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Shift to Universal White Male Suffrage and Other Shifts
Altering Politics |
Your textbook covers several shifts in suffrage
(voting) and in politics:
1.
The evolution from property requirements to
vote to white universal manhood suffrage about 1828.
2.
The shift in how candidates were chosen:
o
From about 1800 to the 1820s, candidates were chosen by a caucus (a talk within a group) of political
party members who had been elected to office (as in member of the House of
Representatives or a Senator). At that time, Being Secretary of State was considered necessary preparation to run for President
because of its responsibilities for foreign policy.
o
The Jacksonian period
brought a rejection of what they called “King
Caucus” (with King being a dirty word because of its association with King
George III). The political party convention replaced it—at that time a very
volatile meeting of delegates who choose the candidate for President.
3.
The Jacksonian era use of
the “spoils system” meant that
federal workers chosen by their political party did campaigning for their party
as part of their jobs on the federal payroll.
Other things are
going on as well to alter voting that your book does not cover. Examples:
§
States determine who votes. The NEW western states offered:
o
Not only more opportunities for men to get land
(with property being traditionally a voter requirement)
o
But also more liberal voting rules in hopes of getting
settlers.
§
By the Jacksonian era,
citizens in the OLD eastern states
began to demand the same voting opportunities as those in the west.
§
State laws change, and voters (not the state
legislatures) are deciding the electoral college
results.
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Copyright C. J. Bibus, Ed.D. 2003-2013 |
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WCJC Department: |
History – Dr. Bibus |
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Contact Information: |
281.239.1577 or bibusc@wcjc.edu |
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Last Updated: |
3/16/2013 |
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