4.7

• During the first half of the 19th century participatory democracy expanded pretty significantly
• Causes of the expansion of participatory democracy


  1. Small farmers and working men and frontier settlers began demanding the franchise (the right to vote)

  2. The Panic of 1819 caused unemployment, bankruptcies, and imprisonment for those unable to pay debts

  3. The franchise was connected to property ownership, so those without land could not vote

  4. Several frontier states had already established universal white male suffrage unconnected to land
• By 1825 most eastern states joined with their western counterparts and had substantially lowered or in some cases eliminated property qualifications for voting
• With so many more folks entering the political fray, a significant growth and realignment in political parties occurred
• Democratic Republicans


  The lone national party at this point
• Democrats


  • Faction of the Democratic Republicans with a more expansive view of federal power and loose constructionism
• National Republicans


  • Faction of the Democratic Republicans with a more limited view of federal power and strict constructionism
• The 1824 presidential election


  1. Unable to agree on a single candidate, the Democratic Republicans ended up with four candidates: John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, William Crawford, and Andrew Jackson

  2. Jackson won the most popular votes but no candidate won a majority of the electoral college votes

  3. The House of Representatives chose Adams as president, with Clay's support

  4. Jackson and his followers called this the "corrupt bargain"
• By the time the next election rolled around in 1828, these two factions had hardened into formal political parties
• If you add up marginal utility for each unit you get total utility