Jacksonian Period

The Jacksonian period of the 1800's is often regarded as the era of the common man, and at the time, it truly was. Prior to the election of 1824 the common man often did not have a say in the manner in which the United States was governed, nor did they try to have a say. This changed when Andrew Jackson, a man the masses could truly relate to, ran for president. The voter turnout increased dramatically due to many laws being passed that enabled all white males to vote and a canidate they truly supported was running. Although Jackson lost the vote due to a speculated agreement between Clay and Adams, Jackson did win the popular vote and the circumstances that enabled Adams to win caused the voter turnout to double by the next election.

Along with these a politcal reform movement introducing the spoils system was introduced and would end up holding a firm grip on how the government was run for over 50 years. The spoils system gave positions in the government to those who supported the canidate that won. This system benefited supporters of the common man, but not necessarily the common man himself. This can be seen in two manners: it helped the common man by putting people they supported in power or it hurt the common man because they had no say in who was put into power. Most saw this as helping the common man but is debatable. All in all, the Jacksonian period brought great advancement in the common man's say in the government.