Standard 3 Resource
The Jacksonians were barbarians
who turned the government over to the "rabble"
of American society. By embracing the spoils
system, President Jackson paved the way
for the widespread corruption of government
in later years.
of Andrew Jackson (1860)
By James Parton
President Jackson brought
a healthy democratic influence to American
politics and the time during which he served
as President was one of expanding political
opportunity. Jacksonian Democracy
was an effort to control the power of the
capitalist groups - predominantly from the
East, for the benefit of the non capitalist
groups - predominantly farmers and laboring
men. The urban working classes who
participated in the Jacksonian movement
laid the grounds for later reform efforts
to restrain the power of the business community.
Age of Jackson (1945)
By Arthur M. Schlesinger,
The ideological appeal of
the Jeffersonian heritage is important in
understanding the Jacksonians. Jackson and
his followers looked with mistrust on the
new industrial society emerging around them
and yearned instead for the restoration
of the agrarian, republican virtues of earlier
times. In destroying the Bank of the United
States, limiting federal economic activities,
and emphasizing state's rights, they attempted
to restore a simpler, more decentralized
world. Ironically, their actions contributed
to the expansion of unregulated capitalism.
From The Jacksonian Persuasion
By Marvin Meyers
Task 2: List and explain possible reasons for the differences
in the interpretations that appear above.
4-5: relate answers to "the evidence presented or the
point of view of the author."
Grade 6-8: relate answers to
the historians "choice of questions and use of sources."
Grades 9-12: relate answers
to the historians' "choice of questions, use and choice
of sources, perspectives, beliefs, and points of view."
*Adapted from Current, Richard
N., et al. (1987). American History: A Survey. Seventh Edition.
Alfred A. Knopf. New York
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