His very election was a fundamental departure
from what had seemed like the norm in American political life. President Andrew
Jackson had risen from a very humble background. At only 13, Jackson joined the
war that was then ongoing. Prior to his election, America had drawn a majority
of its leadership from men of means. Americans were to be treated to a new era
when this man from humble beginnings managed to win the elections of 1928. The
changes that were witnessed in the political, economic and the relationships
between state and federal governments have succeeded in validating the
characterization of the Jacksonian era as a period of the common man.
Perhaps it is in the political sphere where
this common man characterization is best exemplified. At the general level, the
period saw an increase in participation in the American political life. This
occurred at both the state and the national levels. A major driver for this was
the extension of the right to vote. Prior practice had allowed only those who
owned property to vote. Jackson thought that it was the right of all white
males to vote regardless of their economic status. The property requirement was,
therefore, abolished as a control on who could vote. Upon taking office in
1929, Andrew Jackson introduced the spoils system where he rewarded his
political supporters with government appointments. He saw this as a way of widening democracy. Opponents
criticized this system as failing to allow those with the most qualifications
to serve in government. It was also partly because of the Jacksonian democracy
that women started to agitate for most of their rights. It was in 1848 at
Seneca Falls where close to a hundred women signed a Declaration for Women
Rights including the right to vote. At the state level, the rise of sectional
interest meant that there was more political participation as people felt that
they were more obliged to defend their state interests than those of the
federal government.
On the economic front, it was Jackson’s
opposition to the Bank of the United States (BUS) which clearly illustrated his
common man leanings. To Jackson, the bank was a symbol of the eastern elite who
he abhorred. He decided to express his opposition by vetoing a Bill to rechrter
the BUS in 1932. He explained this action by noting that a president had the
right to veto any bill for whatever reason. This was understandable given that
no other bill had been vetoed for purposes that were not solely constitutional.
In the elections of the same year as the veto, Jackson still managed to win
elections. This could have acted as an approval of his approach to the economy
by the common man.
The Nullification crisis is a clear example
of an occasion where this played out. South Carolina had opposed a tax imposed
by the federal government by declaring to nullify that tax. The two sides had
to reach a compromise. Prior to the compromise, South Carolina had threatened
to nullify its application within her territory. Her argument was that the
state had the right to oppose the tax given that it had voluntarily joined the
union. Jackson on his part even threatened to send federal troops to South
Carolina to collect the tax. Whatever the outcome of that struggle, it defined
the relationship between the state and the federal governments.
A common man era it was indeed as the
foregoing discussion has been able to establish. It should, however, be noted
that there were some sections of the American population that did not enjoy the
many reforms introduced by Andrew Jackson. For instance, Indians were never
factored in the changes that accompanied the period. Nevertheless, that period
can be said to have lived up to its characterization to the extent that it
enhanced the welfare of the white common man.
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