Political Parties And The Social Reforms example essay topic

Jacksonian Democracy Jacksonian (Democracy, Society, etc.) is a term used to describe reform during the time of Andrew Jackson's Presidency. Specifically Jacksonian Democracy refers to "the general extension of democracy that characterized U.S. politics from 1824 to 1828". Jacksonian Democracy and its support came primarily from the lower classes as a rebellion of sorts apposing the aristocracy. Even though it stressed equality, it was pro-slavery and anti-Indian (not unlike Andrew Jackson).

Also there was change in both the political parties and the social reforms. Jackson was seen as a westerner (even though he was from Tennessee) and a president of the common man. This we can see when he married women out of the lower classes and the upper class was astonished. Also, Jackson had opened the white house to everyone on his inauguration day. During his time in office Political parties changed their names and were affirmed. Earlier when the term party was looked upon with similar meaning as faction, it represented a sort of selfishness and contention over unanimity that wasn't needed in the government.

The Democrats and the Whigs were the new names of the parties. The Whigs grew from the Republican Party and the Democrats form the Anti-Federalists. What brought this change were economic booms and downturns that had characterized the 19th century economy. Also Missouri Compromise (when Missouri's proposed constitution admitted for slavery and to balance the states Maine was admitted as a free state) had a hand in bringing about the parties when a group of politicians (of whom Martin Van Buren was apart of) that were organized in a coalition for states rights and limited government that would be later supported by Andrew Jackson; also they help support Jackson for the presidency of 1828, they were known as the Democrats.

Parties were also essential because they gave the Common man (which Jackson was all about) the power to compete (sort of) with the wealth, education, and social connections of the traditional leaders (fun? ). The Whigs stood for Government controlled commercial development that incorporated what was called the American System, and wanted a high tariff that would benefit the North and its factories rather than the European competition, which meant more funds for the national government. Also Land acts that raised the price of the land in the west that would slow western expansion and raise more federal revenue. The Democrats wanted to limit the role of government in the market and wanted to resolve the tensions among the Northeast, West, and South.

Also they wanted to do away with the national bank (Jackson put a lot of money into city and state bands as a result) and sell land at low rates and leave internal improvement basically to the states to deal with. The proposed government of the democrats was one centered in local affairs (one of the most important was slavery). Jackson therefore wanted weak central government within a permanent union. However soon came up the issue of Nullification with South Carolinas attempt to nullify the tariff of 1828.

Social reform was underway as well with a number of institutions and social movements being devoted to improving morals of individuals and society in general. Schools started to pop up around the country. Public tax supported schools set up by Whigs in the north. The school systems were centralized at the state level and made attendance mandatory. Temperance was also part of this reform, and this was the most sustained movement in social history. The good old crusade against the use of alcohol that began in 1820.

The reason for this it was argued was that alcohol led to violence, personal and social disintegration and was associated with being out of control. This effort was headed up by the middle class (women mostly) that assumed poverty, crime, and every other thing wrong with society was a result of heavy drinking. They argued that a sober nation would result in a society free of crime and violence, and filled to the brim with happy homes and streets. Civil and legal equality for women was also in the works at this time. This was initiated after the Seneca Falls Convention (the first women's right convention) that was attended by members of missionary societies, people from the temperance movement, and others including those of an antislavery movement (the convention had began with a document similar to the Declaration of Independence, interesting huh? ).

At this convention the subordinate status of women was address, issues such as being able to vote (since the requirement for land to vote being long gone, some women lost their right to vote and others still hadn't the right yet), political participation and legal and civil equality were the main focus. In the American Republic they argued, political participation separated people who counted from those who did not. Another of the points in social reform from Jacksonian Democracy was abolition. The logic was that social reform also applied to slavery and almost more than any other institution. The reasoning behind this was that slaves resisted their own enslavement. Slavery was opposed in the 18th century by Quakers and few other whites, even though the American Revolution with its rhetoric about equal and universal rights called slavery into serious question.

The Northern States abolished it and the Southern slave owners (upper south mind you) thought about liberating slaves. However it wasn't until the 1830's that a number of middle class Norte~nos (northerners) began to demand immediate emancipation of slaves for their incorporation as equals in the Republic. Just as other social reforms had taken root with mostly radical Norte~no Whigs, abolitionism soon found its way to them. This was a basis for the middle class revivals of the 1820's and 1830's.

In closing this is what Jacksonian democracy incorporated; pretty much any reform that happened within the country during Andrew Jackson's presidency. Source: Microsoft (R) Encarta (R) Reference Library 2005. (c) 1993-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.