The profound influence of Andrew Jackson on the new mass democracy in the 20s and 30s can be most aptly described by his appeal to the politics for the people. There were positive and negative factors which also contributed to the outcry of the new democracy during the period. Ranging from a growing population to the economic turmoil the nation was in, all of these aided in arousing the people to take charge of their own future. Andrew Jackson, the man who ran away with the election in 1828, initiated a political revolution that changed the face of the nation. His great appeal to the normal, average person, gave him great popularity and a larger audience for his political ideals. Jackson’s ability to transform the powerful class from the elitists to the masses gave the people a reason for hope-a reason to take charge in their lives.

            Andrew Jackson was a microcosm of the new West: individualistic, versatile, and most importantly, opportunistic. One of the great appeals Jackson made to the common people was the fact that he was one. Raised an orphan and mischievous, he was not the most educated young man. But his will and desire to achieve what he wanted made him the man that was revered by the masses. They said his university was adversity. This background gave him the foundation and justification for leading the people to creating a government as simple as the Constitution created. Jackson believed in federal supremacy, but his loyalty to states’ rights was never in question. Also, he greatly contributed to the use of the spoils system. As a reformer, he believed the best way to rid the horrors from the past was to bring in an entirely new set of people. Jackson’s initiation of this new type of democracy raised some questions and later resulted in some scandalous behavior, but his transformation of power from the social class of the rich and wealthy to the common man was the first big step in creating a democracy of the people.

            Democrats and Whigs were the two political parties of the era. They were representative of the rising difficulties of the political process. Though they were not truly different in their ideological stands, they were founded on the disagreements of their shared roots in the new mass democracy. The emergence of political came as a result of the new outpouring of the people to participate in the political process. During the Jacksonian transformation, the emergence of these political parties started a new method of electing and deciding on political candidates. No longer could they just run; they were forced to focus on the issues the people saw as important rather than what could make them look better in the public eye. Unfortunately the nature of politics forced this transformation to occur. However great the effects of the transformation on the political process, Jackson’s aroused sense of democracy and the consequent creation of political parties initiated changes that would affect the nation forever.

Chapter 13: Part One

             Andrew Jackson greatly influenced the increase in popularity of the new mass democracy.  Many of his ideals were similar to the theories of the New Democracy.  Jackson also was supported by a large group of people who were looking for reforms.  Since this large amount of people supported Jackson, they also supported the new democracy.  The large amount of followers of the new mass democracy was Andrew Jackson’s greatest contribution; he helped this new political party gain popularity.

The election of 1824 was an extremely corrupt affair.  Andrew Jackson had the most electoral votes out of the four candidates, however he was not able to win the majority of the electoral votes.  According to the Twelfth Amendment, the House of Representatives needed to decide who would be president out of the top three candidates.  The top three were Jackson, Adams, and Crawford.  Clay, who was eliminated, was able to also choose who would be president.  Clay then used his popularity to persuade the other members of the House of Representatives to vote for Adams.  In the end, John Quincy Adams became president.  Andrew Jackson’s then began the campaign for Jackson the same year.  His supporters believed that if Jackson became president, he would be able to make up for the unfair election of 1824 by cleaning the government of the unfair Adams’ supporters. 

            In the election of 1828, Andrew Jackson, the democratic republican, beat John Quincy Adams, the Nationalistic republican.  Jackson’s primary supporters were the common people from the West, South, and the Eastern laborers.  The common people’s vote was now seen as a strong force that was powerful enough to remove an unwanted president from office.  The election could be considered as a political revolution, one in which the previously stronger vote of the wealthy Eastern states had been replaced by the vote of the common people; it was a transfer of power from the East to the West.  This change in vote helped bring even more popularity to the new mass democracy.  The large amount of people who supported Andrew Jackson also supported the new democracy.  This is because many of Andrew Jackson’s political beliefs were factors in this New Democracy. 

            Some values shared by Jackson and the New Democracy where concerning with positions in government.  One was that any decent American could learn the routine of an office.  Since this is possible, Jackson then asked why should there be an aristocratic, office holding class?  Along with this, Jackson and his followers also believed that alertness was more valuable than experience.  He also agreed with the New Democracy idea of rotating office positions.

            Andrew Jackson significantly affected the new mass democracy in the 1820’s and 1830’s.  He helped the new political idea of mass democracy by helping it gain popularity.  Andrew Jackson and his supporters’ political beliefs were very similar to the beliefs of the new democracy; they both had similar feelings on governmental positions and who should be allowed to be in them.   

                Part 2: 

            The two new democratic parties, the Democrats and the Whigs, were, at one time, both following the same political ideas, the ideas of Jeffersonian Democracy.  Over the years, the two parties began to emerge because of differences found in their own political ideals.  The main difference was that the Democrats wanted to have common people govern and the Whigs wanted aristocratic people to govern.  This disagreement was much less important than their shared background in Jeffersonian democracy.

            When democracy was first introduced it was not greatly respected by the Federalists.  However by the 1820’s democracy was becoming more popular and more acceptable.  The main supporters of this Democratic Party were the masses, or so-called “common” people.  These people though it to be desirable if the politician running for a certain government position would be from humble beginnings.  The candidates for government offices should not have looked or acted exceedingly smart or well dressed.  People who supported these new democratic beliefs also thought that a person would be well suited for their position if they were an excellent militia commander or Indian fighter.  Davy Crockett was one example of this; he was elected into Congress because he killed 105 bears in one season.  People who were elected for different governmental offices continued to be important citizens, but the elected also needed to conform to the desires of the masses.  An ideal of the Jeffersonian Democracy was that people should be governed as little as possible, however Jacksonian Democracy then included that the people should govern themselves. 

            With the new Democracy came the Democratic Party.  The common man managed this new party.  This was made possible by the new ability for all white men to have a vote; before votes were given to those who had the correct property qualifications.  The Panic of 1819 and the Missouri compromise both caused more people, including farmers, to have a greater interest for politics.  They wanted to be able to make their own decisions about how they would be governed; they definitely did not want aristocrats who were not sympathetic with their hardships to be ruling over them.   

            The Whigs, a part of the Democratic Party, were those who wanted to continue to practice the older Jeffersonian Democracy.  They did not believe that all white men should have the right to vote.  Unfortunately for the Whigs, the masses of common white men continued to play a huge part in the government and its doings.

            The primary difference between the Whigs and the New Democrats was their different beliefs in who should be allowed to govern whom.  The Whigs believed that the aristocrats, or people in the Whig party, should be the ones elected into governmental offices.  The democrats instead held the belief that the common person should be allowed to govern and that people from humble beginnings should be elected into these positions.  This disagreement was much less important than the fact that they both started from the same Jeffersonian Democracy and even continued to have similar beliefs about governmental issues.      

            Andrew Jackson had a profound influence on the new mass democracy in the 1820s and 1830s. He also represented the people and his election took the power from the “snobs” and gave it to the “mobs.” Even before his election, his followers wanted to purge America of favoritism for the rich over average people.

Jackson was the first president from the West and the first, besides George Washington, that didn’t attend college. He thoroughly represented the people in his background, but he was living comfortably when elected. Jackson’s face told the story of a hard life. Orphaned at a young age, he was a rebel in his youth who was more interested in fighting than reading. His hot temper led him into many duels, stabbings and other bloody skirmishes. He’d also had long battles with diseases such as dysentery, malaria, tuberculosis and lead poisoning from two bullets in his body: they were the results of a duel. Although Jackson wasn’t the brightest crayon in the box when it came to writing, he was able to get far with his talents. He became a judge and a member of Congress because of his innate intelligence, strong personality and leadership skills. He seemed very well qualified for those in the West because the belief was that superior militia commanders made good political leaders. Jackson had won his fame as a commander of militia troops. He was nicknamed “Old Hickory” because he was very tough and sturdy.

            Jackson was not only very popular with the people of the West, but also those in the South. The West liked him because that was where his roots were, and the South because he was a slave-owning cotton planter. The South figured that he would sympathize with them because of his agricultural investments, but his most lasting “contribution” was the nationalization of the spoils system. The Spoils System had always been used in politics, but never on such a large scale; Jackson revolutionized the way government officials were chosen. Many would do favors and give money in the hopes of gaining office. Many scandals erupted from these less-than-honorable practices. Illiterates, incompetents or just plain crooks took most positions given out.  Samuel Swartwout was a dishonest man given an important position. He became the first person to steal a million dollars from the Unites States government after he left (with the money) for England. 

This information is actually in chapter 14.

             The new democratic parties, the Democrats and the Whigs, were very different in their beliefs, but they still had much in common. The two parties were ideological opponents and their disagreements were as important as their shared roots in the new mass democracy.

            The Democrats placed emphasis on the freedom of the individual and didn’t want the “privileged” to overrun the government. They also believed in states’ rights and the restraint of the federal government’s involvement in economic and social affairs.

            The Whigs emphasized “the natural harmony of society and the value of community, and were willing to use government to realize their objectives.” (293). They also disagreed with leaders like Andrew Jackson whose tendency to lean towards self-interest cultivated conflict among the masses. Whigs also “tended to favor a renewed national bank; protective tariffs; internal improvements; public schools; and increasingly, moral reforms such as the prohibition of liquor and eventually the abolition of slavery.” (293).

            Although their philosophies and policies were very different, they shared a common foundation in the new mass democracy. They were both “catchall” parties that tried to round up as many voters as possible for their cause. Whigs tended to be more prosperous and Democrats more humble folk, but both parties had support from all social class and in all areas of the nation.