Jacksonian Democracy Dbq

Jacksonian Democracy

Jacksonian democracy refers to the political philosophy of former U.S. president Andrew Jackson and his followers of the Democratic Party. The policies expanded the already established democratic principles of Thomas Jefferson. Jacksonian democracy encouraged the strength of the executive branch and was done at the expense of Congressional power. Democrats promoted the idea of the common man and believed in giving power to all white men rather than just the propertied elite. Jackson and his followers believed that the common man should be allowed to actively participate in his government by rotating many men through office. Jackson's presidency highlighted the importance of the single individual even if the person was of a poor background with little education, similar to Jackson himself. Jacksonian democrats viewed themselves as the promoters of the underdogs and worked to create equal opportunities for all. Jacksonian Democrats were to a great extent the guardians of the United States Constitution and political democracy, while they were to a weak extent, the promoters of individual liberty, and to a moderate extent, the promoters of economic opportunity.

Jacksonian Democrats were to a great extent the guardians of the United States Constitution. Similarly to Jefferson, Jackson had a strict interpretation of the United States Constitution. Jackson during his presidency used his veto power twelve times, which was more than the total combined vetoes of all previous presidents combined, which was ten. He used his veto on laws he believed unconstitutional in order to uphold and guard the United States Constitution. For instance, Jackson vetoed the bill to recharter the Bank of the United States. In his veto message on July 10, 1832, he stated, "I sincerely regret that in the act before me I can perceive none of those modifications of the bank charter which are necessary, in my opinion, to make it compatible with justice, with sound policy, or with the Constitution of our country" (Doc B). Jackson deems the Bank of the United States unconstitutional in his reasoning for implementing his veto power. He believed the bank to be a "moneyed monster" and favored the usage of pet state banks instead of a federalized United States bank. Once Jackson vetoed the bank, Daniel Webster in reply to Jackson's veto message the next day on July 11, 1832, stated, "It manifestly seeks to inflame the poor against the rich; it wantonly attacks whole classes of the people, for the purpose of turning against them the prejudices and the resentments of the other classes" (Doc C). Senator Daniel Webster and Henry Clay were Jackson's main opponents in Congress. They knew that President Jackson opposed the Second Bank and hoped to create popular opposition to Jackson in the election that year. They anticipated that many Democrats favored the Bank and