Social Studies Challenge?

Question

What exactly is “Jacksonian Democracy” ?

Answer 1

Jacksonian democracy refers to the political philosophy of United States President Andrew Jackson and his followers in the new Democratic Party. Jackson's policies followed in the footsteps of Jefferson. Jackson's Democratic Party was resisted by the rival Whig Party. More broadly, the term refers to the period of the Second Party System (1824-1854) when Jacksonian philosophy was ascendant as well as the spirit of that era. It can be contrasted with the characteristics of Jeffersonian democracy, which dominated the previous political era. The Jacksonian era saw a great increase of respect and power for the common man, as the electorate expanded to include all white male adult citizens.

Broadly, Jacksonian democracy, in contrast to the Jeffersonian era, promoted the strength of the executive branch and the Presidency at the expense of Congressional power, while also seeking to broaden the public's participation in government. Jacksonians believed in enfranchising all white men, rather than just the propertied class, and supported the patronage system that enabled politicians to appoint their supporters into administrative offices, arguing it would reduce the power of elites and prevent aristocracies from emerging. They demanded elected (not appointed) judges and rewrote many state constitutions to reflect the new values. In national terms the Jacksonians favored geographical expansion, justifying it in terms of Manifest Destiny. There was usually a consensus among both Jacksonians and Whigs that battles over slavery should be avoided. The Jacksonian Era lasted roughly from Jackson's election until the slavery issue became dominant after 1850 and the American Civil War dramatically reshaped American politics and the Third Party System emerged.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacksonian_Democracy

Answer 2

Jacksonian Democracy is a term applied to the time period between 1824 and 1840. During that time period Andrew Jackson was president from 1829-1837. Jackson was the first Democrat to become president of the United States but the key aspect of Jacksonian Democracy was the advent of Universal Manhood Suffrage which simply meant that all white males over the age of 21 were allowed to vote. Property requirements that existed before 1824 were done away with and that spread the franchise to a much larger number of voters. With that larger number of voters came a change in the characteristics of a successful candidate -----Jackson a self made man, westerner, military hero. It also changed the agenda and direction of politics to deal more with issues that were of greater concern to the common man. The term "King Numbers" or "King Mob" is sometimes applied to this era.
There was a significant change in political campaigns as well. Name calling and allegations of scandals became more commonplace.

Answer 3

Jackson was a populist. He believed in the common man rather than the wealthy (he was all but illiterate and a frontiersman himself). He also opposed the Electoral College (since it denied him the Presidency against JQ Adams).

Basically, he was a modern Democrat. He was also very much a dictator-type President (the famous political cartoon calls him "King Andrew I" and shows him destroying the Constitution's checks and balances--cf the Cherokee and the Trail of Tears)