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    Ray Cheng

    APUSH Period 1

    November 15, 2010

    Mr. Kessler

    A Great DemocraticExperiment?The rise of white male political influence, economic

    opportunities, and a greeting to individual liberties.

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    The victory of Andrew Jackson at the Election of 1828 began a distinct era in Americanhistory, the Jacksonian Era. The economic, political, and social foundations set during the Federal

    Era were shaken by a wave of change as America was transitioning into a new phase of

    development. The people were ready for change and it was this necessity for change that led to

    Andrew Jacksons victory. He saw that there was a lack of political democracy and that there had to

    be more political influence for the common man. After the Panic of 1819, Jackson was angered that

    the common man did not have the economic opportunity that the privileged had. He understood that

    the common man was in need of more individual liberty. What defined Jacksonian Democracy was

    the belief that America could become a true democracy through a trust in the abilities of the

    common man. Andrew Jackson claimed to be the champion of his people and pledged to fight for

    his common man. However, to Jackson, the common man was not black, Indian, nor female. To

    Jackson, the common man was a white male. Although white males enjoyed an increase in political

    influence and economic opportunity, and the Reform Movement increased support for individual

    liberty during the Jacksonian Era, ultimately this era cannot be considered a great democratic

    experiment because Andrew Jackson did not defend the economic, political, and social interests of

    all the people; he abused his executive power at the expense of the people, and continued the

    American tradition of inequality and discrimination against women and minorities.

    There was an increase in economic opportunities for white males during the Jacksonian Era,

    however these opportunities came at the cost of the individual rights of Indians and suppressed

    women. Andrew Jackson had witnessed the suffering of the common man during the Panic of 1819

    as a result of the Federal Banks actions. On July 10, 1832, President Jackson vetoed an early re-

    charter bill for the Federal Bank passed by congress. Jackson viewed the Federal Bank as a

    monopoly, not because it cornered the banking businessbut because it enjoyed a federal charter

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    that endowed it with privileges no other bank possessed (Degler p163). When President Jackson

    won re-election in 1832, he appointed Roger B. Taney as Secretary of the Treasury and ordered him

    to withdraw all federal funds from the Federal Bank. The Deposit Act of 1836 distributed these

    funds to state banks. Jackson supported a policy of deregulation for his pet banks because he

    believed that it would bring more economic opportunity to the common man. However, it was the

    un-centralization of the state banks that led to an economic failure. Without a sober central bank in

    control, the pet bank flooded the country with paper money (Text12 p272). Andrew Jacksons

    bank veto and his deposit acts resulted in the Panic of 1837. The Jacksonian Era cannot be

    considered a great democratic experiment because although Jackson terminated the Federal Bank to

    prevent another failure such as the Panic of 1819, he abused his executive power at the expense of

    the people when he vetoed the Bank Charter of 1832, and action clearly supported by Congress.

    Ironically Jacksons decisions following the veto led to another economic failure, Panic of 1837.

    The Panic of 1837 demonstrated the continuation of the American tradition of inequality. During

    the Jacksonian Era, inequality [between the rich and the lower social class] wasgreater than it

    would be even later in the century (Degler p159). In 1833, the richest one per cent of the

    population owned a third of all the non-corporate wealth in Boston, while eighty-six per cent of the

    population held only fourteen per cent (Degler p159). Furthermore, there was a factory boom and

    an increase in manufacturing in America during this time. However, this expansion of economic

    opportunity was not equal and it was at the expense of many. The factory boom led to the

    establishment of Slater Textile Mills. The labor force of the Slater Mills was made up of young

    rural girls being paid cent by cent. White male factory owners benefited greatly from the high

    demand for textiles and cheap labor. Although the economic opportunities for profit and wealth

    increased for white male factory owners, economic opportunity for the Lowell and Slater women

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    did not increase during the Jacksonian Era because they were exploited for cheap labor. Another

    example of an increase in economic opportunities for white males but at the expense of others was

    the Sweep West. This sweep came from industrialization and commerce, the growth of

    populations, the rise in the value of land, and the greed of businessmen (Zinn p136). However

    there was and obstacle to the land-hungry white males. The West had long been occupied by the

    Native Americans. In order to remove the Native Americans to clear the way for white males, the

    Indian Removal Act of 1830 was enacted. The politely named, Indian Removal, cleared the land

    for white occupancy between the Appalachians and the Mississippi (Zinn p125), and forced the

    tribes off their lands. This act went against Supreme Court Justice John Marshalls ruling for the

    Cherokee tribe in the case of Worcester vs. Georgia in 1832. Andrew Jackson abused his executive

    power once more to override the Supreme Court and forced the Cherokees to migrate from Georgia

    to Oklahoma, where thousands lost there lives in this Trail of Tears. It is clear that there was no

    increase in economic opportunities for the Native Americans. However, the economic opportunities

    of white males clearly increased as a result of the Sweep West. There were happy effects for the

    white majority at the cost of four thousand deaths for the Indian minority (Zinn p140). The Trail of

    Tears was a clear example of the continuation of the American tradition of discrimination because

    Andrew Jackson cleared the land for the common man at the expense of thousands of Indian lives.

    The Jacksonian Era cannot be considered a great democratic experiment because Andrew Jackson

    continued the American tradition of inequality and discrimination, by increasing economic

    opportunity for white males at the expense of exploited rural girls and the lives of thousands of

    Cherokees.

    The increase in political influence for the common man cannot be considered a great

    democratic experiment because Andrew Jackson abused his executive power not for the good of the

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    country but for his personal interests. Andrew Jackson supported the common man to the fullest,

    and under Jacksonian Democracy, there was an expansion of voting rights for white males. States

    altered their constitutions in conformity with the principle that manhood, not property, was the basis

    for political rights (Degler p149). Jackson abolished property qualifications for suffrage, however,

    this still cannot be considered a great democratic experiment because women, Indians, and slaves

    were left out of the picture. This was a clear example of the continuation of inequality and

    discrimination in America because Andrew Jackson only expanded the political democracy of white

    males. Also, nullification became a difficult problem for Jackson. When a high tariff was passed

    that benefited the North and the West, the South was angry against this Tariff of Abominations and

    began to advocate states rights. The nullification advocates formed the Kentucky and Virginia

    resolutions during the Federal Era and Jackson had inherited the political hot potato (Text12

    p263) when he had to face John C. Calhouns South Carolina Exposition. Going a stride beyond

    the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions, it bluntly and explicitly proposed that the states could nullify

    the tariff (Text12 p264). There was a compromise, but Jackson was not satisfied and convinced

    Congress to pass the Force Bill. This increased the executive power of President Jackson because it

    gave him the authorization to use the military to collect federal tariffs. Here Andrew Jackson was a

    strong advocate of a strong government. However, when it came to the removal of the Indians,

    Jackson was an advocate for states rights. As soon as Jackson was elected President, Georgia,

    Alabama, and Mississippi began to pass laws to extend the states rule over the Indians in their

    territory (Zinn p133). The laws took away the individual rights of the Indians, and broke up their

    territories through state lotteries. In Worcester vs. Georgia of 1832, a case defending the rights of

    the Cherokee tribe members, Jackson ignored [the mistreatment of the Indians] and supported state

    action (Zinn p133) even though Chief Justice John Marshall in the Supreme Court had ruled in

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    favor of the Cherokees. This obstruction to political liberty was a neat illustration of the uses of the

    federal system: depending on the situation, blame could be put on the states (Zinn p133). This was

    not an increase in political democracy but another example of Andrew Jacksons unconstitutional

    use of executive power in pursuit of his own personal interests. Andrew Jacksons actions towards

    these regional conflicts were examples of his personal disdain for defiance and Indians. Political

    democracy during the Jacksonian Era cannot be considered a great democratic experiment because

    Andrew Jackson exploited his executive power and continued the American tradition of inequality.

    The nineteenth century Reform Movement demonstrated the need for more individual rights,

    however, the Jacksonian Era cannot be considered a great democratic experiment because the

    reform movement did not actually lead to an increase in individual rights. Before the reform

    movements, women could not vote nor own property. During the reform movement, society was

    called into question and challenged to justify themselves (Degler p168). In 1848, women such as

    Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton came together at the Seneca Falls Convention in New

    York. Together, these women fought for suffrage and gender equality. They drafted the Declaration

    of Sentiments which supported female suffrage, but in the end, the fundamental rights of women

    were still ignored and oppressed. Although these women fought for their cause, their actions led to

    no true expansion of individual liberty until the nineteenth amendment of the Constitution which

    granted voting rights for women in 1920, almost seventy years after the Seneca Falls Convention

    took place. Women were still second-class citizens and still could not vote, and workers, too were

    oppressed. John Marshall ruled worker unions legal and constitutional but they [had] to wait

    another generation before social and economic conditions would allow them to strike root and

    grow (Degler p167). This was a clear example of the continuation of inequality and discrimination

    in America. The clearest example of the restriction of individual liberties was Jacksons Indian

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    Removal Act. This act forced countless Indian tribes off of their homelands and the migration of

    thousands of Cherokees form Georgia to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears to provide white males

    with an obstruction free sweep west. The Indians not only lost their land, but they also lost their

    individual rights. Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi passed laws to strengthen their rule over the

    Indians and took away their fundamental rights. John Marshall ruled the Georgia Law

    unconstitutional in Worcester vs. Georgia of 1832, but Georgia ignored him and President Jackson

    refused to enforce the court order (Zinn p141). The Indians were without protection, without

    funds, and at the mercy of the states (Zinn p138). Jackson once again abused his executive power

    by overruling the Supreme Court, was undemocratic towards the treatment of Indians, and

    continued the tradition of discrimination and inequality. The Jacksonian Era cannot be considered a

    great democratic experiment because of the continuation of inequality and discrimination against

    women, workers, and minorities.

    Jacksonian Democracy led to an increase of political influence and economic freedom for

    the common man and there was also an increase in the need for individual liberties. However, the

    Jacksonian Era cannot be considered a great democratic experiment because Andrew Jacksons

    common man did not include the African Americans, women, nor the Indians. Jacksons common

    man was a white male. As President, Jackson failed to consider the interests of all people. Women

    and slaves still could not vote or hold office. The Reform Movement only laid foundations for

    future movements. There was only an increase of political influence and economic opportunities for

    white males. In the end, there was a continuation of unjust decisions, inequality, and the

    unforgettable inhumane actions made towards Indians in America. It is because of these issues that

    the Jacksonian Era cannot be considered a great democratic experiment.