Essential Question Essential Question : –How did America progress towards greater democracy between 1800 & 1840? Essential Question: Essential Question: –Examine Alexis de Tocqueville’s journey through America in the 1830s & read excerpts from his observations. What did this French visitor observe about U.S. society & gov’t in the 1830s?
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Essential Question Essential Question: –How did America progress towards greater democracy between 1800 & 1840? Essential Question: Essential Question:
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Essential QuestionEssential Question:–How did America progress
towards greater democracy between 1800 & 1840?
Essential Question:Essential Question:–Examine Alexis de Tocqueville’s
journey through America in the 1830s & read excerpts from his observations. What did this French visitor observe about U.S. society & gov’t in the 1830s?
Alexis de Tocqueville
The Growth of White Men's Democracy
The Growth of DemocracyFrom 1824 to 1840, democracy
was extended to more Americans:–Before 1800, most states limited
the right to vote exclusively to property owners & taxpayers
–By 1840, these restrictions were removed for most white men
–Nowhere else in the world was the right to vote as widespread as in the USA
Less than 50% of white men could vote
90% of white men could vote
This increase in “democracy” was a major shift from the “virtuous republic”
envisioned by Jefferson & Hamilton
The Growth of DemocracyBy the 1830s, a “democracy of
commoners” became more accepted than a “republic of natural aristocrats”
–Positions of power became attainable for “self-made” men
–Americans valued equal opportunities among white men, but not necessarily equality
White males were seen as equal before the law & in voting
Decreased requirements in the licensed professions
No clear domestic servant class
There was a growing % of Americans who owned no land
Rising industrialization led to a population of low-paid laborers
Division between commercial farmers & yeoman farmers
Quick Class Discussion: Why did this unprecedented growth in democracy occur?
Before 1800, most states limited the right to vote exclusively to property
owners & taxpayers
The Simple Answer: Westward expansion led to an increase in democracy
Westward expansion led to increased suffrage for “common” men in the “new states” who
did not qualify in the “older states”
Jefferson’s vision of “republicanism” did not apply in the West because there were no
“virtuous elite” to rule for the people
As more western states extended democracy to
“common men,” political parties in eastern states felt
pressure to do the same
By 1840, more than 90% of all adult white men could vote (“universal white male suffrage”)
But…this extension of suffrage did not include African-Americans or women
Universal Manhood Suffrage Political parties developed new
types of politicking in order to reach “new voters”–In the 1820s, politicians began
using campaigns, parades, slogans to appeal to the masses
–Well-organized, statewide “political machines” developed
–Party loyalty became expected –Partisan newspapers boomed
Universal Manhood Suffrage
Could “mob rule” really work in America?
Partisan newspapers played an important role in early American politics