The Jacksonian Era

Andrew Jackson: The Common Mans Hero

By: Daniel Collins
Professor Tabor
March 26, 2013

The Jacksonian Era is a time period spanning from 1820-1840 where Andrew Jackson was trying to become president and his political philosophies had many supporters on the United States. Jackson 's policies followed the era of Jeffersonian democracy which dominated the previous political era. Prior to and during Jackson 's time as President, his supporters (the beginnings of the modern Democratic Party) were resisted by the rival Adams and Anti-Jacksonian factions, which later gave birth to the Whigs. More broadly, the term refers to the period of the Second Party System (mid 1830s-1840’s) when Jacksonian philosophy was ascendant as well as the spirit of that era. It can be contrasted with the characteristics of Jeffersonian democracy. Jackson 's equal political policy became known as Jacksonian Democracy, subsequent to ending what he termed a "monopoly" of government. During the Jacksonian era, the electorate expanded to include all white male adult citizens, rather than only land owners in that group. The Election of 1828 was anything but a bore. The factionalism within the Republican ranks led to a split and the creation of two parties—Jackson 's Democratic Republicans and Adams 's National Republicans. Martin Van Buren of New York, who preferred rivalries between parties to disputes within one party, masterminded the emergence of the Democrats. “The campaign itself was less about issues than the character of the two candidates. Jacksonians denounced Adams for being “an aristocrat” and for allegedly trying to influence Russian policy by providing Tsar Alexander I with an American prostitute during Adams 's term as ambassador. Supporters of Adams vilified Jackson as a murderer (he had fought several duels), an adulterer, and an illiterate backwoodsman” (CliffsNotes.com). These attacks by the National Republicans did little to detract from Jackson’s popularity. Ordinary Americans admired his leadership qualities and decisiveness; they liked to remember Jackson the Indian fighter and hero of the Battle of New Orleans and forget about the important role Adams had in negotiating the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812. Jackson also had clear political advantages. As a raised westerner, he had a sort of “home-court advantage” from that part of the country, while the fact that he was a slave owner gave him strength in the South. Conversely, Adams was strong only in New England. Jackson was swept into office with 56 percent of the popular vote from a greatly expanded electorate vote. Some social aspects of the Jacksonian era, political reforms became a catalyst for social reform. Many social reform movements of the 1830’s and beyond have their roots in the Jacksonian Period such as, Women’s Rights in Seneca Falls 1848 produced the “Declaration of Rights and Sentiments” (Gail, Royce). This helped to give women more equality. Other social reform movements included Abolition, Prohibition of Alcohol, Free Public Education and, Prison Reform. These movements helped pave the way for ideas that we still use today. Jackson 's opposition to the Bank of the United States was rooted in the same philosophy and concerns. In urging its elimination, Jackson joined a large group of bank critics. But Jackson 's specific objections to the Bank were not shared by most people anxious to see it eliminated. “Most of the Bank 's critics were upset primarily by the power that it exercised over the nation 's money supply. As the nation 's largest bank, the BUS was able make demands upon smaller state-chartered banks. Most importantly, it could require that the state banks redeem their notes with gold specie when presented to them by the BUS. This forced state banks to practice conservative lending policies so that they had plenty of specie on hand to meet BUS demands. Jackson agreed with a portion of this argument; he thought the Bank exercised far too much influence over the nation 's economy” (Shmoop Editorial Team). But he objected less to its monetary conservatism than to the broader system of credit and speculation that the BUS, and all other banks, supported. In other words, Jackson 's criticism of the bank was really a criticism of all banks, and the sort of economic behaviors they encouraged. “He believed that an economy built on credit was inherently unstable and a person who made his money through speculation rather than the production of something real like a crop or manufactured goods was less independent and less virtuous. He believed that an economy that rested on the circulation of paper inflated bank notes, stock certificates, and bonds were unstable and morally suspicious” (Shmoop Editorial Team). Moreover this sort of economy rewarded a narrow and, in Jackson 's eyes, dubious slice of the public the speculator, the risk-taker, the money-lender rather than the hard working famer.

Works Cited
CliffsNotes.com. Politics of the Jacksonian Era. 26 Mar 2013
<http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/topicArticleId-25073,articleId-25040.html>.
Gail, Royce. "Timeline of the Jacksonian Era." Timeline of the Jacksonian Era. N.p., 03 Nov. 2006. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. Shmoop Editorial Team. "Economy in The Jackson Era" Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. Temin, Peter. "The Jacksonian Economy." Economic History Services. N.p., 16 Nov. 2008. Web. 26 Mar. 2013

Cited: CliffsNotes.com. Politics of the Jacksonian Era. 26 Mar 2013 &lt;http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/topicArticleId-25073,articleId-25040.html&gt;. Gail, Royce. "Timeline of the Jacksonian Era." Timeline of the Jacksonian Era. N.p., 03 Nov. 2006. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. Shmoop Editorial Team. "Economy in The Jackson Era" Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. Temin, Peter. "The Jacksonian Economy." Economic History Services. N.p., 16 Nov. 2008. Web. 26 Mar. 2013