What many hear today is constant talk of the rise of extremism in American politics. Everywhere you go, there's always someone talking about how Republicans have turned into power-hungry gun-loving bigots from the good-hearted, conservatives they once were; then you turn around and you encounter someone else talking about how Democrats have turned into dumb and woke radicals from the respectable egalitarian leftists they once were.
And although this is definitely true in recent times, what many don't realize is that American political culture is CONSTANTLY changing. There are always periods in time where ideologies shift and beliefs transform radically as society develops and becomes more and more civilized.
Shifting discourse and ideology of political parties and their respective electorates are, frankly, a feature of any democracy and especially American democracy.
This whole nation exists because of radical shifts in ideology that defied the status quo.
It wasn't until the aftermath of the Seven Years' War, or the French and Indian War in North America, (1754-1763) that colonists' attitude towards their British overlords changed dramatically in the course of 12 years which led to a violent uprising and consequently an 8-year war which made America independent.
As a young republic, America was navigating the obstacles of being one of the first truly democratic nations in the world. But the first few decades of American independence weren't as democratic as one thinks.
The Founding Fathers were in reality a group of rich, scholarly, propertied, and slave-owning aristocrats intent on running the nation themselves. Thomas Jefferson and his posse, although heavily influenced by Enlightenment ideals of egalitarianism and democracy, were content with a republic governed solely by virtuous and high-class gentlemen.
For a while, they ran the show. Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans ruled the nation with little opposition and oversaw an era of centralization and the creation of major governmental institutions which continued to feed power into this elite.
At the same time, America was undergoing a "market revolution". With the advent of the 19th century, the world was transforming into the capitalistic and industrialist society of the Industrial Revolution. For America, this meant a North that started adopting a more commercial and manufacturing-based economy, a South that experienced a boom in cotton production which warranted further development of plantation slave labor, and a frontier society that continued to push westward.
The market revolution certainly made life worse for minorities: Native Americans, Black slaves, and women. But at this time, it was the tension that arose in the white man's world that led to massive political change. Farmers and rural property owners, frontiersmen, and nonslave-holding Southerners all felt threatened by the rise of capitalism and commerce and blamed their troubles on an elitist government in Washington that continued to create unfair institutions which benefited the rich minority. After the War of 1812, a series of policies and events confirmed to many that power was being centralized in the hands of the elite and that had to change.
In storms Andrew Jackson, a rugged, self-made lawyer turned war hero from the South who lived and breathed America. Nicknamed "Old Hickory" he became the embodiment of contempt against the republican hierarchical society that had formed in Washington over the years. Jackson was a fierce opponent of national institutions like the central bank and despised the aristocrats that governed the nation.
He was a rough and tough manly warrior that fought for the ordinary white American who wanted more say in the governing of the country.
His popularity across the country led to a political movement called Jacksonian Democracy which characterized American politics throughout the 1820s and 1830s. After initially losing to John Quincy Adams in the 1824 elections (which were so close that the House of Representatives ended up electing Adams over Jackson, who had won the majority of the popular vote), he built on his wide-ranging popularity across the nation to challenge Adams again in 1828.
Jackson's campaign was built on the battle between Adams "the man who could write" versus Jackson himself, "the man who could fight". The ideology behind his campaign and even these slogans too summarize the anti-elitist sentiment that swept the nation as a result of the market revolution.
Andrew Jackson became president in 1828 and immediately sought to appease the electorate that got him into office. Firstly, he greatly expanded suffrage to the common white man, eliminating property requirements in many states. Jacksonian Democrats primarily thought that the only way to remove elitism in American government was to involve more people in the democratic process. The spoils system, or rotation in office, was also put into place where people loyal to Jackson were rewarded positions in the bureaucracy.
Jackson also waged war against the central bank (which led to the Panic of 1837) and exercised extreme federal authority, exemplified by both the nullification crisis of 1832 where tariff disputes with South Carolina almost caused civil war and Jackson's refusal to enforce the Supreme Court's decision on Cherokee property rights in Georgia which led to the infamous Trail of Tears.
Jacksonian Democracy was the first time the political status quo of the country was swept aside as the market revolution and the Era of Good Feelings led to the rise of a slightly more radical ideological movement. The modern Democratic party was founded as a result of Jackson and his political movement. That being said, Jackson's Democratic party is undeniably different to the Democratic party of today but that is precisely the point.
Jacksonian Democracy and Jackson's ensuing presidency led to the creation of the Whig party in the US, which upheld strong moral values among citizens, centralized government power, and promoted the expansion of capitalism; pretty much the opposite of the Democrats. As time progressed, slavery, which was an issue that both parties wanted to keep out of politics, naturally entered the discussion and the Democrats slowly turned into the pro-slavery party, which in turn led to the creation of the modern Republican party in the 1850s.
Jacksonian Democracy transformed political culture in the young republic massively but it also created a ripple effect for major transformations in the 200 years that followed. Furthermore, Jackson himself was the archetype of the "new" politician: one that was down-to-earth, rugged, and a lover of his people and his country. Above all, he was a man the common populace could relate to. Jackson is why politicians throughout American history have sought to replicate him by placing themselves as a leader the people could relate to.
The American political landscape is constantly changing along with the politicians that are a part of it, and it's all because of Jacksonian Democracy.
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