Jacksonian Dems Guardians Of Constitutio Essay, Research Paper
During the time period between the 1820’s to the 1830’s, the Jacksonian Democrats
viewed themselves as the guardians of the United States Constitution, political democracy,
individual liberties, and equality of economic opportunity. Based on my knowledge of this
time period and upon the information stated in documents A through H of this document
based question, I agree with the Jacksonian Democrats by believing that the view they
held of themselves was very truthful and correct. I believe this because the Jacksonian
Democrats prohibited the passing of laws and proposals that would be unconstitutional,
such as that of the Bank of the United States. They protected political democracy by not
letting too much power go to a certain groups of people, while also protecting the
individual by establishing rights and laws. Finally, they were the gatekeepers of economic
opportunity by providing opportunities such as jobs to almost anyone who was willing to
work.
During the 1820’s and 1830’s, Jacksonian Democrats displayed that they were the
guardians and gatekeepers of the United States Constitution by vetoing the proposal by
Clay to establish a Bank of the United States in 1822. By stating that the bank would be
unconstitutional due to the fact that it favored the already wealthy people that owned land
and had money to invest, the Jacksonian Democrats vetoed the proposal and protected the
interests and opportunities of the less wealthy and poor people of the United States of
America. This proves to me that the Jacksonian Democrats were the guardians of the
United States Constitution.
The Jacksonian Democrats protected the political democracy of the United States
by not letting too much political power get into the wrong hands or into a certain class or
group of people in the United States. They did this by enforcing the Constitution and
prohibiting proposals and legislative decisions that would influence affairs, foreign and
domestic, such as that of the Bank of the United States proposed by Clay in 1822 and
smaller issues that did not get substantial media coverage, like land disputes and <
arguments over territories. This shows me that the Jacksonian Democrats protected
political democracy in the United States.
The Jacksonian Democrats, during the 1820’s and 30’s also protected the individual
liberties of people that resided in the United States of America. An example of this
protection offered by the Jacksonian Democrats was the Grimke sisters, Sarah and
Angelina, who freed their slaves and left their homes in South Carolina to preach the cause
of abolition. For this act they were not persecuted by the government, due to the fact that
their individual liberties were protected by the Jacksonian Democrats. Another example of
this protection was Lucretia Mott. Mott opposed slavery and supported equal rights for
women, but again, did not get persecuted for expressing her opinions, without the watch
for liberties by the Jacksonian Democrats her opinions would not have been able to be
heard. This shows me that the Jacksonian Democrats prohibited individual liberties from
being limited by the government, therefore, protecting the people.
The Jacksonian Democrats, in the time period from 1820 to 1830 were the
gatekeepers of economic opportunity because they provided job opportunities to people,
men and women, that were willing to keep a job and work hard for some money to
support their needs. They provided growing jobs for women and tried hard to make
people understand that women should have the same opportunities in the job place and
elsewhere as men. An example of this was Harriat Martinaeu’s, a British author,
description of America and how America had many equal opportunities for people, no
matter if they were male or female. This proves to me that the Jacksonian Democrats
provided people with equal economic opportunities in the United States.
Hence, after reviewing the document based questions and using my knowledge of
the era between 1820 and 1830, I have to agree that the view held by the Jacksonian
Democrats stating that the Jacksonian Democrats viewed themselves as the guardians of
the United States Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of
economic opportunity is correct and truthful.