Jeffersonian & Jacksonian Democracy Comparison
Questions Jeffersonian Democracy Jacksonian Democracy
Political
To what extent was universal white
manhood suffrage achieved?
Believed property requirement was a test of
character that man of initiative should be able to
meet
Property requirements for voting had been
eliminated
Which citizens were considered
eligible for office holding?
Believed the educated elite should rule, although he
proposed education for all to prepare poorer
individuals for public office
Believed all men were qualified to hold office and
that political positions should be rotated
How were candidates for president
chosen?
Candidates were chosen by caucuses of political
leaders
Nominating conventions were introduced during
Jackson’s time
Economic
In what way did Jackson expand the
concepts of the “chosen class”?
Yeoman farmer as the “chosen class” Jackson included planters, farmers, laborers, and
mechanics in “chosen class”
How did each man view
industrialization?
Originally feared the consequences of
industrialization
Accepted industry as essential to American
economy
How did the Charles River Bridge v.
Warren Bridge decision affect the
access to corporate charters prevalent
in Jefferson’s time?
In J’s time corporate charters were granted to
favorites of state legislators & often implied
monopoly rights to a business
Roger Taney, Jackson’s appointee as Chief Justice
of the Supreme Court, ruled in Charles River
Bridge decision that corporate charters should be
available to all who chose to risk starting a business
What was each man’s attitude toward
the Bank of the United States?
Both disapproved – originally at least, disagreed
with a loose interpretation of the elastic clause
Jackson saw Bank as a monopoly of the rich
Social
What was each man’s attitude toward
slavery?
Owned slaves, saw slavery as an evil that time
would eradicate
Owned slaves, but seemed little interested in
abolition
What was each man’s attitude toward
equality for women & American
Indians
Neither man saw women or American Indians as
equals
Had a particularly negative attitude toward Native
Americans
How did each man view education? An educated man himself, believed education was
necessary for office-holding and for preparing
citizens for participation in a democracy
Had little education & believed education was
relatively unimportant
How did each hope to remove
obstacles to upward social mobility?
Education & ambition were keys to success;
however, he was never able to build support for his
proposed system of public education
Ended the Bank & with it, control over credit, CRB
decision opened opportunities for individuals to get
corporate charters & thus rise on both economic and
social ladders. Jackson, a self-made man, believed
his economic progress had accounted for his own
upward social mobility & others could follow his
example
Religious
To what extent was separation of
church and state accomplished in
each period?
Most state constitutions had eliminated established
churches after the Revolution;
Massachusetts, the last state to maintain an
established church, ended the practice in 1834
