During the Age of Jackson

During the Age of Jackson, which occurred from 1824-840, President Jackson gave more rights to the common man, especially rights concerning the expansion of democracy and the right to vote. His policies would ultimately lead to the universal suffrage of white men. Concerning this development, there were many proponents but also opponents; however, the validity of the arguments of the opponents greatly outweighed those of the supporters.

The supporters of universal suffrage for white men highlighted that those who contributed to society deserved the right to vote. Because the constitution was founded upon John Locke's social contract theory, stating that all men were endowed with certain rights of life, liberty, and property, the supporters found it unconstitutional that all men did not have the liberty to vote for their representatives. The expansion of democracy created a larger demographic of voters - the population of voters more than doubled by 1828. The advocates of this growth of democracy stated that it allowed for reasonable representation in politics due to the larger political participation. Through this expansion, elections of presidents were decided on popular vote rather than by state legislatures. Proponents believed that the few individuals who possessed property were corrupt and that the common men were sincere and wise. Support for democratic expansion was not limited to only written documents and oral speeches but was also expressed through art. For instance, Bingham's portrayal of a county election demonstrates a fervent setting, which includes a variety of social classes.

On the other hand, arguments of the opposition of democratic expansion heavily outweighed those of the support. Enemies of the extension of voting rights believed that the masses were ignorant to politics in general. In addition, they believed that the lower classes only coveted what they could not have. Thus, an expansion of democracy would lead to a majority of voters who were undeserving and unqualified for such responsibilities. As a result, many inadequate persons were voted into offices in which they could not properly function and carry out their duties. Moreover, the expansion of suffrage allowed for the election of officials who won simply because they sided with the majority of individuals - the common men. Furthermore, citizens who did not understand the implications of voting would adopt the ideas or the candidate of others just to fit in and assimilate into society. Therefore, the politicians appealed to the ignorant masses rather than fewer numbering intellectual and elect members of the public. Bingham's painting demonstrates the inability of the masses to properly and orderly vote; he represents a county election as a social event to the common men rather than a political duty.

Although there were many supporters for the democratic expansion, the arguments that they used are insignificant compared to the other side. For instance, supporters thought this expansion would give all men free expression to choose their own candidates; however, through universal male suffrage, politicians became venal as it became easy to buy votes from common men and immigrants in the shape of the political machine. Additionally, the majority of citizens only cared to make a living and did not even care to vote or to express their beliefs. Instead, they would vote for candidates based on the preferences of others or simply because they were bribed to vote for someone. Their lack of care further demonstrates their ignorance on political matters, which proves why the expansion of democracy was not only useless, but also caused the election of insufficient candidates to crucial offices, including the presidency. Another result of this extended right to vote did, in fact, create a tyranny of the majority. Due to the fact that the majority of men were common men, their population was the larger part of the voting population; and since they always supported the candidate who appealed to the "common man," such as Jackson, their votes were the most important. Consequently, many offices were filled by persons of inadequate intelligence and ability. Although the supporters of universal white male suffrage believed that the masses were virtuous, moral, wise, and sincere, they really were not. They cared only to improve their own lives and to obtain what they did not have. These men were the ones who committed most of the crimes and caused most of the violence. They were undeserving and depraved. In contrast, the intellectual minority, the previous majority of the voting population, was educated and living well, so how could men describe the members as greedy or corrupt when they were already at the top of society and had all they desired?

Democratic expansion was a well-thought idea that had considerate motives at its base, but had too many flaws built into it. The supporters believed they it would create a more egalitarian and tantamount society; however, their plan did not consider the probable depravity and ignorance of the common man.