Mario Munoz
U.S. AP History
Mr. Martinez 4th
Nov/ 5/ 2014
Jacksonian Democrats DBQ Essay
Although Jacksonian Democrats viewed themselves as the guardians of the U.S. Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of opportunity, their actions during the 1820s and 1830 tended to contradict the ideology they stood for.
Andrew Jackson, known as the first working class president, was in favor for a more democratic country. The majority of America was in the working class so Jackson obtained much support which resulted in creating a political party, the Jacksonian Democrats. They helped create a more democratic America and because of this, they believed that they themselves were the protectors of the constitution. Although, despite calling themselves the "protectors" of the constitution, Jacksonian Democrats and even Andrew Jackson himself used the Constitution in many cases as an excuse for their actions. This is why Jacksonian Democracy seen today is a contradiction in itself in some ways.
One example is his veto of the re-charter of the Bank of the United States. In his veto message, Jackson feels that the Bank of the United States is corrupt and it is unconstitutional. So Jackson decides to do away with the bank with the veto(Doc. B). However, Jackson's veto was viewed as a selfish act for his own personal reasons. Jackson felt as if the bank favored the Northern states more, but all of Jackson's supporters were mostly in the southern states. If he had not vetoed the re-charter of the bank, the southern states, (his supporters) would be alienated. Another reason is that the only person he despised more than anyone else was Henry Clay, and he was a supporter of the bank that actually proposed the re-charted of the bank. which was seen as selfish to his opposing party, the...