Essay On The Jacksonian Era

The President of the people is the term coined for President Andrew Jackson in 1828. The changing atmosphere of American political life in the Jacksonian Era was characterized by the expansion of democracy through heightened emphasis on equality in the political process for adult white males, the rise of interest group politics and sectional issues, a changing style of campaigning, and increased voter participation (US: A Narrative History, 211). Additionally, as a reaction to wars in Latin America, in 1823, John Quincy Adams, secretary of state to President Monroe, drafted a section of the president’s annual message to Congress that became known as the Monroe Doctrine (Lecture). Monroe’s policy opposing European colonialism in the US, stated that further efforts by European nations to take control of any independent state in North or South America would be viewed as "the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States." At the same time, the doctrine noted that the U.S. would recognize and not interfere with existing European colonies nor meddle in the internal concerns of European countries
Jackson wanted these “savages” to be pushed to the west and had the army force 18,000 men, women, and children into barriers and then forced them to move west with at least twenty-five percent dying during the winter of 1838 (Lecture). Today, this is known as the Trail of Tears, which was the removal route from Georgia to the area of present-day Oklahoma (US: A Narrative History, 213). Last of all, the Trail of Tears would be seen as a humanitarian disaster due to the number of deaths that occurred during the deportation from the east