Jacksonian Era Dbq

The Jacksonian Era was the time period of Andrew Jackson’s presidency. This began in 1828 when Jackson was elected president. The era is sometimes described as a time when the United States experienced the “democratization of politics.” In a democracy every citizen has an equal say in the government's decisions and actions. Some people of this time period believed that Jackson is notable for democratizing the United States during the Jacksonian Era. Others, on the other hand, believe he was far from accomplishing that. Politics are a way that expresses how the Unites States was not democratized during this time period. Jacksons animosity towards the Indians exposed his undemocratic actions during his first years of his presidency. However,

The Force Bill, Andrew Jackson’s veto of the Bank Bill, and the qualifications for the right to vote are examples of how undemocratic politics were. The Force Bill of 1833 gave permission to president Jackson to use military force to deny South Carolina’s Ordinance of Nullification. This action of the government is undemocratic because it gives all the military power to Jackson, even if others disagree with what he is doing (Doc 7). Another example of how this time period was not a democracy is Andrew Jackson’s veto of the Bank Bill. He was known for his hatred of the national bank and claiming it as unconstitutional. This divided the federal bank into state banks which did not please the majority of the citizens (Doc 6). Qualifications for the right to vote and the voting system was also unfair. In John Quincy Adams journal defending himself against the accusations of corrupt bargain in the election of 1824 shows how the voting system was not based on a democracy. Andrew Jackson, who had won the popular vote, did not become president (Doc 3). From 1790 to 1855 as the number of states increased, so did the number of states with race exclusions. These exclusions includes the fact that Indians and African Americans were prohibited from voting (Doc 2). This expresses how Andrew Jackson did not accomplish the democracy like some people