Jacksonian Era Essay

Jacksonian Democrats viewed themselves as the guardians of the United States Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of economic opportunity. Although partially true, Jackson and his followers were not completely consistent in staying true to their self-proclaimed titles.

During his era, Jackson did succeed in expanding the economic opportunity of the country. One of his biggest successes in this are was his veto of the recharter of the National Bank. Jackson felt that the National Bank was mainly for the rich class and foreign countries rather than the country as a whole. To remedy the situation, he vetoed the national bank in favor of pet banks that would be friendlier to the lower classes (Doc B). Yet, his attempts at helping the country were not entirely unopposed. After this veto occurred, Daniel Webster came out with a claim saying that Jackson's veto of the charter was prejudice. He claimed the public was being lied to and vetoing the charter was not democratic. However, a British author who was visiting the United States reported that she saw the intellectual ability of the citizens. She viewed every man in town an individual citizen and every man in the country a landowner. She felt that her findings were an evident sign of prosperity when compared to British standards (Doc D). Another instance of economic opportunity is Chief Justice Roger B. Taney's opinion in the Supreme Court Case of Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge (Doc. H). This decision stated that while the Charter of 1785 allowed the Charles River Bridge to be built, it did not prohibit any other bridges from being constructed. Through his action, Taney was eliminating monopolies and creating equal economic opportunities for all citizens who needed to use the bridge.