This reading had a lot to do with the emerging political parties. From Martin Van Buren's idea of a Democratic party to the later found Whig party. The Americans were finally able to have a little more diverse thought process on government. There now were not only able to associate with a specific president that was running, but more for an overall idea of how they wanted the government to be. Do you think this new idea was good for the country? Since everything had been so new to them, would it have been better to keep with one basic form and idea of government until everything was stabilized. Or was it really necessary to them to have various ideas to change things until they were able to be made right?
It seemed as though as each new president that came into power had a whole new set of plans and opinions on how to govern the country. Was it more of who wanted to be right? Or was it more about what they thought would be best for the country? It seemed as though each president was on a power trip to prove their thoughts and ways to the country. Do you think that it was more about them wanting things the way they wanted them, or was it truly or the best of the country? With the tariff changes and the changes with the Second National Bank, there were big differences of opinions of that time span.
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After listening to today's discussion, I thought it interesting that Andrew Jackson was able to balance the scales between what he desired and what the country really needed. Although he was obviously catering to the South's desires, I believe one of the quiz questions earlier stated that taking action against the Second Bank of America was actually a popular move. It is baffling that he was able to get away with investing this money into private banks today... the SEC and Wall Street Journalists would have a hay day if that occurred today... So yes, he was definitely catering to himself with his power, but with all the people being drawn into the media's sentimentalism, they could have been blinded by these actions.
The new political parties created platforms that helped the people to know how each person stood on important issues. The bad thing about the political parties was that they created division among the people leading to war and/or secession. Another problem with the new political parties was that the people who did not agree with either party were not being represented.
I agree with Tracey when she said the platforms informed people about the different parties and their stance on different issues. I think this still holds true to today. But I believe the consequence of a lot of people not being represented at all makes political parties a more negative then positive thing.
I think it was necessary for the people to have political parties expressing a variety of ideas. If we had kept with one big idea and one form of government, not everyone would agree on it and it would inevitably cause a division.
I think that different political parties were good for the country. As we discussed in class they allowed for different opinions to be formed and expressed. Theh platforms abled people to be further educated on important issues brought about by the candidates. One bad thing about the political parties was that it did divide the nation between two sides, but I think the different opinions from the sides helped to shape a more well-rounded society.
i think in this time period some ppl had very limited views of the world and different ppl. transportation was long and difficult. basically people didn't get out much and you had very different peoples with diverging views trying to compensate for all views with a very limited understanding of the other sides views. haha. you might have to read that twice. that and the country was just a baby trying to figure out what direction to follow, as well as what path to take. it seems that most of the presidents and politicians were in fact doing what they saw best, they were just so different they took different routes.
I think that a few officials were on a power trip. The "corrupt bargain" is one good example of that. Jackson getting rid of the bank also could be considered as doing more what he wants. But there will always be scandals in the government and it hard to prevent that except just to vote for who will do our country right.
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