2 Sep 2022

133

The Evolution of Democracy in the Early American Republic

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Academic level: College

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Words: 833

Pages: 2

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Introduction 

The emergence of democracy in the United States can be regarded as the initial liberal democracy. The adoption of the Constitution of the United States in 1788 offered room for electing the government as well as safeguarding liberties and civil rights. For the American society, democracy offered a means of life, far r5eaching economic, social, as well as political equality. The system realized gradual growth starting with the administration of Jefferson (First Party System) to the government of Jackson (Second Party System). The Third Party System followed afterwards. Both Jefferson and Jackson served as two distinct individuals. Whereas the two had certain flaws, they also focused on the need for driving the country forward with their distinct ideas regarding America (Pasley, Robertson, & Waldstreicher, 2009) . For this paper, it discusses the evolution of democracy in the early republic while depicting the differences that prevailed during Jackson and Jefferson era, the forces behind the changes, and the significance of the changes to the future American Republic’s development.

Discussion 

In the case of the idea of the American Republic, it differed when the country was under Jackson as well as during the leadership of Jefferson. At the time of Jefferson, political party prevails that supported the idea of the wealthy men serving in the government. The rich men were considered as qualified in terms of experience of managing their resources and decision-making (Lewis, 2011) . As such, the Jefferson administration perceived the wealthy men as understanding ways in which the government would assist and the manner in which it could hurt. Thus, in theory, it was possible to avoid bad government unless the wealthy opted to utilize the government to meet their individual needs as opposed to those of the entire country. According to Jefferson, any individual that had the capacity of supporting himself rather than depending on other persons for a living needed permission for governing and voting. He supported the idea that it was possible for rich candidates or bosses to control people who were not self-employed in terms of the manner in which they voted (Engels, 2010) . As such, Jefferson did not believe in the idea of such persons having the power to vote.

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During the time of Jackson, on the other hand, the ideas he raised regarding the persons that needed to have voting power had received significant acceptance. Small businesspersons and minor farmers had the capacity of voting. In the perspective of Jackson, he argued that each free adult male of white origin needed the power of voting despite how he earned a living. During Jackson’s era, many persons did not believe in the power of women or slaves voting while Native Americans did not serve as citizens while they were unwilling to be. According to Jackson, in the event that all free, while, adult males voted, it was possible to express the will of the majority, arguing that majority were right (Pasley, Robertson, & Waldstreicher, 2009) . In this vein, Jefferson’s notion of a typical man failed to comprise of many individuals as Jackson did hence the differences in their ideas regarding democracy in the early republic.

Concerning the changes during the early, they mostly resulted from the clashing ideas. For instance, the change in emphasis of the relationship that prevailed between the American citizens and the government during the time of Jackson served as revolutionary. The shifts mostly emerged due to the struggles that prevailed between the Congress and the White House as well as the court system rather than the spirited and bitter debates that prevailed in government halls (Ramage & Watkins, 2011) . The struggles that prevailed here together with the figures involved facilitated in reshaping the ideas of America regarding democracy.

For the changes that occurred, they played a major role in the establishment of the American Republic. New political eras started while the resultant values commended shaping the American society. Diverse changes became apparent in religious, economic, and economic avenues, which reshaped the country in vital ways while predicted the pitfalls and opportunities that the American society would encounter in the future. The idea of democracy led to bringing out of the worst and best traits of the American society. On the one hand, for example, a legitimate movement emerged, which mostly focused on the idea of social empowerment (Engels, 2010) . However, other issues arose related to racial prejudice and masculine prioritization, which remain the dominant forces driving the life of America today.

Conclusion

In conclusion, most Americans today perceive democracy as an ideal thing. They suppose that the viewpoints of the past political leaders of the country were similar, although this did not serve as the case mostly because of the differences that prevailed between Jefferson and Jackson’s democracy. The two individuals followed distinct ideas pertaining to democracy. The two had differing ideas regarding democracy while they were driven by the urge for making the society better. They instituted changes to the society, which they believed would contribute to the good of the society. The changes resulted from a myriad of forces, which have come to influence the state of the American society in the present society. In this perspective, it is crucial to note that the ideas of democracy in the United States had major influence towards how the society operated while it has influenced the manner in which the society operates today.

References

Engels, J. (2010). Enemyship: democracy and counter-revolution in the early republic. East Lansing: MSU Press.

Lewis, A. J. (2011). A democracy of facts: natural history in the early republic. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Pasley, J. L., Robertson, A. W., & Waldstreicher, D. (2009). Beyond the founders: new approaches to the political history of the early American Republic. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

Ramage, J. A., & Watkins, A. S. (2011). Kentucky rising: democracy, slavery, and culture from the early republic to the Civil War. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky.

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