President Jackson

to the success ofCharles River. In doing this, Taney was eliminating the monopolies of the elite and creating equal economic opportunities for all citizens. As a result, Taney contributed to one of the major achievements of the Jacksonian Democrats - to create economic equality. The President of the United States of America and leader of the Democratic party, Andrew Jackson, was perhaps the most outspoken democrat of the time. He used his position as leader of the country to give more power to the common man. Even before his election as president, he succeeded in having the property qualification eliminated, therefore, increasing the voting population tremendously. Jackson became the first president truly elected by the common man, rather than only high society. For the first time in the history of the nation, the middle class received the opportunity to participate in the government that ruled them. Jackson did not stop with the reformation of the election process. Instead, he attacked the Bank of the United States and vetoed the re-charter for the institution. President Jackson explained that the bank's stock was held by only foreigners and a few hundred rich American citizens. As a result, the bank maintained an "exclusive privilege of banking..." - "a monopoly" (Doc. B). The Democrats believed the bank to be a tool of rich oppression and a dangerous institution because the men in power were of the highest class and utterly "irresponsible to the people." So, President Jackson vetoed the re-charter and it was closed. The money was dispersed into several state banks and the monopoly was disintegrated. Indeed, the Democrats succeeded in creating a new government for the rule of a society of middle class citizens. And, the middle class began to prosper under the struggle for economic equality. Visiting the United States in 1834, Harriet Martineau reported the prosperity of the country (Doc. D). She discovered "the absence of poverty, gross ignorance, and insolence of manner" as well as towns with newspapers and libraries. She also reported on political debated with common citizens as judges. It is quite clear that the expansion