Professor William Heppding

Joe Mama

American History I

September 24, 2023

Writing Assignment 5.3.3

As seen from the time of the American Revolution to the Presidency of Andrew Jackson,
the most massive development in American society in the Age of Jackson is the act of
democratization. After all that is said and done with the effects of the Bank War, the Tariff of
Abominations, the Nullification Crisis, the Indian Removal Act of 1830, the pet banks, and the
Specie Circular event, democratization becomes more prevalent than ever before. The Age of
Jackson sees that only can more people vote, but that there is a sense that people can more freely
“do what they want to.” This democratization created from the Age of Jackson can be seen
within political, economic, social, and religious areas.

Democratization created from the Age of Jackson can be seen within the political areas of
society. This democratization of American politics is really first seen through many
consequences that the 1820s had, the national sport period, Martin Van Buren, the second party
system, and the emergence of the “spoils system.” Following the Age of Jackson creates a new
party system, being the Jacksonian Democrats and the Whigs. This new second party system has
several key features, including being produced by leaders trying to win presidency along with
contenders building their own national coalitions. It was a distinct party system formed over
fifteen years with massive regional effects. For the first time, politics was extended to the South
and West, and within region, the two parties were about equal—the first and only party system
showing like this, leading to region-specific issues (like slavery). The parties would go to make
politics the nation sport (nation sport period) and sees the flowering of political democracy in the
United States. The man responsible for this and the creation of the first mass party was Martin
Van Buren, whom of which started the Democratic Party. He believed in competition, which
made American democracy work. Some time later, Jackson’s first term saw the emergence of the
“spoils system,” which was the idea that of a rotation of political offices in the government
bureaucracy, a very welcomed system that sticks around to this day.
 Democratization created from the Age of Jackson can be seen within the economic areas
of society. Examples this are prevalent within the Market Revolution, capitalism, and the many
factors of economic growth during this time. The Market Revolution describes the economic
changes of the first half of the 1800s and was a process, not an event. This is the sole seed of the
economic system of the nation of America, stemming from a growing faith that the public good
would best be served by allowing maximum freedom to the individual pursuit of self-interest and
combines the idea of laissez faire government of the Jeffersonian-Republicans with the industrial
dreams of the Federalists. This led to Capitalism, defined as an economic system characterized
by private/corporate ownership of capital goods, prices, production, and distribution of those
goods determined by free market competition, and the five factors of Economic Growth. The
development of capitalism was due these five factors, which were having an abundance of
natural resources, spectacular population growth, having a great place for investors,
industrialization, and government support at the state and local levels.

Democratization created from the Age of Jackson can be seen within the social areas of
society. This can be seen through a couple major events, including the so-called Tariff of
Abominations and the Bank War of 1832. Within his second term, President Jackson sought out
to the destroy the Bank since the Bank was the sole issue in the 1832 campaign, which led
Jackson to believing that the people wanted him to break “this hydra of corruption.” Jackson
would go to claim that funds in the Bank “weren’t safe,” hoping that in losing the federal account
would kill the Bank. After the incident with the pet banks, the funds were in more danger than
ever. Jackson rallied public opinion behind him, leading to him winning his greatest political and
social victory, and the second Bank of the United States passed out of existence when its charter
expired in 1836. Because of this, Jackson was the only president who ever paid off the nation
debt. Rewinding time a bit before jumping ahead, the Tariff of Abominations began during the
Adams administration, where Congress (and his opponents) would pass this tariff in successful
hopes of embarrassing Adams and support Jackson, using it to discredit President Adams as a
spokesman of the wealthy and using it to credit Jackson as, in contrast, a friend of the common
people. The Tariff of Abominations, however, would reveal its ugly head once again during the
Nullification Crisis, as described before. Despite it all, President Jackson was seen as a self-made
hero. He was a war hero, Indian fighter, duelist, lawyer/planter, protected his honor, and believed
he could control his destiny and shape the future of America. Viewed as the symbol of
nationalism, individualism, and democracy, he fulfilled the role of a Southern white man’s
American dream. Jackson convinced society that he was the perfect fit to rule, which is why the
last day of Jackson’s presidency was as much a personal triumph as his first. His impact of the
social area of democratization is the reason thousands came to bid goodbye to their beloved hero.

Democratization created from the Age of Jackson can be seen within the religious areas
of society. This was mainly seen through the Second Great Awakening, which lasted from 1800
to the 1830s and had many interesting yet different effects on America. This time period was
known as the second great religious revival in United States history, consisting of renewed
personal salvation experiences as a movement. The Second Great Awakening also encouraged n
eager, energetic evangelicalism that later reappeared in American life in causes dealing with
prison reform, temperance, women’s suffrage, and the crusade to abolish slavery. In New
England, the renewed interest in religion inspired a wave of social activism, while the spirit of
revival encouraged the emergence of new Restorationist and other denominations in western
New York (where the latter would especially see the emergence of the Mormons and the
Holiness movement). Meanwhile in the West, especially within locations including Cane Ridge,
Kentucky, and Tennessee, the revival would go to strengthen the Methodists and the Baptists and
introduce into America a new form of religious express, that of which being the Scottish camp
meeting. These meetings took on many characteristics similar to the First Great Awakening of
the previous century and was a religious service of several days’ length with multiple preachers.
Along with the Market Revolution, this Second Great Awakening would lead to the Reform
Movement, where Northerners felt obligated to transform the United States to a perfect society
and had efforts that went from moral and utopian to abolitionism and women’s rights.

As discussed, democratization created from the Age of Jackson can be seen within
political, economic, social, and religious areas. It’s no secret that President Jackson had a
massive impact on the country then that is ever-so present in our society today.