The Birth of Modern Politics

Jackson’s modest background and standing as a national hero helped him win the election of 1828. Large numbers of western farmers and people in the cities supported him due to the fact that voting laws changed. Many people saw Jackson’s rise to power as an inspiring and great story. He was the first U.S. President that was not from an upper-class family, and the first from the western United States. For this reason, Jackson was considered a friend of the common man, and the first people’s president. Jackson’s victory was considered a triumph for the working people. He began to use his veto powers enthusiastically and felt as if he was the servant to the people. Unlike the 1824 election, no other major candidates appeared in the race, allowing Jackson to consolidate a power base and easily win an electoral victory over Adams.
There was little doubt among Americans that Jackson was going to win the election of 1828. His popularity continued to grow and his supporters dominated state legislatures to help ensure his election. There was fright among his opponents that he would institute a military dictatorship and run the country into the ground. Jackson depolarized American politics and for this alone, Jackson should be seen as an important president. In the campaign of 1828, Jackson's views distinguished him from John Quincy Adams. While Adams viewed an active government as the way to achieve true liberty, Jackson preferred to limit governmental power and return to the path of Jeffersonian transparency. The comparison between the two was everything but perfect. Jackson dissatisfied some idealists in the south by endorsing tariff protection and the distribution of any extra money back to the states. It was evident that, compared to his opponent, Jackson would use any federal powers he had to do what he thought was right. He considered his victory a moral consent to restore the real principles of the constitution in his eyes. His program was to become clear as his presidency unfolded over time like Thomas Jefferson before him.
The election of 1828 also implied at Jackson's future programs. Jackson was rarely considered a man with any logical political views and most accounts treated him as a bewildered, opportunistic, and inconsistent politician. Jackson had no formal political values, but he adhered to certain fundamental values and ideas with a degree of steadiness throughout his long political career. Andrew Jackson's election was significant in the promotion of democracy, the protection of the common people, and the growth of the federal government. Jackson made politicians more responsible for their actions by using his power and will to fight on the spot. The common people directly elected for those who voted for the president after Jackson’s mandate. Andrew also protected the common people by use of the presidential veto, 3 more times than all other presidents before him combined. He also caused the destruction of the 2nd National Bank, which he thought was more of a burden than a benefit to the people. On top of all of this, he strengthened the federal government through his policy making.
Jackson's inauguration confirmed the beginning of a new political age as many people gathered into Washington D.C. to witness the inauguration. Jackson appointed many flawed men to his Cabinet, with a few exceptions like the great Martin Van Buren, the secretary of state. Regardless, Jackson’s victory was known as the Revolution of 1828, marking the rise of political participation for the first time in history. In the end, none of the slanders could touch Jackson's unwavering popularity. He won easily in 1828, with 56 percent of the vote and 178 electoral votes to Adams's 83. Jackson took New York and Pennsylvania as well as the entire southern and western U.S. He was the first President elected from west of the Appalachian Mountains and the oldest man to assume the office up until that time. But his victory was taken over by bad news and misery. His wife Rachel suffered a heart attack and died before the inauguration on December 22 and Jackson blamed his political foes for her demise until the day he died.
Jackson's victory ushered in the age of Jacksonian politics. And it marked a fundamental shift and reshaping of American politics. America had drawn its presidents and other leaders largely from the elite until the time of Jackson. His Scotts Irish backwoods background had a very big impact on his ideals and the way he governed. The fierce campaign against Jackson and the destruction of the relationship between Jackson and vice president John Calhoun later became bigger than his victory but through it all, Jackson stood tall.