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How did democracy increase under Andrew Jackson?
Jacksonian democracy was a 19th-century political philosophy in the United States that expanded suffrage to most white men over the age of 21, and restructured a number of federal institutions. It built upon Jackson’s equal political policy, subsequent to ending what he termed a “monopoly” of government by elites.
What did democracy mean to Andrew Jackson?
[ (jak-soh-nee-uhn) ] A movement for more democracy in American government in the 1830s. Led by President Andrew Jackson, this movement championed greater rights for the common man and was opposed to any signs of aristocracy in the nation.
What was the Jacksonian period?
“Jacksonian democracy” refers to the period of time (roughly 1828–1840) dominated by the controversial presidency of Andrew Jackson (1829–1837). Jackson, a westerner and the hero of the Battle of New Orleans (1815), ran for the presidency in 1824 but lost to John Quincy Adams.
What was the significance of the Jacksonian democracy?
But in successfully challenging President John Quincy Adams in 1828, Jackson’s supporters played mainly on his image as a manly warrior, framing the contest as one between Adams who could write and Jackson who could fight. Only after taking power did the Jacksonian Democracy refine its politics and ideology.
Why was democracy important to the American people?
They even sought to rein in the political influence of the masses when framing the US Constitution. But the revolutionary ideals of equality and democracy had captured the imagination of the American people, who embraced the notion that political participation should be for everyone, not just property-owning elites.
What was the economy like in the Jacksonian era?
In the Northeast and Old Northwest, rapid transportation improvements and immigration hastened the collapse of an older yeoman and artisan economy and its replacement by cash-crop agriculture and capitalist manufacturing. In the South, the cotton boom revived a flagging plantation slave economy, which spread to occupy the best lands of the region.
Why was rotation important to the Jacksonians?
The Jacksonians defended rotation in office as a solvent to entrenched elitism. To aid hard-pressed farmers and planters, they pursued an unrelenting (some say unconstitutional) program of Indian removal, while backing cheap land prices and settlers’ preemption rights.