Jacksonian Democracy was designed to get the common person more involved in government. Andrew Jackson believed that government belonged mainly to the wealthy, and he wanted to see changes made. Nominating conventions replaced caucuses, and the property requirement to vote was dropped in some places. There is some irony to the concepts behind Jacksonian Democracy and some of his other policies.

While Andrew Jackson wanted to get the common person more involved in the government, that concept sure was not reflected in his policies toward the Native Americans. He believed the Native Americans were holding back progress and needed to be removed to lands west of the Mississippi River. He did this against the will of the Native American people and in violation of a Supreme Court ruling that allowed the Cherokee tribe to remain on their land. In a democracy, there is an expectation that laws and court rulings will be followed. Andrew Jackson clearly didn’t do that with the Native Americans. By ignoring the Supreme Court ruling, he was acting very undemocratic. As a result, many Native American tribes suffered tremendous losses as they were forced to move west of the Mississippi River.