Jacksonian Democrat DBQ
During the early period of independent America, many of the founding fathers and early leaders tended to be elite, aristocratic and well educated, a curse that the common man had fought hard to get away from in their revolution from Great Britain. The common man wanted to have a voice and be heard. The presidential election of 1824 had angered the people of America as the general consensus was ignored and the aristocratic House of Representatives decided the election. The people's nominee, Andrew Jackson, had been a great general in the War of 1812; he was intelligent even without a college degree and was born in the heart of America off of the eastern seaboard. Andrew Jackson was the image of the common man. Jackson and his followers, the Jacksonian-Democrats, looked on themselves as the protectors of the constitution and strived to protect the nation as a whole. Jacksonian-Democrats defended political democracy, which brought forth individual freedoms and assisted economic opportunity, but their claims as the guardians of the constitution were false, as they were rather protectors of the common man.Jacksonian-Democrats didn't let the constitution get in the way of their goals, especially pertaining to eco
A foreigner, Harriet Martineau, reported that,"...every man in the towns an independent citizen..."and she was awe stricken as,"...the people were to be the judges."(Document D) The Jacksonian Era was a time of prosperity and liberty for the regular American as now they, the commoners, had a voice. Andrew Jackson and the Jacksonians had ideas and policies that were important to the common man and whether it obeyed or disobeyed the constitution was not a concern of theirs. pretension over every power of the government...". Webster believed that Jackson's veto over stepped the boundaries of the executive office, abused the constitution, and it was a scam,"...to inflame the poor against the rich...". Webster was partially right. The Bank of the United States was a safe place for the government to store money. It successfully expanded the money supply and formed a steady currency. Yet, Andrew Jackson, by vetoing the recharter of the bank, was looking out for the common man. He explained that the,"...concentration of power in the hands of a few men irresponsible to the people..."(Document B). Only the rich and aristocratic were prospering off the bank, the people of America were not gaining anything for themselves and wherefore it was not economically equal. Also, four-fifths of the bank was not chosen by congress, lending itself to m
Some common words found in the essay are:
Andrew Jackson, Jacksonian Democracy, Webster Document, Charles River, Madison Dartmouth, Bank United, Harriet Martineau, Jackson War, Jackson Jacksonians, President Jackson's, andrew jackson, charles river, bank united, people america, river bridge, charles river bridge, taney's decision,
Approximate Word count = 903
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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