Jacksonian Party

Jacksonian Party in the United States

Democratic Party The Jacksonian Party

Introduction to Jacksonian Party

In the 1830s, under presidents Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren, the Democratic Party developed the characteristics it retained until the end of the century. It was willing to use national power in foreign affairs when American interests were threatened, but in economic and social policy it stressed the responsibility of government to act cautiously, if at all. Democrats argued that the national government should do nothing the states could do for themselves, and the states nothing that localities could do.

The party’s supporters in this period included groups as diverse as southern plantation owners and immigrant workers in northern cities. They all had in common a dislike of government intervention in their lives. The Democrats’ opponents, the Whigs, on the other hand, believed in using governmental power to promote, regulate, correct, and reform.

A major source of the party’s cohesion was its strong organization, which enabled it to fight elections effectively, keep the party together between elections, and shape and influence government decisions. The Democratic organization, with its local, district, and statewide committees, conventions, and party rallies, spread everywhere to promote the party and its principles and candidates on election day. The organization drew up lists of voters, got them to the polls, and provided ballots for them to cast and the arguments to justify their decisions. Afterward, the party helped select government officers and discipline them while in service.

In the years after 1828, party competition was very close. The Democrats won the presidency six out of eight times through 1856 and usually controlled Congress. Their Whig opponents, however, always waged strong campaigns against them. Van Buren’s leadership role in the party made him Jackson’s successor as nominee and president in 1836, but, defeated in 1840, he had to give way to younger men. These new leaders maintained the commitment to the economic and social principles of the Jacksonian era but added a more aggressive stance in foreign affairs. Territorial expansion and war with Mexico followed under President James K. Polk in the 1840s.” (1)

Resources

Notes and References

Guide to Jacksonian Party

In this Section

Democratic Party, Jacksonian Party, Democratic Party in the North-South Conflict period, Democratic Party in the Lincon Administration, Democratic Party Divisions, Wilsonian Era, New Deal, Democratic Party After Eisenhower, Democratic Party in the Carter Administration, Democratic Party in the Reagan Administration, Democratic Party in the Clinton Administration, Al Gore, Democratic Party in the Bush Administration, Barack Obama.


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