Andrew Jakson

The New Democracy

When Jackson took office many things changed. The Spoils system was put into affect. The everyday man now had a bigger voice, and for once in a long time the people; not the electoral collage or corrupt senators and congressmen ran the nation.

When the Federalists had dominated, democracy was not respected, but by the 1820s, it was widely appealing. Politicians now had to bend to appease and appeal to the masses, and the popular ones were the ones who claimed to be born in log cabins and had humble backgrounds. Those who were too clean, too well dressed, too grammatical, or too highly intellectual were not liked by the public.

Jacksonian Democracy said that whatever governing that was to be done should be done directly to the people. It was called the New Democracy, and it was a great idea based on universal manhood suffrage. While older federalist senators taunted and ridiculed the younger and humbler senators when the messed up these new democrats argued that if they messed up, they messed up together. The flowering political democracy was in part caused the logical growth of the open-minded ideas that had taken root in colonial times. More and more people understood how banks, tariffs, and internal improvements affected the quality of their lives. The panic of 1819, the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the steadily improving economy helped this idea nourish greatly. In the panic of 1819, overextended banks had called back their debts, and often, farmers unable to pay up lost their farms while the bankers didn't have to lose their property because they simply suspended their own payments, and the apparent favoritism caused outcry.

The problem with Missouri had aroused Southern awareness to how the North could try to crush their slavery once and for all. But the new democracy allowed the people (even the southerners) to really have their voice heard and they took full advantage of this luxury. During the Jacksonian era voter turnout rose dramatically, clear political parties developed, and new styles of politics emerged. In 1824, only one fourth of all eligible voters voted, but that numbered doubled 4 years later. Candidates increasingly used banners, badges, parades, barbecues, free drinks, and baby kissing in order to appeal to the public and get the votes. Now, more members of the Electoral College were being chosen directly by the people rather