Andrew Jackson Improvement

President number seven of the United States; Andrew Jackson led a period of time we know call the era of the “common man”, but during this time the words “common man” referred to all white men that paid taxes and owned land. This period of time lived up to what people characterized it as; a time where almost all men had equal opportunities. Politics, economic development, and reform movements began to favor all the white men and not only the elite landowners. At the beginning of the presidency of Andrew Jackson, not everyone was able to participate in political elections, but at the end only a few more gained the right to vote. During the 1820’s only white taxpayers and landowners were granted the right to vote and hold public office. Several states that joined the Union began to allow more white men to vote
In this time period there were various internal improvements that benefitted the economy. Sir Henry Clay came up with what he named the “ American system”. He gained support from the people to make to internal improvements and develop the economy. Some of these improvements were railroads and canals. Great success came from Clay’s ideas. One of the biggest improvements was the Erie Canal. This created a system of canals that crossed and came all the way from the Hudson River in New York City to Lake Erie. Improvements were seen almost overnight. As a result of the Erie Canal farmers on the west side could ship their crops at a much lower price and expansion of boat transportation expanded. Similarly to Erie Canal the production of coal as a new power source led to many new developments and improvements in the economy. Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania were the major states for coal mining. When coal began to be exploited as a source of energy, mills began to be located away from canals that provided water as the power source. This allowed the industry to grow without having to be near