supporters of the victorious political party. He also believed that officeholders should be replaced after a certain time. Jackson saw this system as not only a reward for political loyalty, but also as a way to reform government by giving more people the chance to participate and weed out the corruption of previous administrations. Critics of Jackson claimed that the system created as much corruption as it sought to remedy.

For much of the nineteenth century, the population of the United States was growing and the nation needed more land as it expanded westward. In 1830, Jackson authorized the Indian Removal Act, legislation that allowed the government to negotiate land treaties with Native Americans of the southeastern states. By agreeing to give up their homelands, the Native Americans would be granted land west of the Mississippi. Many Indigenous peoples, knowing they stood little chance of resisting, agreed to the terms. Those who did not were often forcibly removed.

As popular as Jackson was with the average American, his actions angered many in Congress and united his opponents to form the Whig Party in 1834. When he left office after his second term in 1837, his policies were continued by his successor, President Martin Van Buren. However, in 1840, the Whigs won the presidency and were forced to contend with the Jacksonian Democrats in Congress. The election of Jackson supporter James K. Polk as president in 1844 signaled a return to Jacksonian democracy, particularly on matters of national expansion. Although Jackson’s ideals continued to play a role in American government, by 1850, the brewing issues of slavery and state secession began to dominate the political landscape, bringing an end to the era of Jacksonian democracy.

Bibliography

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