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Apr 4, 2012 · Jacksonian Democracy. By: History.com Editors. Updated: June 7, 2019 | Original: April 4, 2012. copy page link. Print Page. Hulton Archive/Getty Images. An ambiguous, controversial concept,...
Jacksonian democracy was a 19th-century political philosophy in the United States that expanded suffrage to most white men over the age of 21 and restructured a number of federal institutions. Originating with the seventh U.S. president , Andrew Jackson and his supporters, it became the nation's dominant political worldview for a generation.
To his army of followers, Jackson was the embodiment of popular democracy. A truly self-made man of strong will and courage, he personified for many citizens the vast power of nature and Providence , on the one hand, and the majesty of the people, on the other.
This expansion of the franchise has been dubbed Jacksonian Democracy, as the election of Andrew Jackson in 1828 became symbolic of the new “politics of the common man.” The older generation of politicians looked on in horror when Jackson’s inauguration turned into a stampede, breaking china and furniture in the White House.
Economic, religious, and geographic changes had all reshaped the nation in fundamental ways and pointed toward still greater opportunities and pitfalls in the future. Nevertheless, Jacksonian Democracy represented a provocative blending of the best and worst qualities of American society.
Jacksonian democracy marked the birth of modern American political culture, introducing practices like the two-party system and the spoils system. It shifted from an aristocratic political landscape to one where all white males could vote, regardless of property ownership, shaping today's political character.
The Rise of Jacksonian Democracy. Eyewitness Accounts. Andrew Jackson, the first president born in a log cabin and to hail from a state beyond the Allegheny Mountains, swept into office in 1828 with the help of expanded suffrage and the emergence of new, aggressive approaches to political campaigning.
