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Difficulty: EasyJacksonian Democracy and the Second Party System

Read the excerpt below.

"It is not the elected magistrate, but the majority itself, which operates through the medium of the magistrate. In the United States, the people elect the law-maker and the executor of the law... The people reign in the American political world as the Deity reigns over the universe."
—Alexis de Tocqueville, *Democracy in America*, 1835

Which of the following developments in the early nineteenth century most directly contributed to the political environment described in the excerpt?

  1. A
    The Marshall Court's decisions to establish federal authority over voter registration
  2. B
    The federal government's regulation of factory labor and worker safety during the Market Revolution
  3. The elimination of property-owning qualifications for voting among white menAnswer
  4. D
    The rise of a political faction led by Alexander Hamilton that championed strict constructionism

Answer

The elimination of property-owning qualifications for voting among white men
The correct answer is correct because the political environment of the 1820s and 1830s was characterized by a massive expansion of democracy, driven primarily by states eliminating property-ownership requirements for voting. This change enabled nearly all adult white males to participate in elections, leading to the highly active and majoritarian political culture described by Alexis de Tocqueville in 1835.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus excerpt to identify its core historical theme.
The text emphasizes the supremacy of 'the majority' and the idea that 'the people reign' in American political life during the 1830s.
Understanding Tocqueville's focus on widespread popular political participation helps narrow down the relevant historical reforms.
2
Connect the theme of popular political participation to the legislative and constitutional changes of the Jacksonian Era.
During the 1820s and 1830s, the most significant reform expanding democratic participation was the removal of property ownership as a requirement to vote.
This identifies the specific historical mechanism that allowed the 'majority' of ordinary citizens to participate in the political process.
3
Evaluate the choices to select the correct development and rule out the distractors.
The correct option directly names the elimination of property qualifications. The distractors are historically inaccurate regarding the Marshall Court, the Market Revolution, and Hamiltonian ideology.
This confirms the correct option while ensuring that distractors are recognized as historically flawed or irrelevant to the expansion of democracy.

Key Concept

Democratization and the expansion of the electorate in the Jacksonian Era
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Topics

Jacksonian Democracy and the Second Party System

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