the Jacksonian Period

The Jacksonian Period (1824 - 1850) is known as the era of the "common man", specifically moving politics in a new direction. A noticeable change occurred in the election of 1824, when more people began to excercise their voting rights. This change forced politicians to work in favor of the masses; Democracy was becoming more respectable, whereas aristocrats were seen as a little oldfashioned and not so well-off. The Spoils system was introduced, which gave political supporters a chance to be in office, thus giving more power to the "common man". It was believed that if the government was going to do a decent job, it had to be run and directed by the "common man", and politicians couldn't overrun these ideas so easily.