Jacksonian Dbq

Jacksonian Democrats viewed themselves as guardians of the United States Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty and equality of economic opportunity. However their view of themselves wasn’t how they actually were. While they did feel strongly about the common man and the constitution they were also concerned with their own interests which are shown in the Indian Removal. The Jacksonians were overall what they thought of themselves to be but they did have some other intentions.

The Jacksonians had a strict interpretation of the constitution and wanted to follow it as much as they could. This is shown in Jackson’s veto of the national bank. Jackson thought that bank was unconstitutional and only made the rich richer. As he says in his veto message “I can perceive none of these modifications…to make it compatible with justice, with sound policy, or with the Constitution of our country”. Rich foreigners held most of the stock in the bank which hurt the country as he says “more than a fourth part of the stock is held by foreigners” making the bank unconstitutional. The Jacksonians were concerned with the common man and the constitution. The national bank only took from the common man and gave more to the rich.

Political democracy was also what Jacksonian Democrats considered themselves to be guardians of. Before the Jacksonians only white land owning men were able to vote but when Jackson became president he granted suffrage to all white men. This made the common people happy and made the people better as a whole. As Harriet Martineau said in Society in America “The striking effect upon a stranger of witnessing, for the first time, the absence of poverty, of gross ignorance, of all servility, of all insolence of manner cannot be exaggerated in description”. Giving suffrage to all white men made them feel better about their standing in society and got them involved in national issues. Martineau said in the report “I had seen every man in the towns