Andrew Jackson and Populism in the Democratic Party, 1828-1836

The rise of populist discontent following the 1824 presidential election, in which John Quincy Adams won the presidency in a congressional “corrupt bargain,” centered around the new feeling of democratic disenfranchisement in the western and southern states. The embodiment of these feelings came in the “outsider” candidacy and presidency of General Andrew Jackson, who wanted to bring the power to the American people for the first time since the Revolutionary War. Jackson was best known as the hero of the Battle of New Orleans, a critical military victory in the War of 1812. Jackson was also a local justice, Tennessee state legislator, and farmer who relied on grassroots political efforts to win the popular vote in the 1824 presidential election. Scorned by the “corrupt bargain” of Adams and Henry Clay, Jackson built a new party, the Democratic Party, to aid his efforts in bringing the American people into Washington D.C.

Jackson’s early presidency was unlike many others because his agenda was ad hoc and his general guide was to bring American people into the presidency. While he was a strong presence in Washington, he held events to open the executive office to the American public and hear out the problems of the common man. This showed his faith in the wisdom of the American people to know what is in the best interest of the nation. Jackson also wanted to expand the power of the executive office because of his contempt for elitist politicians and his belief in Jeffersonian, laissez-faire economics. Jackson, overall, wanted to increase the equality of economic opportunity for all Americans and to strengthen the American government to provide more for the public.

However, Jackson’s populist presidency was not as rosy as the platitudes he spoke of. His constant battle with the Bank of the United States, a predecessor of the Federal Reserve, was a political coup for Jackson and the Democrats but also created problems for his successor Martin Van Buren, who had to endure the horrible Panic of 1837. The Peggy Eaton Affair, involving the questionable relationship of Secretary of War John Eaton and the elitist social structure of Washington, again earned Jackson a reputation as an honest man but damaged his reputation with the Washington elite that could help him win some vital congressional battles. The Nullification Crisis, which involved the threat of South Carolina’s secession from the Union if forced to pay high tariffs, nearly tore the nation apart three decades before the Civil War. However successful Jackson’s actions in the executive office may have been during his presidency, they were responsible for damaging relations between different regions of the nation and the economic stability of the nation during subsequent administrations.

Jackson’s presidency was the first true “outsider” campaign, mostly because Jackson was the first president not from Virginia or Massachusetts. His Democratic Party was the first true political machine, responsible for patronage and electing a new breed of populist politician while creating a new political monster for generations to come. The one true conclusion that can be drawn from Andrew Jackson’s presidency is that while presidents may come in as populists, they often leave as ideologues or tyrants.