Learning Objective IV
Discuss the elements within society that are necessary to create a democracy for Jefferson and show how they compare to those of Andrew Jackson.
being governed; they were to participate actively . This had been the significance of the addition of the adjective, Democratic, to the term Republican in Jefferson's party designation. Virtuous citizens would spontaneously single out those best qualified to rule over them. A good educational system would teach the people the necessity and methods of this selection process. The process would also help select and train the leaders that the people would choose and who would form an aristocracy of ability rather than of birth .
Andrew Jackson was the first President to be elected under Jefferson's formula. Jackson typified the ideal of the American man and success story. He was the first President who did not come from a well-established American family. He rose from the log cabin environment to the White House.Jackson believed in a strict interpretation of the Constitution and promised to reduce the government to the simple machine which the Constitution created.
Jackson idealized an agrarian society and described the agricultural interest as "superior in importance" to all others. Jackson and his supporters favored state sovereignty, strict construction of the Constitution, and laissez-faire because they hoped for a return to old-fashioned, agrarian-oriented Jeffersonianism. For Jefferson, the solution to America's problems was (1) LAND, (2) EDUCATION, and (3) time. So long as all three were available, nothing could threaten the security and liberty of society.