JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY.   Term Paper ID:29277 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Differing views of historians of President Jackson.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Differing views of historians of President Jackson. How Jackson handled crises in 19th Century American such as the Bank Crisis, expansion of suffrage, and the country's transformation from an agrarian to an industrial nation. Jackson as a reactive folk hero. Champion of the common man. Struggle of Capitalists for control. Paper Introduction: Jacksonian Democracy Summary & Impact The era in American history that witnessed Jacksonian Democracy is viewed in strikingly different ways by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., Bray Hammond, and Edward Pessen. In the 19th century America was transforming from an agrarian to an industrial nations. During the 1830s, the Bank Crisis pitted Whigs against Jacksonian democrats for control of the country’s monetary system. The transforming young nation was beset by many changes and challenges. It is the nature of handling such crises as the expansion of suffrage, the banking system, and growing industry that these three authors present us with their differing views of Jacksonian Democracy. Arthur Schlesinger’s portrait of Jackson and his motives is a glowing and noble Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. The only distinction between the shrewd, wealthy,ambitious Whigs and the Jacksonian democrats was that ability of thedemocrats to flatter the common man. At least they help the readerformulate a more informed opinion about the era, even if no absolutedeterminations can be made on the evidence they provide alone or in total. In the 19th century America was transformingfrom an agrarian to an industrial nations. These three perspectives add a great deal of insight to the eraduring which Jacksonian democracy unfolded. This lent them enormous power tocontrol their agenda at the expense of that of the Whig's. The transforming young nation was beset by manychanges and challenges. Pessen argues thatsuch lofty ideals were all smoke and mirrors that Jackson and those whosupported his power were much more adept at providing the public than theWhigs. On the evidence provided, I cannot argue thatone or the other of these accounts of the era is more persuasive oraccurate than the others. While Schlesinger views it asan almost magical era in American politics and government, Hammond andPessen view it as an era of propaganda, posturing, and the harbinger ofGrant and the robber barons. It is the nature of handling such crises as theexpansion of suffrage, the banking system, and growing industry that thesethree authors present us with their differing views of JacksonianDemocracy. This is a positive virtue to Schlesinger, who feels struggleamong competing groups for control of the state is the foundation ofliberty. He argues that nothinglofty or ideal entered the minds of the "uncommon men" who ran things with"seeming deference to the common man" (Feller 151). Hammond argues that theindustrial revolution and a growing awareness of possible riches by thefarm class provided Jackson with popular consent because he positionedhimself as a spokesman for this group. Despite Schlesinger's distinction between the Whigs as pro-capitalist and Jackson supporters as champions of the common man, BrayHammond provides a much different interpretation of Jacksonian Democracy.Hammond argues that American politics is essentially and historically thestruggle between classes for control of the state. 133- 153. In The Jacksonians as False Democrats Edward Pessen attacks thelofty idealism surrounding the Jacksonian era. Arthur Schlesinger's portrait of Jackson and his motives is aglowing and noble one. The otherauthors seem to present a conclusive black and white explanation of theera, but as Feller (137) notes, we can never compartmentalize such acomplex phenomenon as a past period of history and government: "There is nopat answer waiting to be discovered...so the debate will continue, alwaysyielding new insights, yet never closing". Jacksonian Democracy Summary & Impact The era in American history that witnessed Jacksonian Democracy isviewed in strikingly different ways by Arthur M. In making his main thesis regarding the two parties in power, theauthor sounds like he is describing contemporary politics in Americansociety as much as poking holes in any lofty notions regarding Jacksoniandemocracy: "For all the differences in their political rhetoric, the majorparties of the era were more like than unlike, not least in the extent towhich their basic strategies and policymaking apparatus were controlled byrelatively wealthy men" (Feller 148). As Hammond writes, "Socially, theJacksonian revolution signified that a nation of democrats was tired ofbeing governed, however well, by gentleman from Virginia and Massachusetts"(Feller 145). In this manner, all three ofthese articles contribute greater insight into an understanding of thecomplex and changing era during which Jacksonian democracy played out.Ultimately, the determination of whether Jacksonian democracy was marketcapitalism, New Deal liberalism, or even socialism rests with the reader.These articles provide contrasting views of the events of this era in a waythat allows for more critical thinking. As the author notes, "The people called him, and he came, likethe great folk heroes, to lead them out of captivity and bondage...Theirfaith in him had survived ordeals and won vindication" (Feller 139).Schlesinger views Jackson as a reactive leader, one who could exploit thechanging times in ways the Whigs could not. Propaganda and the power of popularhero worship added to Jackson's mystique with the common man, even thoughPessen argues that the age may have been named after the common man but itdid not belong to him. Jackson's popularity did not come from realaspirations of bettering the common man, but through his own and hissupporter's ability to position themselves in their aspirations asidealists against capitalists and human rights advocates against thepropertied (i.e. Jacksonian Democracy. Schlesinger, Jr., BrayHammond, and Edward Pessen. During the 183 s, the BankCrisis pitted Whigs against Jacksonian democrats for control of thecountry's monetary system. Hammond's main thesis is that Jacksonian democracy was fueled not bybetterment of the common man as its fire, but rather a movement by wealthy,powerful white men "whose quintessentially American aspiration was not torestrain or destroy the business class, but to join it" (Feller 144).Hammond argues this struggle of capitalists for control of the state is ahallmark of American politics. His thesis is that the successof Jacksonian democracy came from Jackson's ability to manage well the"enduring struggle between the business community and the rest of society"(Feller 141). ReferencesFeller, D. exploitative) class. In Schlesinger's viewpoint, Jackson was a championof the common man akin to the likes of a Lincoln, a Roosevelt, or aKennedy. Retrieving The American Past, pp. While I do believe that Schlesinger's accounthas the glow of admiration pervading it, the author still understands thatAmerican politics is based on class struggle for state control. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.