How Did Republicanism Change

Between the years 1750 and 1865 the philosophy of Republicanism and virtue changed. Republicanism was the idea of being ruled by people with “virtue”. In the early years of America’s independence people such as John Hancock believed only rich white men that owned property had virtue. They were the only ones allowed to hold office and vote. The idea of “virtue” had changed dramatically after the Civil War in 1865. From 1750 to 1865 Poor whites, Women and Blacks attempted to become “virtuous” and be able to participate in society in the way rich whites could. In the early years of the colonies independence rich whites, such as merchants and planters, were the only people allowed to vote and hold office. Poor whites were not considered to have virtue. After the war of 1812, during the Era of Good Feeling poor whites gained the right to vote in the colonies. Poor Whites were not considered virtuous enough to hold office or be involved in important federal decisions until Andrew Jackson. Jackson was the voice of the poor whites and was voted …show more content…
These people were considered to have “virtue”. By the end of the Civil War the idea of who had virtue had drastically changed. In 1750 only rich white men were believed to have virtue. Soon, with the help of Andrew Jackson, poor white had gained the right to hold office and vote. By the 1830’s all white men were believed to be virtuous. Also during this time Women and Blacks fought for the right to be considered virtuous people. Elizabeth Cady Stanton helped fight for women’s rights but did not succeed during this time. Blacks also fought for their freedom and to be considered virtuous. They succeed by getting most of the Union, such as Abraham Lincoln, to change their opinions on who had virtuous. Unfortunately, blacks were not consider to have “virtue” by all of America and would still have to fight for rights for many