Democracy: The Decline Of Jacksonian Democracy

From George Washington to John Quincy Adams, the president had always been an aristocrat, until Jackson. Jackson was a military hero from Tennessee known for his rough and tumble personality. He became notorious for hanging two British officials in the Seminole War against the Secretary of War’s commands. His truly American personality earned him the name of the “people’s president”. He won the 1828 election by a landslide. When the Jacksonians took office they claimed they were the guardians of the Constitution, political democracy, individual rights, and equality of economic opportunity. Although inconsistent in every area, the Jacksonians were somewhat able to protect political democracy and equality of economic opportunity, but failed to defend the Constitution and individual rights as they had claimed. …show more content…
Jackson, the “People’s President” or the “President of the Common Man” was not a philosophical thinker or an aristocrat like many of the presidents before him. Jackson was a Westerner who rose to fame when he defied the Secretary of War’s commands. Jackson viewed democracy as equal protection and equal benefits to all white male citizens and not favoring one group or region (Brinkley, 237). His anti-aristocratic views were evident in the political changes he made. He changed the caucus system, the way that presidential candidates were decided, to a convention. The convention was believed by the Jacksonians, to allow the presidential candidates to come directly from the people not just the elite institutions (Brinkley,