Jacksonian Democracy

The Jacksonian period was an era of the "common man" in the areas of politics and economic development because the political candidates were championed by the people and the economy ceased to be only for the benefit of the rich man. In politics, the time of the intellectual, upper class man being the one for the job was quickly ending. People wanted and supported common men like themselves and no longer trusted the upper class to govern them. Hopeful presidents had to fight not only for the votes of the Electoral College but also for the backing of the people. New campaign strategies were born in this period such as use of banners, badges, parades, free drinks, and baby kissing to get the vote out. When Adams won the election of 1824 masses of people were outraged and were unafraid to show it. He never reached the level of success in his presidency that he could of, because the people were so opposed to him and the way he got into office. For economic development, when enough people wanted something they would get it as long as the President had the popular vote in that area and he either came from it or could identify with it. When New Englanders demanded higher tariffs they got them, and the south ( a strong opposer of Adams) suffered. People in office though possibly opposed could do nothing to stop it. When the beloved,rough edged Jackson took the chair, he fired about 2,000 government employees and put his own people in the offices because they had asked him of it so strongly. Often times these people were crooks and abused their positions but they were Jackson's people so they stayed. While the people did not yet have the power to chose the President, they had the power to either support him wholeheartedly or tear him apart on a social and political level, also while economics contained to change for the benefit of the common man, for the time it was still in the hands of those who had the most influence in office and not the people as a whole.