Individual Liberty And Equality Of Economic Opportunity example essay topic

AP AM HISTORY DB 4 - (An A+ Essays Original Paper, written by Zoo Patrol) Jacksonian Democrats viewed themselves as the guardians of the United States Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of economic opportunity. In light of the following documents and your knowledge of the 1820's and the 1830's, to what extent do you agree with the Jacksonian's view of themselves. Unlike previous presidents, Andrew Jackson represented the common men. He and his followers did not support the aristocrats, but instead favored the interests of farmers and urban workers. When they gained power, the Jacksonian Democrats brought about great advances in creating a more democratic and economically equal society. One of the most important changes that Jackson brought was a much more democratic society.

You no longer had to be a rich landowner to be allowed to vote. Most of the states removed any religious or property qualifications for holding office. The number of voters increased nearly by seven times during Jackson's presidency. By 1832, nearly all states adopted a new system for choosing for choosing its electors. Before Jackson's presidency, the electors were chosen by state legislatures. Now all the states in the Union, except South Carolina, had adopted a more democratic method of allowing voters to choose their state's electors.

Also, during Jackson's era, many state and local officials were elected to office, instead of being appointed. This gave the voters more control of their local government, and increased participation in elections. Another principle of the Jacksonian Democracy was the rotation system. Jackson limited a person's stay in office to just one term, and then appoint another in his place. Jacksonian Democrats believed that any American was capable of holding government office.

Jackson also said that if a man were to hold office for a lengthy period of time, he would be capable of "tolerating conduct from which an unpracticed man would revolt". Along with rotation, the Jacksonian Democrats reestablished the spoils system. Jackson fired any previous office holder who was not a loyal Democrat. He would then appoint a Democrat to that position. The spoils system and rotation were advances toward greater political democracy, because they showed that one man is just as good as another is. In addition to creating a more democratic country, Jackson also tried to establish equal economic opportunity for the people of America.

The best example of this is the vetoing of the charter of the Bank of the United States. The bank was a huge monopoly. It was ran by aristocrats, most of which were from England. Nicholas Biddle, who was the president of the bank, often used funds from the bank to lend money to the members of Congress, thus wining their support. In his veto message, Jackson wrote, "It is to be regretted that rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes". This was true, since the bank was used to provide for the interests of the rich and not the common men such as the small farmers and urban workers.

The attempt to create equality of economic opportunity is also evident in the Supreme Court case of Charles River Bridge vs. Warren Bridge. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney ruled that a single corporation does not have a right to collect toll and prevent other bridges from being built near it. Taney said, .".. we must not forget that the community also has rights, and that the happiness and well-being of every citizen depends on their faithful preservation". He did not want the bridge to become a monopoly and ruled that competition shall be allowed. Besides making progress toward greater democracy and equal economic opportunity, there was also greater equality of and individual liberty of the people. There was less poverty and the majority of people were middle-class citizens.

Harriet Martineau wrote "I had seen every man in towns as independent citizen; every man in country a landowner". This is true, because most of the white population lived in good conditions during Jackson's presidency. During Jackson's presidency there were many changes made toward a more democratic and economically equal society. The voting qualifications were abolished for white men, common people were allowed to hold office, and most of the citizens had equal economic opportunity.