American History: Jeffersonian Democracy

Figure 1.--We don't have images of American farms during the 1800s decade. Photography had not yet been invented, but the image would not have been very different except there woud have been no overalls. hat said, look t heir hime. There are two distincrt construcions. The sone frontal part, probably was built in the early-19th century. Thanks to the Northwest Ordiance (1787), as the Frontier moved west, the land would be turned into small-scale farmily farms. This was was a revolutionary experiment in land ownership. Here we see one of those family farms around the turn-of-the 20th century. Because of an educational systen with progressive educators bent on demoizing America, very few Americans understand what a revolutinary concept a nation of land-owning family farmers was when America was created.

America as founded by the Constitution was a republic, but not a democracy (1789). Suffrage was not defined in the Constitution, but determined by each state. And the states at first largely controlled by the Federalists had a range of limitations on democracy. The vote was granted exclusively to white men and most had property qualifications of some kind. Most required a level of property ownership to qualify to vote. Jeffersonian democracy was a movement for more democracy in the new American Republic. Thomas Jefferson was the leading spokesman for this movement and the Democratic-Republican Party coalesced around him during the Washington Administration (1789-1797). Vice President John Adams, a Federalist narrowly prevailed in the election of 1796, narrowly beating Jefferson. The Constitution did not provide for political parties and President Washington saw them as an evil influence. Jefferson's supporters in the states helped widen the suffrage which made possible Jefferson's election (1800) and the subsequent destruction of the Federalist Party. The suffrage expanded even without legislation. The Northwest Ordinance (1787) mandated that the Western lands would go for small family farms. America was not only an experiment in democracy. It was also an experiment in land ownership. It was in America that the average Joe could actually own the land he worked. Thus each year more and more small-scale landowners as the Frontier moved west, , would be created. Jefferson's vision was an agricultural republic governed by majority rule. Jefferson saw farmers as the most moral of citizens. This was basically the Roman ideal. And he saw agriculture as America's future, not unrealistic. Since the Neolithic/Agriculture Revolution began in Sumeria (about 8000 BC), agriculture had been the basis for human civilization. And the same was true in colonial America. But a still not fully understood change had begun in Britain--the Industrial Revolution (mid-18th century). Jefferson had concerns with cities, commerce, and especially finance--all vital for both capitalism and the Industrial Revolution. Jefferson was not hostile to industry, it was an economic construct did not yet exist and he did not envision. At he time Jefferson was elected, 95 percent of Americans lived on farms ans made their livelihood through agriculture (1800). The Federalists were losing elections, but ironically Federalist leader Alexander Hamilton's vision of a republic based on finance and commerce proved to be the America that would emerge as a great power. There were limits on Jefferson's democratic vision. Jefferson saw a need for the people to be guided by an educated and able if not elite leadership. This is essentially a description of Jefferson and most of the other Founding Fathers. Notably, the achievement Jefferson was most proud of was founding the University of Virginia. While Jefferson saw believed in an elite leadership, it was one elected by a land-owning electorate. Jacksonian democracy would take Jefferson's democratic vision one step further.

Created: 1:56 PM 12/10/2024
Last updated: 1:57 PM 12/10/2024