Jacksonian Democrats
Andrew Jackson, and his Democrats, viewed themselves as the guardians of the United States Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty and the equality of economic opportunity. They felt that they could change the government into a system that was run for and by the "common man." According to Jackson, the "common man" was the farmers and urban workers that made up a majority of the population, not the aristocrats. This argument for the "common man" was a strong one, although the goals set forth were not entirely achievable. Though biased, the Jacksonian Democrats view of themselves was fairly accurate. While they were successful guardians of both political democracy and equality of economic opportunity, they failed to defend the Constitution and individual liberty. The Jacksonian Democrats defense of the United States Constitution was not a particular high point in their political era. Jackson often had a blatant disregard for decisions passed down by the Supreme Court. In the case of the removal of the Cherokee nation, the Supreme Court had already passed down a decision that said that the Cherokee would be allowed to keep a certain amount of land in Georgia that would be much li
Although Jackson did not have the most successful terms as president, his policies were effective nonetheless. He did not have the success of say, a George Washington, but he had been more active in the legislative process than all the previous presidents combined. He had one of the most active and influential presidencies that had been encountered up to that point. He was a success in that he had accomplished many of the goals he set out to in his New Democracy, but many of the processes that he took were horrible failures. The Jacksonian Democrats did more than what is expected of politics today, they defended two out of the four ideals that they set out to. "It is to be regretted that the ... powerful too often bend the acts of government to their ... purposes" (doc. b). How ironic that Jackson would criticize the bending of the acts of government, but commit borderline unconstitutional offenses in order to reach the goal that was good for the "common man." ke the reservation system, today. However, Ol Hickry decided that the Cherokee would be better suited in Oklahoma than on the land that they had lived for centuries before the first explorers even came to the New World. The Supreme Court had declared the National Bank constitutional in the McCulloch vs. Madison, but Jackson decided that it was in the best interest of the federal government, and the "common man," to veto the re-charter of the Bank of The United States. "It is easy to conceive that great evils to our country and its institutions might flow from such a concentration of power in the hands of a few men irresponsible to the people" -Andrew Jackson's veto message (doc. b). Jackson violated the 1st Amendment by allowing the Post Office Department of the United States to block certain abolitionist mail from entering South Carolina, an action which was requested by South Carolina. They even asked "that the government of these states will promptly and effectually suppress all those associations ... purporting to be abolition societies ... having
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Approximate Word count = 1370
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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