Despite their ideological differences on social and political matters, Jefferson and Jackson were great presidents whose impact in office was significant in the 19 th century and still is up to date especially among the people of America. One thing that was common among with both presidencies was that they all believed in the equality of all Americans and they believed that it was the unity of the country that would keep the nation strong. Their major difference was that despite Jefferson being a people’s president, he always made sure that he safeguarded the interests of the rich and it this is why he was opposed to industrialization. Jackson, on the other hand, had the interests of the people at heart and did not discriminate and this is why he felt that industrialization was essential for development ("Jacksonian Democracy and Modern America [ushistory.org]", 2018) . The major basis of the essay below, however, is the evolution of democracy from the time of President Jefferson to President Jackson and how each of them has helped in defining democracy to what it is today. Each paragraph focuses on how different the republic was in each of the presidencies, what caused the change in each of them, and the significance of the change to today’s democracy.
Regarding the economy, the Jefferson democracy advocated for offering opportunities to cronies of the legislators to conduct business with the government. This meant that they had a monopoly over state resources and development which eventually led to the loss of state funds since the state coffers were at the disposal of such people who were close to state legislators. However, during the Jackson presidency, equal opportunities were created for everyone who had a business and was interested in conducting business with the state. This facilitated inclusion, and it reduced the loss of state funds since each business person was paid according to the service they have rendered and not according to how they related to the legislators. Onwards, the decision by Jackson had an economic impact on the nation since there was growth and equal distribution of resources and this is a trend that has continued throughout the years.
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During his ascension to the presidency, Jackson was keen on proving that Americans needed someone who understood their struggle. Given that he was a fighter during the revolution, he was the most suitable person to unseat President Adams. Jefferson believed that economy of the country was meant to be driven by the few elites who were rich, and could lend the government money for purposes of development. This gave them a hand in the country’s economy and this was against the principles of democracy that Jackson believed in since he saw them as men who took advantage of the connections they had in government. He did not subscribe to the believe of borrowing money to fund government projects but believed in a country that would finance its projects since that would keep the rich from enriching themselves further using the connections they had in a particular government. This saw the rise of the recognition of people’s rights to vote for the leader of their choice regardless of their background and this shifted power from the elites to the entire population that was eligible for voting. This gave rise to economic independence and representation in government, and this has been significant even in the current government structure that has all people represented.
According to Jackson, proper rule of the people would only exist if the people were allowed to exercise their democratic role of electing a leader and that the choice of the majority be accepted. This was achieved when he was elected by a majority vote of over seventy percent, and this made him the first westerner to be elected president. In the time of Jefferson, however, those allowed to go for elective posts came from rich backgrounds for purposes of safeguarding the interests of the rich. This was because the character was tested by the amount of property one had accumulated and this locked out common citizens. Therefore, we can conclude that Jackson opened the avenue for people from poor backgrounds and common citizens to have the courage to contest in elections as long as they were qualified to be leaders. He also went against the narrative that leadership belonged to a certain class of people and this was a major step towards democracy that has been carried along up to date. It is evident in how Americans conducted their elections in 2008 where they gave Barack Obama the mandate to lead them yet he was a man of African origin. For Jackson, leadership was not about the amount of wealth one had accumulated but the character and will to be a leader (Democracy, 2018) .
It is also during the era of Jackson that nominating conventions to select a candidate to represent a party was formed. During Jefferson’s time, presidential candidates were chosen by caucuses made up of political leaders from various backgrounds. This change during Jackson’s democracy has been carried on up to date and it is done by the Democrats and Republicans.
Regarding the evolution of the social democracy, education was one of the significant issues that distinguished the two presidents. Jefferson viewed education as an important element in holding any office and to him; it was a measure of how well citizens would be able to participate in the democratic processes such as voting. Jackson, on the other hand, was not a believer in education since he had little education. To him, education was not an important qualification for holding any office. In terms of slavery and slave ownership, however, Jackson was not progressive or willing to eradicate slavery since he was a slave owner. Jefferson supported the eradication of slavery since he was able to view it as an evil that needed to come to an end. The fact that one of America’s founding fathers was not willing to end slavery, and had a negative attitude towards Native Americans is an issue that continues to affect the development of America’s social structures since they are affected by racism and discrimination ("Jacksonian Democracy and its Characteristics and Significance", 2018) . This can be blamed on Jackson as a founding father who was not willing to change the narrative on discrimination. Therefore, one would conclude that Jackson was not keen on social democracy but leaned more on improving political and economic democracy.
Despite not having a good structure for implementation of changes in social democracy, Jackson encouraged people to focus on growing economically by doing businesses using the facilitation they acquired from banks. This, he believed, was the only way one could climb up the societal ladder and allow others to follow his example. This enabled people focus on their ability to grow economically without relying on education but their abilities.
On account of the above points, it would suffice to conclude that during Jackson’s era, otherwise known as the period of the Jacksonian democracy, there were major political, economic and social democratic reforms that have influenced the history of America and its development. Such changes include the elimination of class to allow anybody contest for the presidency. Accepting industrial revolution for the sake of the economic progress of America was a bold change that Jackson made and this has allowed the American economy to grow over the years to see America become an economic giant in the world.
References
Democracy, J. (2018). Jacksonian Democracy - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com . HISTORY.com . Retrieved 3 April 2018, from https://www.history.com/topics/jacksonian-democracy
Jacksonian Democracy and its Characteristics and Significance . (2018). Historyplex . Retrieved 3 April 2018, from https://historyplex.com/jacksonian-democracy-characteristics-significance
Jacksonian Democracy and Modern America [ushistory.org] . (2018). Ushistory.org . Retrieved 3 April 2018, from http://www.ushistory.org/us/23f.asp
The Evolution Of Democracy From Jefferson To Jackson - Essay - 984 Words - brightkite.com . (2018). Brightkite.com . Retrieved 3 April 2018, from https://brightkite.com/essay-on/the-evolution-of-democracy-from-jefferson-to-jackson
