Evolution of Democracy

Evolution of Democracy

Compare the nation’s government from Jefferson’s era to Jackson’s. Who was eligible to participate in the democratic processes when each was elected? How did that impact who was represented in the federal government? (200-350 words)

Jefferson was the third American president, and participating in the writing of the Declaration of Independence, he is considered one of America’s founding fathers. Conversely, Jackson was the seventh American president. The two presidents were both Democrats (Richards, 2020). Additionally, the two had similar perspectives on state politics and how states should run. Accordingly, the government had heavy demands on how the states pushed for federal input on state matters (Richards, 2020). However, Jackson and Jefferson contradicted the perspective that states should run their government freely with little to no federal government input.

Moreover, these two presidents differed in various perspectives. Firstly, although Jefferson owned enslaved people, he saw it as an evil act and said that it would be eradicated with time (Branch, 2018). Also, Jefferson outlawed the importation of enslaved people from Africa, which is his most significant accomplishment. Contrastingly, Jackson did not oppose slavery; he owned many enslaved people and did not concern himself with slavery abolition. Secondly, they were from different social classes, which affected their decision-making. Jefferson was from a wealthy class and focused on protecting their lifestyle. For example, he encouraged the issue of banking, which allowed only the rich to access and use bank services. However, Jackson, who was not wealthy, was voted for because his agenda included abolishing the bank, which he considered a monopoly for the wealthy class.

Moreover, Jefferson believed that a person needed to own property to vote. From this point of view, property ownership demonstrates character in a man (Thomas, 2021). However, this perspective prevented many individuals without property from voting, leaving the decision to the wealthy. Contrastingly, Jackson did not share this belief. Furthermore, Jefferson also believed that only the educated elite could occupy legal office positions, another idea that Jackson disagreed with (Thomas, 2021). This is because Jackson was uneducated. Accordingly, during Jefferson’s administration, the wealthy people with property and education were primarily represented in the federal government. However, Jackson’s administration removed the requirements that prevented everyday folks from running for office (Thomas, 2021). Consequently, people outside the wealthy class occupied positions in the federal government.

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Explain three (3) ways the federal government changed or expanded from the time of Jefferson to Jackson. (200-350 words)

The federal government changed during Jackson’s administration because it granted and created more rights for the standard white men, making it more democratic (Benson, 2015). One of those rights included voting and occupying legal offices without owning property or being educated. Accordingly, this is unlike Jefferson’s administration because he believed only white men who were educated and wealthy or held property could do so. Secondly, while Jefferson did not believe in a democracy where power the government had all the power, anti-federalists, Jackson preferred the ability to be in the executive branch and the president, at Congress’s expense, more of a federalist (Benson, 2015). As such, Jackson vetoed a bill that had passed Congress, which had never happened before. Presidents could veto a statement only if it were costly, but Jackson’s reasons were based on the bill’s policy. Throughout his presidency, Jackson did not defer to Congress when making policies; instead, he used his veto power and party leadership to take up command.

Furthermore, Jackson demanded that judges and other government officials be elected by the people and not appointed by the government. In addition, he wrote many different state constitutions because he believed that the federal government derived its power from the people and not from the states. As a result, Jackson issued the Nullification Proclamation, a law prohibiting the states from nullifying any federal law.

Identify one (1) way democracy can be improved or continue to grow today. How can it be done? (350-500 words)

One significant way America’s democracy can be improved is by ensuring that all media is unbiased. The primary role of media includes facilitating the production, broadcasting, and exchange of information, especially political news, on various platforms and networks (Owen, 2018). Consequently, the media significantly affects democratic governance and political practices. Ideally, the media’s role is to inform the public by providing them with the information they need to make thoughtful, well-informed decisions regarding matters like policies and leadership. In addition, the media is responsible for acting as watchdogs on all government activities (Owen, 2018). However, today, the media has demonstrated trends that fall short of the ideal objectives of a democratic press. Most media platforms disseminate much political content, but unfortunately, a large percentage is unreliable, trivial, and polarizing.

This decay in media production is mainly attributed to the emerging digital communication technologies like podcasts, blogs, and discussion boards, to name a few, which gave the public the platforms to express their perspectives on matters like politics. As a result, the media and the internet are filled with a lot of information that runs from fact-based investigative reporting done by professionals to just about any opinion or thought anyone could come up with that is completely fabricated (Owen, 2018). Therefore, it is up to the audience to tell fact from fiction, which is quite challenging, as demonstrated by the rise of the term “fake news.” Furthermore, the media these days is seen as a mouthpiece for politicians; they use different platforms to create false allegations or make uninformed statements, as evident in Trump’s administration.

Moreover, unbiased, free media is one of the cornerstones of a properly functioning democracy. Its central role is to primarily transfer information between the government and the public (Hurley, 2021). Some countries have implemented laws that limit the freedom of the press, and America is fortunately not one of those countries. However, there is a huge problem concerning abusing the power of media by spreading false information to those in political positions (Hurley, 2021). Even though there is freedom of speech for everyone in America, there should be policies guiding how people in influential positions can use the media to avoid incidents like the Capitol attack in April of 2021. In addition, to help improve democracy, the media must remain independent and with integrity.

References

Benson, L. (2015). The concept of Jacksonian democracy. In The Concept of Jacksonian Democracy. Princeton University Press.

Branch, B. (2018). Could Thomas Jefferson Have Ended Slavery? An Economic Analysis. B> Quest.

Hurley, K. (2021). The Importance of an Unbiased Media for American Democracy: An Analysis of Media Affecting Public Opinion.

Owen, D. (2018). The new media’s role in politics. The Age of Perplexity: Rethinking the World We Know.

Richards Jr, T. (2020). Breakaway Americas: The Unmanifest Future of the Jacksonian United States. Johns Hopkins University Press.

Thomas, B. (2021). Voting Rights. J19: The Journal of Nineteenth-Century Americanists, 9(2), 265-268.

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Directions: Complete the Evolution of Democracy Worksheet. Complete the assignment worksheet using resources from the Topic 3 Readings, including your textbook, materials provided by your instructor through class discussion, and materials from the GCU Library Guide for HIS-144 US History Themes.

Evolution of Democracy

Each answer to the questions should include citations for each question formatted using the APA Style Guide. Please note that the minimum word count varies for each of the questions.

The assignment must include three to five relevant scholarly sources supporting your content.

1. Compare the nation’s government from Jefferson’s era to Jackson’s. Who was eligible to participate in the democratic processes when each was elected? How did that impact who was represented in the federal government? (200-350 words)
2. Explain three (3) ways the federal government changed or expanded from the time of Jefferson to Jackson. (200-350 words)
3. Identify one (1) way democracy can be improved or continue to grow today. How can it be done? (350-500 words)