· Jacksonian economic policy
· Changes in electoral politics
· Second great awakening
· Westward movement
Prior to the 1820s and 1830s democracy in America was slow going and hard to define. When Jackson took office in 1829 his economic policy would be one to help shape American democracy into what it is today. The Jacksonian economic system affected American democracy to such an extent that by the election of 1840 electoral politics had formed into a two-party system that is now the basis of American democracy.
The Jacksonian economic system had three major stages that contribute to the formation and development of American democracy. First, The Maysville Road veto in 1830 discouraged national economic policy. This discouragement of national economic policy put a limit on the federal power that is known today. While it limited federal power, it opened up the President's. This was the first time that any president had vetoed something because they didn't agree with it, not because it was unconstitutional.
Frequent attacks on the Bank of the United States were the second part of his economic policy. Jackson ousted the banks to decrease the aristocratic powers. The Bank of the United States was controlled by the wealthy, elite class. By destroying the bank, Jackson opened the door for the "common people" to rule. The young democracy outstretched its boundaries to the common folk; something that had never been considered in the Old World.
The third part of the policy was ignorance to economics. Jackson had no idea what he was doing would cause the Panic of 1837, and yet it did. The ignorance of making major economic decisions without thinking of the consequences first created a new expectation of the president for years to come.
The two-party system that is known in America today was first developed during the early-1800s. This was the first time that American people could get involved in the campaigning and stick with their party no matter what happened. The development of the two-party system was an important contributor to "common people" suffrage. Democracy once again outstreched its young boundaries to the common folk through creating an easy-to-support system of political parties.
The Jacksonian economic policy and the change in electoral politics led to a broad, wider ranged democracy between 1820 and 1840. The economic policy helped to jump start a ruling of people of every type. The new two-party system allowed for those who hadn't backed a political figure before to be completely involved in politics and the US government by giving them a precedent to follow and back up through thick and through thin.
