An Analysis On Jacksonian Democracy

Andrew Jackson was the most controversial president of the United States. Some historians highly praised his commitment to the improvement of American democracy; while others severely criticized Jackson's brutal treatment of the Indians. American historians have already done a lot of researches on Jacksonian democracy; however, Chinese scholars paid little attention to this historical figure and his contributions to America. This thesis tries to provide a more objective view on Jacksonian democracy by studying both the positive and negative scholarships. Jackson's contributions to American democracy are the extension of suffrage to the ordinary man; giving more chances to the ordinary people to participate in political activities. Yet, Jackson's cruel way to remove the Indians in order to grab their land was a dark spot in American history. So the author concludes that, while Jackson greatly enhanced the advancement of American democracy in its due process of development, Jacksonian Democracy was far from being perfect. The author hopes to stimulate more Chinese historians to study this topic as well as to throw lights on the development of Chinese democracy.