SECTION

1 Jacksonian
Democracy
TEKS 1A, 5C, 5F

What You Will Learn… If YOU were there...

Main Ideas It’s 1829, and you live in Washington, D.C. You’ve come with a friend
1. Democracy expanded in the to the party for Andrew Jackson’s inauguration as president. Your
1820s as more Americans
held the right to vote. friend admires Jackson as a man of the people. You are less sure
2. Jackson’s victory in the elec- about his ability. Jackson’s inauguration soon turns into a rowdy
tion of 1828 marked a change
in American politics. party, as mobs crowd into the White House. They break glasses and
overturn the furniture.
The Big Idea How would you feel about having
The expansion of voting rights
and the election of Andrew
Jackson as your president?
Jackson signaled the growing
power of the American people.
Building Background In the early years of the United States,
Key Terms and People the right to vote belonged mainly to a few—free white men who owned
nominating conventions, p. 323 property. As the country grew, more men were given the right to vote.
Jacksonian Democracy, p. 323 This expansion of democracy led to the election of Andrew Jackson, a
Democratic Party, p. 323 war hero. But not everyone approved of Jackson.
John C. Calhoun, p. 323
spoils system, p. 324
Martin Van Buren, p. 324
Kitchen Cabinet, p. 324 Expansion of Democracy
America in the early 1800s was changing fast. In the North, work-
shops run by the craftspeople who owned them were being replaced
by large-scale factories owned by businesspeople and staffed by hired
Use the graphic organizer online workers. In the South, small family farms began to give way to large
to take notes on how an expansion cotton plantations, owned by wealthy white people and worked by
of voting rights led to Andrew enslaved African Americans. Wealth seemed to be concentrating
Jackson’s election to the into fewer hands. Many ordinary Americans felt left behind.
presidency.
These same people also began to believe they were losing power
in their government. In the late 1700s some Americans thought that
government was best managed by wealthy, property-owning men.
Government policies seemed targeted to help build the power of
these people. The result was a growing belief that the wealthy were
tightening their grip on power in the United States.
Hoping for change, small farmers, frontier settlers, and slave-
holders rallied behind reform-minded Andrew Jackson, the popular
hero of the War of 1812 and presidential candidate in the 1824 elec-
tion. They believed Jackson would defend the rights of the common

322 Chapter 10
 linking TO Today
Democracy in Action
Democracy spread in the early 1800s as more
people became active in politics. Many of these
people lived in the new western states. In these
mostly rural areas, a political rally could be as
simple as neighboring farmers meeting to talk
about the issues of the day, as the farmers in the
painting on the right are doing.
During the early 1800s democracy and
demonstrations blossomed in the United States.
The demonstrators of today owe much to the
Americans of Andrew Jackson’s time. Today,
political rallies are a familiar sight in communi-
ties all over the country.

ANALYSIS
skill Analyzing Information
How are the people in both pictures
practicing democracy?

people and the slave states. And they had Election of 1828
been bitterly disappointed in the way Jack-
Jackson supporters were determined that
son had lost the 1824 election because of the
their candidate would win the 1828 election.
decision in the House of Representatives.
They formed the Democratic Party to sup-
During the Age of Jackson, many
port Jackson’s candidacy. Many people who
­democratic reforms were made. Some states
backed President Adams began calling them-
changed their qualifications for voters to
selves National Republicans.
grant more white males suffrage. The revised
The 1828 presidential contest was a
rules, however, usually excluded free blacks
rematch of the 1824 election. Once again, The Impact
from voting as they had been allowed Today
John Quincy Adams faced Andrew Jackson.
under original state constitutions. Political Just as they did
Jackson chose John C. Calhoun as his vice
parties began holding public nominating in the 1820s,
presidential running mate. presidential
­conventions , where party members choose
campaigns today
the party’s candidates instead of the party frequently focus
leaders. This period of expanding democracy The Campaign on personal
in the 1820s and 1830s later became known as The 1828 campaign focused a great deal on image—strong
the candidates’ personalities. Jackson’s cam- versus weak or
Jacksonian Democracy. government-
paigners described him as a war hero who insider versus
Reading Check Finding Main Ideas had been born poor and rose to success newcomer, for
How did voting rights change in the early 1800s? through his own hard work. example.

THE AGE OF JACKSON 323

Primary Source Jackson’s Inauguration
Jackson’s supporters saw his victory as a win
Letter
for the common people. A crowd cheered out-
People’s President side the Capitol as he took his oath of office,
Washington resident Margaret Bayard Smith was surprised by then followed Jackson to a party on the White
the chaos surrounding Jackson’s inauguration. House lawn. The few police officers on hand
had difficulty controlling the partygoers.
“. . .What a scene did we witness! . . . a rabble, a mob, of boys,
women, children, scrambling, fighting, romping . . . Cut glass As president, Jackson rewarded some of
and china to the amount of several thousand dollars had been his supporters with government jobs. This
broken . . . But it was the people’s day, and the people’s President, spoils system — the practice of giving gov-
and the people would rule.
”
—Margaret Bayard Smith, quoted in Eyewitness to America,
ernment jobs to political backers   —comes
from the saying “to the victor belong the
edited by David Colbert
spoils [valued goods] of the enemy.”
ANALYSIS
skill  ANALYZING PRIMARY SOURCES Secretary of State Martin Van Buren was
one of Jackson’s strongest allies in his official
How does the author view the people that support Jackson?
cabinet. President Jackson also relied a great
deal on his Kitchen Cabinet, an informal
Adams was a Harvard graduate whose group of trusted advisers who sometimes met
father had been the second U.S. president. in the White House kitchen.
Jackson’s supporters described Adams as
Reading Check Analyzing How might the
being out of touch with everyday people.
spoils system cause disputes?
Even a fan of Adams agreed that he was “as
cold as a lump of ice.” In turn, Adams’s sup-
porters said Jackson was hot tempered, crude, SUmmary and preview The expansion
and ill-equipped to be president of the United of democracy swept Andrew Jackson into
States. When the ballots were counted, Jack- office. In the next section you will read
son had defeated Adams, winning a record about the increasing regional tensions that
number of popular votes. occurred during Jackson’s presidency.

Section 1 Assessment ONLINE QUIZ

Reviewing Ideas, Terms, and People c. Evaluate Do you think the spoils system was
1. a. Recall What changes did states make that an acceptable practice? Explain your answer.
allowed more people to vote?
Critical Thinking
b. Explain Why did the Democratic Party emerge?
3. Identifying Effect Review your notes on the elec-
c. Draw Conclusions How did nominating
tion of Andrew Jackson to the presidency. Then use
conventions allow the people more say in politics?
a cause-and-effect chart like this one to show the
d. Define When was the Age of Jackson? What
ways in which Jacksonian Democracy increased
caused it?
Americans’ political power.
e. Predict How might changes to the voting ­process
brought about by Jacksonian Democracy affect Jacksonian increased Americans’
­politics in the future? Democracy political power
2. a. Recall What two new political parties faced off
in the election of 1828? Which candidate did each
party support?
Focus on Writing
b. Make Inferences Why did Andrew Jackson 4. Noting Significance Review this section, and note
have more popular support than did Adams? things that made Jackson’s political campaign and
election significant in the history of American politics.

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