During the 1820's and 1830s, Jacksonian Democrats viewed themselves as the guardians of the Constitution. These strict constructionists, easily comparable to Thomas Jefferson's early Republican party, influenced an increase in the people's participation in the national government and the amount of voters dramatically increased. In the 1810's some states, starting with Maryland, began to expand white male suffrage and loosening up on their strict voting requirements. Although, all of these voting changes applied to only a minority of the American population. The male White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (Wasp) were the only ones who could vote, and subsequently dominating politics. The vast amount of blacks, immigrants and women were not privileged with the opportunity of liberty that the wasps did. This lopsided political influence translated to economics; the wasps, who had the most power, were also the richest; creating a large disparity in wealth between the Wasps and common man. These disparities created a contradiction between Jacksonian ideals and what was actually happening. For a political party that was supposed to be endorsing the spread of political power, and majority rule and offering the common man equal opportunity, constitutional tenants, they were not living up to their promise. Throughout the 1820'3-30's, Jacksonian Democrats were not holding to their original ideals, and can be considered exploiters rather than guardians of the United States Constitution. .
One of the key ideals of a Jacksonian Democrat was to fight for the equality of the common man. Jacksonians believed in an equal economic opportunity for all. As the "leader" of this group, it was important for Jackson himself to support these ideals through his actions. Initially, he was praised for this by the "common man" in "The Working Men's Declaration of Independence." The author of this praises the Democratic Party and their ability to protect the working man.
