November 3, 2014
History 204 Midterm
Describe the United States and U.S. society during the Jacksonian era (approximately 1828-1848). What characterized U.S. society during this era? In what ways did Jacksonian America differ from American life beforehand? U.S. society during this era is very debatable as Jackson was controversial. During this era, the social dynamics of the people were challenged and caused disunion within the states. The Jacksonian Democracy represented an influential mixture of the best and worst qualities of American society. The positive democratic movement that aimed for equality was only cast for the benefit of the white man. Andrew Jackson was a slave owner with a lot of land. He came from a wealthy …show more content…
Property of large amounts of land demanded labor intensive work and landowners saw slavery as a beneficial opportunity for them. Their economy was based on the agriculture produced from their plantations as well as the cotton picked by the slaves. The south did not want change because the political powers were mainly the land owners and they were fine with the way they were making money. The south was a biracial society of extreme inequality. They did not get as much immigration as the north so their population was lower. They also had a larger black population due to the slaves. The north was more of an industrial society. The north had a different kind of society that was lead by intellectual political leaders. The industrial revolution and use of machinery benefited the growth and expansion of the north while the south expanded it’s labor force of slaves to increase production of goods. The north used coal, iron, and steel to flourish their industries. The society in the north was run by banking, commerce, and …show more content…
It all began with the Missouri Compromise which was an agreement that drew an invisible line dividing the north and the south as slave states and free states. This line officially separated the north and south morally and politically. The Wilmot Proviso was a ban to slavery and preservation any territory acquired from Mexico for free white labor. Once the Wilmot Proviso was put into Congress, there was a complete breakdown of party systems. There were different ranges of opinions on the idea of slavery causing divisions to be more sectionalized. There was debate for California who wanted to be let in as a free state, but the south saw this as causing imbalance so they looked south for more slave states. Southerners refused to compromise over slavery and the north began listening more to