Individual Liberties And Equality Of Economic Opportunity example essay topic

During the time period between the 1820's to the 1830's, the Jacksonian Democrats viewed themselves as the guardians of the United States Constitution, political democracy, individual liberties, and equality of economic opportunity. Based on my knowledge of this time period and upon the information stated in documents A through H of this document based question, I agree with the Jacksonian Democrats by believing that the view they held of themselves was very truthful and correct. I believe this because the Jacksonian Democrats prohibited the passing of laws and proposals that would be unconstitutional, such as that of the Bank of the United States. They protected political democracy by not letting too much power go to a certain groups of people, while also protecting the individual by establishing rights and laws. Finally, they were the gatekeepers of economic opportunity by providing opportunities such as jobs to almost anyone who was willing to work.

During the 1820's and 1830's, Jacksonian Democrats displayed that they were the guardians and gatekeepers of the United States Constitution by vetoing the proposal by Clay to establish a Bank of the United States in 1822. By stating that the bank would be unconstitutional due to the fact that it favored the already wealthy people that owned land and had money to invest, the Jacksonian Democrats vetoed the proposal and protected the interests and opportunities of the less wealthy and poor people of the United States of America. This proves to me that the Jacksonian Democrats were the guardians of the United States Constitution. The Jacksonian Democrats protected the political democracy of the United States by not letting too much political power get into the wrong hands or into a certain class o group of people in the United States. They did this by enforcing the Constitution and prohibiting proposals and legislative decisions that would influence affairs, foreign and domestic, such as that of the Bank of the United States proposed by Clay in 1822 and smaller issues that did not get substantial media coverage, like land disputes and arguments over territories. This shows me that the Jacksonian Democrats protected political democracy in the United States.

The Jacksonian Democrats, during the 1820's and 30's also protected the individual liberties of people that resided in the United States of America. An example of this protection offered by the Jacksonian Democrats was the Grimke sisters, Sarah and Angelina, who freed their slaves and left their homes in South Carolina to preach the cause of abolition. For this act they were not persecuted by the government, due to the fact that their individual liberties were protected by the Jacksonian Democrats. Another example of this protection was Lucretia Mott. Mott opposed slavery and supported equal rights for women, but again, did not get persecuted for expressing her opinions, without the watch for liberties by the Jacksonian Democrats her opinions would not have been able to be heard.

This shows me that the Jacksonian Democrats prohibited individual liberties from being limited by the government, therefore, protecting the people. The Jacksonian Democrats, in the time period from 1820 to 1830 were the gatekeepers of economic opportunity because they provided job opportunities to people, men and women, that were willing to keep a job and work hard for some money to support their needs. They provided growing jobs for women and tried hard to make people understand that women should have the same opportunities in the job place and elsewhere as men. An example of this was Harri at Martinaeu's, a British author, description of America and how America had many equal opportunities for people, no matter if they were male or female.

This proves to me that the Jacksonian Democrats provided people with equal economic opportunities in the United States. Hence, after reviewing the document based questions and using my knowledge of the era between 1820 and 1830, I have to agree that the view held by the Jacksonian Democrats stating that the Jacksonian Democrats viewed themselves as the guardians of the United States Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of economic opportunity is correct and truthful.