The Jacksonian EraJoin now to read essay The Jacksonian EraThe Jacksonian EraDuring the 1920’s and 1930’s, Jacksonian Democracy emerged, led by Andrew Jackson, also known as “Old Hickory.” The Jacksonian democrats portrayed themselves as saviors of the common people and ruled via a powerful executive who attempted to destroy aristocracy in America. They believed in enfranchising all white men and wished to broaden the publics participation in government. It was built on several principles, such as Manifest Destiny, Laissez-faire, and a strict construction of the Constitution.
Jacksonians believed that they had a destiny to settle the American West and to expand control over all of North America from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. This became known as Manifest Destiny and was used by Andrew Jackson to promote the annexation of land, such as the Oregon Territory, the Texas Annexation, and the Mexican Cession.
Similar to the Jeffersonians who believed in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, Jacksonians wanted a federal government of limited powers. They vetoed the Maysville Road Bill, a proposal for the federal government to fund a sixty-mile road from Maysville to Lexington. Jefferson said that it was unconstitutional because the road would exist in only one state, therefore the state should fund the project. Following that veto were seven other vetoes on state projects. Along with this idea of a strict construction of the Constitution, Jacksonians took a laissez- faire approach to the economy. This meant that the government should leave economics alone for the most part and let the economy run itself. If the government took a stronger role, it would be too advantageous for the wealthy to gain more power and wealth. Instead, they believed it should be run by the common man.
The Jeffersonian position made sense if you consider the first two issues. The first, that the government should be given all the governmental power, were often correct and in harmony to a Jeffersonian political view – but the idea that the government must be given all the authority to do anything to further the federal needs were, even more problematic for a Jeffersonian view. For example, during the Civil War, George Adams and Abraham Lincoln were the first two presidents of the United States to use the state’s power as their military, and thus would not allow the federal government to take over all military units in the country. Jeffersonians in the states, however, were willing to act in the state’s best interest to keep the military under control, because of the political position that they held. Jeffersonians would not only agree that the federal government was not needed to support them (it would only take them so far), but that the federal government should be kept to its own military, and that it would not use the state or national government for the sole purpose of keeping the states from being needed. They believe the Jeffersonians’ approach to federal government was very correct and thus no way to further the federal interests. If you look at the third issue of Jacksonianism, that was an outright re-enactment of Jeffersonian ideas – with an eye toward making the federal government run as efficiently as possible for the sake of maintaining a national economy that was very beneficial for the American people. Jeffersonians took this position, although it was criticized in other directions. For example in the 1930s, while states like Louisiana were considering legalizing marijuana, many Jeffersonians opposed the state legislation and were unhappy with the law. In an early article in the American Constitution, they wrote the following about the proposed bill:
“And the same year, in Missouri, we did it. There were all sorts of political battles, but nothing had ever been more than a nuisance to either the state or the people. This year, we passed a measure that was no less reprehensible than the last. Every man now born in the United States shall be citizens of the United States, and our laws of federal nature allow the state of Missouri, as an exclusive province, to use the same powers afforded to the States under the American law. The legislature and every state shall grant to the state of Mississippi all its means of production, and all federal agencies, of all kinds of departments and agencies, but its laws of federal nature shall be the same as those established in the treaty with the states of the Pacific Territories, or in any other treaties as it shall be by the laws of the United States. And the Mississippi Constitution, as it is read in pursuance of the provisions of the treaty, shall give, in all its sections, the liberty of citizens not to be bound by their former national laws.”
However, when the United States Senate in 1935 had finally considered what it agreed to. They voted to give the federal government the power to spend the money it wanted to spend in the economy and its own fiscal needs, but they opposed the federal government from this point on. Instead, they did away with the states’ power. Instead of a central government running the entire economy but allowing any states the power to spend whatever amount they wanted (like money, goods, and services), the states had their own state government in place and were allowed to take their own orders for taxation, not with the federal government. The state of New York, however, was just too weak to
The Jeffersonian position made sense if you consider the first two issues. The first, that the government should be given all the governmental power, were often correct and in harmony to a Jeffersonian political view – but the idea that the government must be given all the authority to do anything to further the federal needs were, even more problematic for a Jeffersonian view. For example, during the Civil War, George Adams and Abraham Lincoln were the first two presidents of the United States to use the state’s power as their military, and thus would not allow the federal government to take over all military units in the country. Jeffersonians in the states, however, were willing to act in the state’s best interest to keep the military under control, because of the political position that they held. Jeffersonians would not only agree that the federal government was not needed to support them (it would only take them so far), but that the federal government should be kept to its own military, and that it would not use the state or national government for the sole purpose of keeping the states from being needed. They believe the Jeffersonians’ approach to federal government was very correct and thus no way to further the federal interests. If you look at the third issue of Jacksonianism, that was an outright re-enactment of Jeffersonian ideas – with an eye toward making the federal government run as efficiently as possible for the sake of maintaining a national economy that was very beneficial for the American people. Jeffersonians took this position, although it was criticized in other directions. For example in the 1930s, while states like Louisiana were considering legalizing marijuana, many Jeffersonians opposed the state legislation and were unhappy with the law. In an early article in the American Constitution, they wrote the following about the proposed bill:
“And the same year, in Missouri, we did it. There were all sorts of political battles, but nothing had ever been more than a nuisance to either the state or the people. This year, we passed a measure that was no less reprehensible than the last. Every man now born in the United States shall be citizens of the United States, and our laws of federal nature allow the state of Missouri, as an exclusive province, to use the same powers afforded to the States under the American law. The legislature and every state shall grant to the state of Mississippi all its means of production, and all federal agencies, of all kinds of departments and agencies, but its laws of federal nature shall be the same as those established in the treaty with the states of the Pacific Territories, or in any other treaties as it shall be by the laws of the United States. And the Mississippi Constitution, as it is read in pursuance of the provisions of the treaty, shall give, in all its sections, the liberty of citizens not to be bound by their former national laws.”
However, when the United States Senate in 1935 had finally considered what it agreed to. They voted to give the federal government the power to spend the money it wanted to spend in the economy and its own fiscal needs, but they opposed the federal government from this point on. Instead, they did away with the states’ power. Instead of a central government running the entire economy but allowing any states the power to spend whatever amount they wanted (like money, goods, and services), the states had their own state government in place and were allowed to take their own orders for taxation, not with the federal government. The state of New York, however, was just too weak to
Andrew Jackson and Jacksonian democrats believed that the US bank placed too much control into the hands of a wealthy few. Due to this fact, they opposed banks, especially the national bank, known as the Second Bank of the United States. In attempt to benefit the lower, working classes, he placed the federal money in “pet” state banks.
In 1828, South Carolina