The Development of Democracy in the United States Essay

The era dominated by Andrew Jackson and his followers ushered in a period of development in democracy. Jacksonian economic policy, changes in election politics, and the Second Great Awakening were some prominent causes of changes that occurred in the developing democracy of the United States from 1820 to 1840. These changes entailed the economic chaos and shift of economical advantages away from the elite class through Jacksonian economic policy, the start of catering to the “common man” when campaigning for president, and the move towards individualism and rationalism in the Second Great Awakening.
Andrew Jackson had an enormous influence on the economy of the United States. In Jackson’s time, there was a growth in the market economy because more people understood how banks, tariffs, and internal improvements affected their lives. This new spread of knowledge led to people being more involved in politics and voicing their opinions on what kind of economic policies they favored. Andrew Jackson valued the opinion of the “common folk” since they were his supporters and they were the majority. An extremely controversial economic subject was the US Bank. It was often blamed for the Panic of 1819 and was seen as advantageous to the wealthy and oppressive and harsh to the poor. When Jackson campaigned for reelection, he and his opponents focused heavily on the issue of the US Bank. Jackson was against it, and when he was reelected, he interpreted this as a mandate to abolish the bank. He thought of the interests of the states and the people in them when he carried out this move. With the end of the US Bank came some terrible consequences. Previously, it had reduced bank failures, issued sound bank notes, made sound credit and currency abundant, and served as a safe deposit for the Washington government. Without the US Bank to provide stability, “wildcat” banks and other questionable banks were in control. The unreliability of “wildcat” currency led Jackson to pass the...