Willentz Analysis

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Paige Gay 11/4/12 Fueled by Forgotten Willentz defines democracy as,” Sovereignty rightly belongs to the mass of ordinary individual and equal citizens.” (Willentz 5). The Revolution gave rise to this idea of democracy as it resulted in the first form of representative government. Though the ingredients were all there, the constitution created a form of government that concentrated the power in the federal government. Wilentz notes that an increasing desire from democracy arose from discontents of this fairly new federal government. It wasn’t until the late 18th century that people began to take more interest and involvement in the problem. Though significant strides were made though the policies of Jefferson and Jackson, two presidents…show more content…
The Second Bank of the United States was created after the War of 1812 and was seen by many as the reason for the panic of 1819. Willentz states that “Jackson perceived the bank, by its very design, undermined popular sovereignty and majority rule.”(361). Biddle was the president of this bank and wanted the 2nd charter to be linked to the federal government but at the same time could use the money for its own purposes. Biddle’s presidency of the bank again highlights those whom it does not benefit from its concentrated control in the elite such as farmers and workers. At the start of his second term of presidency, Jackson vetoed the charter of the second bank. In his veto statement he justified his reasoning as claiming the bank to be favoring the wealthy and not supportive of the rights of the common man. He also declared the recharter unconstitutional, saying that the federal government did not have the authority to establish an institution that would not equally benefit citizens. The bank veto can be seen as one of the most democratic measures Andrew Jackson took during his presidency to enstill the idea of himself as a representative of all people. The veto is important because it decentralized the bank system but because it is an example of challenging the constitution and the president’s ability to veto, which concentrates more power in the executive branch fo the government so that there is limited influence by the elite and

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