Though the Constitution starts with, “We the people,” America was not truly a country for the people at its inception. In reality, only the wealthy could influence the government, since property requirements limited the voting population to the aristocratic. Additionally, minorities such as blacks and women were completely ignored and had few rights. From 1800 to 1848, however, the average citizen grew in influence and the United States moved toward a more ideal democracy. This Age of Expansion and Reform often was called the “era of the common man”, and it certainly did live up to its characterization. Changing social and political values placed greater importance upon the regular citizen, instead of the elite. Though some more conservative
