The People’s Champion Essay, Research Paper

The People s Champion

The Jacksonian Democrats were the guardians of the constitution of the United States and made sure the each individual was allowed the full freedoms granted to them. Andrew Jackson adamantly believed in the right of the people to govern themselves. He believed that the people should be governed as little as possible and that all necessary governing should be done by the people themselves. Jackson was a champion of the people and did everything in his power to grant the people their individual liberties and to preserve a pure democracy in the United States. Jackson was a in favor of strictly adhering to the Constitution as the fore fathers had written it. Jackson and the Jacksonian democrats were champions of the people and guardians of the constitution because they believed in the sovereignty of the people.

Andrew Jackson was very strongly against the Bank of the United States because he believed it was an unconstitutional institution. That is why when Henry Clay drew up a premature renewal charter for the bank only months before the next election Jackson vetoed it. This was a very risky move for Jackson because he risked alienating voters and possibly losing the election. However, Jackson was a man of principle and there was no way that Jackson could allow the charter of the bank to be renewed. In document “B”, Jackson s veto message, he lists the reasons why he must veto the charter. He believes that is unconstitutional because only a small portion of the bank s committee is chosen by the government, that the bank holds an unfair monopoly of exchange, and that the bank s stockholders are foreigners and wealthy citizens. He does not see it constitutional

that an institution as powerful as the Bank of the United States is controlled by a wealthy elite. Daniel Webster responds to Jackson s veto message in document “C”. Webster is an outspoken advocate of the Bank and he attempts to debate Jackson s points by saying

that Jackson s writing, ” appeals to every prejudice which may betray men into a mistaken view of their own interests ” . Webster believes that the people are easily mislead, that they do not know what is best for themselves, and that they need to be saved from their own misguided views. Jackson believed in the sovereignty of the people as is easily seen when comparing him and one of his major opponents, Daniel Webster.

In eighteen thirty-six Andrew Jackson helped to get Roger B. Taney appointed to the position of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Taney was an ardent Jacksonian Democrat and he strongly believed in a strict interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. This is shown in document “H” which contains a part of Taney s opinion in the Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge case. Taney showed his Jacksonian Democratic views in this case making sure that all involved had their rights upheld and in making sure that the constitution was adhered to. He made sure that a single corporation did not take a seventy year monopoly of mass transportation across the Charles River because it was unconstitutional. In this case he exemplified the mission of the Jacksonian Democrats because he recognized not only the sanctity of private property, but also the rights of the people inhabiting the banks of the river and he handled it masterfully because he preserved the individual rights of the people and also the strength of the Constitution.

Harriet Martineau, a British author, tells of he eighteen thirty-four trip to the U.S. in document “D” and also proves that the Jacksonian Democrats are what they think themselves to be. Harriet s being a British foreigner makes her a very biased observer

and it speaks well of Jacksonian Democracy that she approves of all she sees in America, including the sovereignty of the people to govern themselves. Harriet, being a writer, is quite possibly displeased with the governing of the English empire. She comes to

America and she can see the benefits of a government by the people. Harriet can see that the Jacksonian Democrats are truly guarding the rights of the people and preserving pure democracy.

Jackson and the Jacksonian Democrats all believed in guarding personal freedoms and preserving the Constitution. It is clear through the evidence in the documents that the Jacksonian Democrats were guardians of personal freedom and also preservers of the Constitution. The Jacksonian s view of themselves was completely accurate as they truly did work for what they believed in and did everything in their power to see that the will of the people was heard. In conclusion, the Jacksonian Democrats were the guardians of the U.S. Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of economic opportunity.