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Jessie Kennedy

AP US History

During the 1820s and 1830s Jacksonian Democrats viewed themselves as the guardians

of the Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of economic

opportunity. The era was known, as the Era of the Common Man. Jackson was one of the first

presidents that felt like one of the people. He defended the ideals of an equal society. Jacksonian

Democrats took the Constitution at its face value, without reading into it. They supported a

government that represented its entire people, not just the wealthy. The characterization of the

Jacksonian Democrats is true to some extent. Some events that prove that it is not always true is

vetoing the chartering of the bank, riots in eastern states, and the Charles River Bridge v. Warren

Bridge case.

In July 1832 President Jackson vetoed the act regarding the Bank of the United States.

Jackson flatly vetoed on it on the grounds that it was not compatible with justice or with the

Constitution. He thought it was unconstitutional for a single financial institution to enjoy a

monopoly of foreign and domestic exchange (Document B). He knew that most of the stock

was held by foreign investors and only a few of our own countrys citizens. The citizens that did

hold stock were the wealthy and in the higher classes. He thought the rich would take over the

power and bend the government for their own selfish needs. Jackson kept to his ideals to equality

of economic opportunity. He wanted all or the majority of the nation to benefit from the Bank of

the United States. Daniel Webster replied to Jacksons veto message saying that many people

thought Jackson vetoing the BUS was unconstitutional and that it placed liberty and freedom in

danger (Document C). Webster also believed that the veto sought to inflame the poor against the

rich, and that it would create an immense amount of internal conflict.

Harriet Martineau, a British author, came to United States to write about the culture of

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the United States. Harriet Martineau was amazed at the external competence and intellectual

ability which existed in the United States. However, in spite of all this, Jackson proved himself

to be very hypocritical. She was amazed at the absence of poverty, the independence of every

citizen, and the fact that every man in the country was a landowner. She was astonished when

she was told that the biggest question of the time was "whether the people should be encouraged

to govern themselves, or whether the wise should save them from themselves (Document D).

Although Jackson claimed to fight forindividual liberties and equaleconomic opportunities, his

decision of forced relocation and movement of Native Americans proved the

(Document G).

This was known as the Trail of Tears, it moved many Native American nations

from their homelands to the Indian Territory. Due to this decision, many people viewed Jackson

as a tyrant and as a dictator. This caused riots in many eastern states during the 1830. There was

a dispute between Irish and Americans. Irish were being discriminated against. So they rose up

and wounded many Americans. They were the lower class. Blacks in Philadelphia were

discriminated as well. Blacks were thoughtlessly slaughtered (Document F).

The Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge case was a case that dealt with the

Constitutions contract clause. In 1785, Charles River Bridge Company was granted a charter

allowing it to construct and operate a toll bridge between Boston and Cambridge. Later, in 1828,

a second bridge company received authorization for construction of a competing link across the

Charles River. The Charles River Company sued, claiming that their charter had granted them a

monopoly on traffic. The Court settled that the state had not broken the contract because it had

not prohibited another bridge at a later date. Rodger B. Taney said upon the decision that the

legislature neither gave exclusive rights nor invaded corporate privilege by interfering with the

companys profit making ability (Document H). In this case, the Taney court was acting in the

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spirit of Jacksonian democracy, placing the public good ahead of property rights. George Henry

Evans, who was a Jacksonian Democratic and was inspired by Jackson, wrote that the

government should use every constitutional power to stop abuse for this generation and ones

ahead (Document A). So when Taney made his decision he was focusing on the people and the

economic opportunity for everyone.

The view of the Jacksonians view of themselves is not true. Although they had some

moments that they stuck to their beliefs, like the vetoing of the bank and the Charles River

Bridge case, there were others where they didnt like the Trail of Tears. Jacksonian democrats

believed that they were guardians of the Constitution. Jacksonians believed that they defended

political democracy. To them it was important that all white men have the right to vote, not just

the rich white men. They believed that they protected individual liberty. They thought the

government should ensure natural rights. They believed that they propagated economic

opportunity. Upward mobility was what the land of opportunity was known for, and they

believed that was one of the better aspects of America, and should be preserved at all costs.