In the decades surrounding the presidency of Andrew Jackson democracy began to expand. States rewrote constitutions and extended the franchise to all free white males. European visitors such as Alexis de Tocqueville noticed the spirit of equality that pervaded the United States, unlike anything known in the Old World. (Not all Europeans, nor Americans, for that matter, were sure that was a good idea terms like "mobocracy" and "anarchy" were thrown around from time to time.) By the late 1830s, the United States had become a full democracy for adult white males, but inequalities still existed: poor people were still poor, and while wealth may not have bought votes directly, it certainly was a prerequisite for any kind of real power. What was different about America was not that the gap between rich and poor had narrowed indeed, the opposite was probably true, but that there were few systemic barriers (except for slavery) that prevented people from gaining wealth and power. However limited, the idea of America, as a land of unprecedented opportunity was not inaccurate in the context of the times. Importantly, equality of opportunity did not necessarily mean equality of result

Some topics in this essay:
Jackson Jefferson, Bank Garraty, South Carolina, Electoral College, World Europeans, Andrew Jackson, Amos Kendall, Morris Hal, Jacksonian Democracy, Quincy Adams, national bank, andrew jackson, jacksonian democracy, john quincy adams, states’ rights, quincy adams, john quincy, south carolina, federal authority, henry clay, upper class, directly responsible people, national bank jackson, states’ rights federal, jacksonian democracy elevation,