Jacksonian Democracy Dbq

DBQ

The Jacksonian Democrats viewed themselves as the guardians of the United States Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of economic opportunity. Although they were very accurate in their own out look upon themselves, they did not always achieve success in the eye of the people. They sometimes had to violate the things that they believed in because they believed protecting the common man was more important. Although this happened, their actions in what they believed in around the 1820s and 1830s proved that what they viewed themselves as was not exactly true.

To an outsider arriving in the United States, the United States was an ideal place to live. There was an absence of poverty. Every man in the town was an independent citizen. Every man in the country was a landowner. (Doc. D) This shows how well the United States was being run in the 1830s. Keeping the country moving and progressing like this was the challenge that government faced.

Although the United States was seen as an ideal place to start over your life or to be freer for immigrants, that was not the case for some people. A bank of Irishmen of the lowest class came out of Duane Street from the Sixth armed with clubs. There was much severe fighting and many persons were knocked down. (Doc. E) A riot in New York inspired people whose skins were darker than those of their enlightened fellow citizens attacked police and destroyed houses. (Doc. E) The United States was an ideal place to live for the white American population. Immigrants and people of different race received endless amounts of torment from the superior feeling whites.

The Declaration of Independence is a contradicting document in the way the Jacksonian Government ran. The United States promised that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. (Doc. A) Jackson did a great job when it came to following the Declaration of Independence... that is for white, landowning males. If you were not a white male who owned land, you were not given the same rights as the others were. Hence, when in the Declaration "all men are created equal" is stated, it really means, "all white landowners are created equal."

The Jacksonian party, while looking to better the people of the United States, enacted one of the most severe acts of cruelty known in present time. The Jacksonian Government made thousands of Native Americans vacate their homelands and move to Oklahoma. (Doc. G.) During this removal act known as the Trail of Tears, thousands of innocent people died in order for the Jacksonian government to try to better the United States. This, today, is still known as one of the greatest acts of cruelty reprehended by the United State's Government. Jackson blatantly ignored the ruling of the Supreme Court