This essay examines the transformation of American society from a rigid, European-style hierarchy to a more egalitarian democracy in the fifty years following the American Revolution. Using Andrew Jackson as a central symbol, the paper traces how colonial settlers initially preserved British social structures out of necessity, then gradually embraced democratic ideals of equality as the nation matured. It analyzes how Jackson's image as a self-made farmer and military hero resonated with ordinary Americans who sought a leader from their own ranks. The essay also honestly confronts the limitations of this new egalitarianism, noting that equality remained largely confined to white men, with women, enslaved people, and Native Americans excluded from its promises.
This paper introduces, discusses, and analyzes the transformation of American society in the fifty years following the American Revolution — specifically, the demise of traditional hierarchical distinctions and the rise of a more egalitarian world that supported social equality. It is easy to see how Jacksonian democracy reflected America's shift from a rigidly layered society toward one that at least aspired to equality among its citizens. America was setting the stage for the world with its new democracy, and it wanted to serve as a role model in modernization and equality.
When the first colonists stepped onto the shores of Virginia and Massachusetts, they were looking for a better way of life — one that allowed them religious freedom and the ability to earn their living by their own hands. They had left England to escape religious persecution, but also to create viable townships that could generate a profit for themselves and for the investors who had funded them back in Europe. They carried heavy burdens: they had to build towns from scratch, make a living, and turn a profit sufficient to ensure survival and growth.
They also had to forge a new way of life in an unfamiliar land, so it is not surprising that they held on to the social structure of England for as long as it remained viable. These settlers came from a strictly organized society with many social layers, and ordinarily one did not move between those layers. Masters were far removed from indentured servants, and rulers were far removed from the peasants and working class.
These societal differences worked quite well for the first hundred or more years of American history, because the colonists were struggling to become established, and they needed to rely on comfortable, familiar traditions. They did not have time to model a new society while they were focused on survival. As cities and towns grew and America thrived, Americans had time to develop new ideas and new social strategies. It makes sense, then, that as America prospered, its ideas about society and democracy would change as well.
When Americans threw off British rule and rebelled, they established new boundaries far different from those they had brought with them from Europe. They demonstrated their will and their strength, and showed that the European model of society — based on monarchs and rigid social levels — was no longer applicable in the New World. It is not surprising that fifty years after the Revolution, Americans were creating a markedly different society. They were spreading their wings and testing ideas that were entirely unlike anything they had known before.
After the Revolutionary War, barriers to equality began to fall. The country was a new democracy, with men from many different walks of life involved in its government. One of the most famous, Benjamin Franklin, was a self-made man who had even taught himself to read and write. The country wanted to shed reminders of its British past and create a shining new example of freedom. It turned away from layered society and built a new model in which all men were equal under the eyes of the government. People from all occupations had fought in the Revolution together, and so it made sense that when it was over, they would continue to be equals, regardless of their backgrounds.
President Jackson was an excellent example of this new way of thinking. Americans saw him as another self-made man who had built his success as a farmer. His achievements in the Army added to his status and even earned him a nickname that would stay with him throughout his adult life: "Old Hickory." As Americans' ideas about society changed, they gravitated toward figures like Jackson because he was one of them — and if he could rise to the top, so could they. One historian wrote, "According to a naïve democratic philosophy of equality, the vertical distance that separates the leader from the led must be denied. One of the easiest ways to lessen that distance is through the nickname, which lessens the august character of the leader while at the same time it increases the emotional allegiance given him" (Ward 55). Thus, "Old Hickory" exemplified what every American wanted for themselves: success and equality in a democratic world that assured these things were inalienable rights.
Just as today, America wanted heroes to look up to. Citizens idolized General Washington and made him the first President. They recognized that intellectuals like John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were great leaders, and elevated them to the presidency as well. However, America was filled with working people who farmed, hunted, trapped, and lived off the land. They wanted their own heroes, and Andrew Jackson fit that role perfectly. Historian Ward writes, "Andrew Jackson was felt to symbolize the fact that the time had already come when all Americans could begin life on a fair field" (Ward 178).
Equality was a goal enshrined in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, and Americans wanted it — and wanted it quickly. Only fifty years after the Revolutionary War, they found it embodied in the "common man" of Andrew Jackson and his controversial presidency. Some believed he was unequipped to lead the country, and he did face criticism from opponents who felt he was too simple-minded for the office. Jackson lacked a formal higher education, but many felt he possessed natural sense and ability, which made him an effective leader (Ward 52). He was not academically above the common man, as so many other politicians had been; he was their social equal — a farmer who lived off the land — and so he became their choice for President.
"Equality excluded women, enslaved people, and Native Americans"
America changed from a hierarchical society to an egalitarian one because it could. It had created a new land of opportunity, grounded in freedom and democracy rather than in social stratification and rigid class distinctions. President Andrew Jackson represented everything these colonists had fought for. He was a self-made man who rose through the ranks of the Army, led his men to remarkable military success, built a farm in the wilderness, and ascended to the highest office in the land. He showed that if he could do it, nearly anyone could, and his presidency introduced a new way of thinking for many Americans.
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