Jacksonian Dbq

The Age of Jackson, from the 1820's to the 1830's, was a period of American history full of contradictions, especially in regard to democracy. The period saw an increase in voter participation, nominating committees replaced caucuses, and electors began to be popularly elected. Yet, all of these voting changes affected only a minority of the American people: White, Anglo-Saxon males. So, though one can easily tell that White, Anglo-Saxon males were gaining true liberty and equality, the millions of women. Blacks, Native Americans, immigrants, and other minorities in America continued to languish in a society that ignored their rights. during the Age of Jackson, enslavement of Blacks, the ultimate form of inequality, was at a new high in America. At the same time, enormous disparities of wealth existed between rich merchants, industrialists and planters, and their lowly workers: immigrants. Blacks, and the common man. While these contradictions typified America, Jacksonian democrats viewed themselves as guardians of the Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of opportunity. Jackson and his followers must have been what they said they were only to a certain extent. The Jacksonian Democrats were, to some extent, champions of the Constitution, democracy, liberty, and equality. in other ways, Jackson and his followers clearly failed to live up to their ideals.

Certainly, many common working people were satisfied with Jackson's attempts to protect their equality of economic opportunity from the rich during the age of the market revolution. They believed that Jackson was a true champion of the common man as is evident in 'The Working Men's Declaration of Independence" of 1829 (Doc. A). In a document modeled on the Declaration of Independence, the author claims that "prudence, as well as the claims of self defence, dictates the necessity of the organization of a party of the Democrats], who by their representatives, prevent dangerous