Similarities Between Jacksonian Democracy And The Populist Party

Jacksonian Democrats beliefs are more similar to the Populist party’s beliefs than different in political, economic, and social ways. Their limited differences are based on the time periods and problems they faced respectively.

The political beliefs held by Jacksonian Democrats and the Populist Party centered around the limiting of big government in people 's lives. The election of Andrew Jackson limited federal power because the Democratic party used a national convention to nominate him, giving power to people not the caucus of elite men. This limiting of the federal government in the Jacksonian era is very similar to the limiting seen in the Populist Party. The Populist Party wanted to limit the federal government through the direct election of US Senators. This would reduce the power of state legislators and return to a more democratic style of election.

The Jacksonian Democrats and the Populist Party were almost identical in their concerns about the American economy in their respective times. Jacksonians were heavily influenced by Thomas Jefferson in the way that they saw America becoming a great agrarian nation that would have little industry. This concern about the farmers led to president Jackson supporting their belief that the nation should use silver or gold to back the currency not just banking notes. This

The Jacksonians believed that everyone

The differences in beliefs of the two groups were there only because of the different times they existed. The Populist belief on presidential power was that the president should only be in office for one term and no more. While the Jacksonian Democrats did not see more than two terms in office, they saw Jackson expand the power of the president. President Jackson believed that the president should be a forceful and powerful position in the wake of the weak presidency of John Quincy