Jackson Democracy: Transformation of American Conservatism

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Andrew Jackson was the 7^th president of the United States of America, his term of office lasted from 1829 to 1837. Through his political leadership style, Jackson sought to empower all commoners in the United States. Unlike his predecessors, he is considered the first president to be elected based on the popular vote (Corbett et al., 2014). President Jackson made several reforms that led to the prosperity of American suffrage. The main goal of Jackson was to bring down the already established government system that he thought did not provide satisfaction to the whole population. This led to great changes in his administration, resulting in various economic, cultural, and social impacts. Alexis de Tocqueville was impressed by the governance style of President Jackson during his visit to America and he was convinced that the method would be adopted worldwide.

The leadership of Jackson had both positive and negative impacts on the citizens of America. It was during his term that America experienced the greatest political-cultural change. He was a strong believer in the freedom and rights of his people. Before his election in 1820, only the white-male had the right to vote (Shelden, 2020). During his reign in office, Jackson reformed the whole system and gave the voting rights to all citizens who had attained the voting age. Further, he enhanced equity by dropping the complex requirements for owning property and tax systems that favored the rich only.

During his tenure, Jackson introduced the idea of “Manifest Destiny.” In this scheme, he targeted taking control of the Atlantic Ocean and settling Americans in the western lands. This could have promoted the livelihood of his people as the Yeoman farmers were to occupy the west of the Pacific Ocean inevitably leading to economic growth through farming. The free-soil Jacksonians under Martin Van Buren, however, had a different view on the economic empowerment of the Americans. They thought that the aspect of slavery should be limited to allow the poor whites to flourish (Childers, 2020). This concept not only promoted the whites but enhanced equality by minimizing slavery.

The previous system used by the predecessors that gave long-term tenures to government officials was destroyed by President Jackson. The aspect of patronage was established in which civil savants and political appointees were rotated in and out of office. President Jackson felt that it was the right thing to do, and it was his duty to ensure it was done in the right way. It was argued that patronage encouraged the common to participate in politics and would enhance accountability for poor governance. This system, however, led to further negative impacts as it facilitated the hiring of incompetent individuals. This was because of the criteria used in which they only considered party loyalty without looking for other essential qualifications.

Jackson reformed the leadership culture by assuming power with veto power. He did not submit to Congress in matters of policymaking and leadership. In favor of the common person, he battled the Second Bank of the United States. The institution was perceived to be a private corporation under the government. This monopoly was corrupt and a state machine meant to serve the rich and those in power. He saw the bank as an elitist institution that only manipulated paper money to wield power over the economy.

Some of the policies had a devastating effect, especially on the native Americans. As such, President Jackson signed the approval of the Indian Removal Act. He aimed to give the Americans more land for economic and farming activities by moving non-Americans and natives beyond what was considered the boundaries of American civilization. Like many other Americans, he believed that natives had no place in the white republic.

The whole reforms of president Jackson only benefited the White Americans. His leadership goals were to promote the white American commoner. He brought down all policies that favored the ruling class and empowered the poor to enhance their economic growth and participation in politics (Lynn & Watson, 2019). In the effort to vacate all natives and non-Americans, he aimed at providing more land to the whites for farming and economic development.

During Alexis de Tocqueville’s tour to America, he made remarkable studies through the United States. According to him, America, a young nation, had established a unique democratic system of governance while the long-standing European nations had only a vague idea of it (Sinha, 2019). The fact that America, which was a colony of the European countries, had made such achievements made Alexis feel that they were failing as Europe. This thought promoted his esteem for democracy and made him spend over eight years documenting the observations.

In conclusion, President Jackson made remarkable democratic changes that had positive and negative repercussions on the citizens. His main drive was on empowering the commoners that he believed had been oppressed by the loyalist. He was not only the first president to win elections by the popular vote but also the first president who ruled with a veto power with disregard for Congress. His achievements become a source of motivation for others, such as Alexis de Tocqueville.

References

Childers, C. (2020). The Rise of Andrew Jackson: Myth, manipulation, and the making of modern politics/preserving the white man’s republic: Jacksonian democracy, race, and the transformation of American conservatism. Journal of the Early Republic, 40(3), 591-595.

Corbett, P. Scott., Janssen, Volker, M. Lund, J., Pfannestiel, T., Waskiewicz, S., & Vickery, P. (2014). U.S History. OpenStax.

Lynn, J. A., & Watson, H. L. (2019). Introduction: Race, politics, and culture in the age of Jacksonian” Democracy”. Journal of the Early Republic, 39(1), 81-87. Web.

Shelden, R. A. (2020). Preserving the white man’s republic: Jacksonian democracy, race, and the transformation of American conservatism by Joshua A. Lynn. Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, 118(3), 506-508. Web.

Sinha, M. (2019). Afterword: The history and legacy of Jacksonian democracy. Journal of the Early Republic, 39(1), 145-148. Web.

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Jackson Democracy: Transformation of American Conservatism

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