Jacksonian democracy and reform

History of the USA · Expansion and sectional conflict. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

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The idea

Andrew Jackson (president 1829 to 1837) stood for the 'common man'. Most white men could now vote without owning property, and Jackson claimed to speak for them against privilege. He gave government jobs to supporters, the spoils system, and destroyed the Second Bank of the United States, which he saw as a tool of the rich.

His rule had a harsh side. The Indian Removal Act (1830) forced the eastern nations west of the Mississippi. He also faced down South Carolina when it claimed a state could nullify a federal law.

At the same time a religious revival, the Second Great Awakening, taught that people could improve themselves and society. It fed the campaigns against slavery and alcohol and for women's rights and public schools.

Rules to remember

Indian Removal Act 1830; Worcester v. Georgia 1832 (Georgia's laws had no force in Cherokee territory); Trail of Tears 1838 to 1839.
Nullification crisis 1832 to 1833: South Carolina against the tariff, Calhoun's doctrine; ended by the Force Bill and a compromise tariff.
Bank veto 1832: Jackson refused to recharter the Second Bank of the United States.
Abolition: William Lloyd Garrison's The Liberator (1831); Frederick Douglass's Narrative (1845); Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad.
Women's rights: Seneca Falls Convention 1848, Declaration of Sentiments (Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott).
Education: Horace Mann and common schools. Dorothea Dix: care of the mentally ill.
Temperance: the campaign to reduce or end the drinking of alcohol.

Common mistake

'Jacksonian democracy' widened politics for white men only. Women, Native Americans and Black Americans were left out, so do not describe it as democracy for all.

Worked example

Jackson defended the Union against South Carolina yet did not enforce the Supreme Court's ruling for the Cherokee. What explains both actions?

In the nullification crisis a state challenged federal law, and Jackson upheld national authority.
In the Cherokee case the Court's ruling stood in the way of removal, a policy Jackson himself wanted.
In both he acted on his own view of the national interest and of what white voters wanted.

Answer: Jackson used presidential power strongly where it served his aims: firm against nullification, but unwilling to protect the Cherokee.

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