The Evolution of Democracy in the Early Republic History Essay

THE EVOLUTION OF DEMOCRACY IN THE EARLY REPUBLIC
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Jefferson and Jackson are revered figures in American democracy and the changes they brought forth have shaped the union hitherto. The two presidents favored a more egalitarian form of government that was for the people. Jackson built on Jefferson’s work to create a more democratic union. To understand how the American republic was different and changed from Jefferson’s era to Jackson’s, we review the issues each president attempted to wrestle in his tenure.
How the American Republic was different under Jackson and under Jefferson
Jefferson was locked in an ideological fight with Hamilton over-concentration of power in the national government over state government. Jefferson favored power to be decentralized to the individual states while Hamilton favored a more Britain aristocratic government CITATION Har01 \l 1033 (Hardin, 2001). Eventually, Jefferson’s faction won and more power was decentralized to the state and local governments. Jefferson also sought to promote the freedom of speech, bill of rights and freedom of press. The federalist party had passed Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798 which infringed the rights of the individuals and curtailed the freedom of press. Jefferson allowed the laws to expire when he took office and ushered a new era of government’s accountability to its people and expanded the rights of the individual. Jefferson became unofficial father of right to speech and freedom of press CITATION Tim19 \l 1033 (Snowball, 2019).
Under Jackson’s era, democracy was not still guaranteed as we know it today. Jackson’s most iconic achievement of his tenure was the expansion of white male suffrage. Restrictions existed about who could vote and though Jackson did not lift restrictions on blacks, Indian Americans and women, he fought for the expansion of voting rights to all white male population. Jackson brought democracy to the common man and the father of universal suffrage CITATION Ric18 \l 1033 (Rice University, 2018).
Jackson was a strong proponent of state sovereignty and independence from ...