Andrew Jackson Post

 

This political cartoon shows the conflict of Andrew Jackson using the veto more than any other president before him. This use of the veto that was the right of the president was frowned upon in the early 19th century.  Jackson was the first president to veto things because of political reasons. The first 6 presidents of the United States vetoed a total of 10 bills during their presidency. The reason this conflict arose was because of Jackson's choice to use the veto 12 times in his 8 years of presidency.  However, 7 out of these 12 vetoes were called pocket vetoes which meant he never actually officially vetoed it.  Instead he would let the document just die on his desk and not act on it at all. 

This political cartoonist believes that Jackson abused his powers. He shows this by calling Jackson "King Andrew the First" and also had him in kings rode and having a staff.  This cartoonist obviously believed that Jackson was acting like more of a monarch rather than being democratic like many people claim he was.

However, my personal opinion is that Jackson does deserve his democratic reputation.  I don't understand why the cartoonist feels like Jackson is being a monarch, he is simply using a power that comes with the title of the president of the United States. If the president does not agree with a bill, it is his right to veto it.  If that's what the president's opinion on the matter is, he should be allowed to do. And the people of the US can't get mad because they elected the president with the opinion he has, so they should be supportive of his veto decisions.

American Democracy Improves, But It Takes Some Time.

In the 19th century, America was able to overtime become more democratic. In early 19th century, America was barely democratic at all, but they were able to slowly fit the definition of Democracy better and become a better Democratic nation.  Democracy is defined as government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.  In early 19th century, America was anything but Democratic. For example, there were many requirements that people needed to meet in order to vote, including property and tax paying requirements. This meant that the majority of voters were wealthy and therefore the middle and lower classes didn't have much say in the government.

 

However, this graph shows that over time, as more states joined the union, the number of requirements to vote decreased, meaning more people were able to vote and have their voices heard in the government.

 

Another problem with America in the early 19th century was that people weren't even getting to vote at all.

This graph shows that in early 19th century, the people had 0 say in who was elected as a presidential elector. Luckily, overtime, America was able to give more power to the people in almost every state, making America as a country more democratic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Romanticism Blog Post

This romantic piece of artwork is by artist Thomas Jones in 18th century. Romanticism is defined as a artistic, literary, and intellectual movement in Europe during the 18th and 19th century.  There are many elements on Romanticism that appear in this painting.  One element is the awe of nature.  This is shown by the magnificent mountains in the background and the waves crashing in the ocean with a bird also flying overhead.  Another element shown is the emphasis on the individual by the women standing alone on the edge of the cliff. Also, another element shown in this painting is the element of horrifying and grotesque images.  It is a bit horrifying to see a solitary women standing on the edge of a cliff with crashing waves right below her.  This also connects to the last theme in this painting which is the theme of irrational thinking.  It shows irrational thinking because the women is standing alone on a cliff with crashing dangerous waves below her.  Now the rationally thinking person would most likely go away from the cliff but this women is not.

Revolutions of 1830 and 1848 Post

 

The revolutions of 1830 and 1848 were failures like many historians thought they were. One example of a revolution that failed was the Russian revolution of 1825.  The liberalist revolutionaries wanted a constitutional reform of their conservative government.  This revolution was a failure because Nicholas I and the Russian government completely crushed the revolution and killed almost everybody against them. 

 

 

Another example of a failed revolution was the French revolution of 1848.  The radical republic wanted to overthrow the current government. Their goals were to get the ruler Louis Phillipe out of power and bring somebody else in to help make new policies.  This revolution was also a failure because they were able to get Louis Phillipe out of power, but the new ruler that came in essentially kept the exact same policies as before.

 

 

 

 

Finally, another example of a failed revolution was the Frankfurt assembly of 1848.  German liberal nationalists wanted a constitution written to unite all of the German states into one unified country.  The assembly offered a constitution to Frederick IV to rule a united Germany, but he rejected it.  This revolution was a failure because the reform they were looking for only lasted one year and then hundreds of people were killed or imprisoned, and the rest fled Germany taking the last of the revolutionary ideas with them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frankfurt Assembly Project:

http://www.educreations.com/lesson/view/frankfurt-assembly/13391311/?s=LJixx0&ref=app



Selfie Swag Post

The United States reaction to the Quintuple alliance resulted in the creation of the Monroe Doctorine. For example, when Russia came to the northwest coast of the country looking to form colonies, Monroe was not going to let Russia step all over the US. He says, "To the minister of the United States at St. Petersburg to arrange by amicable negotiation the respective rights and interest of the two nations on the northwest coast of this continent." Monroe will arrange a meeting with Russian prime minister but will not just give Russia the land. Another example is when the Quintuple alliance came up with the principle of intervention. Monroe stands up for all of the newly independent nations when he says, "We could not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them." Monroe is saying that if anybody tries to retake over the new countries then the US will step in. 

My perspective was from the view of a Latin American revolutionary and I would support the Monroe Doctorine because as a newly independent country, we would like the support of another country just incase some big European power tried to come and take us over again. 

Congress of Vienna Blog Post

One of the many problems the congress of Vienna faced was the problem of who would be in power in France. This problem came up after the French Revolution and France had no real ruler to guide them.  The congress came up with the principle of legitimacy, which would restore the lawful monarchs in France but make sure that is wasn't an absolute monarchy like it was before.  The reason the congress needed to be careful with who they put in charge was because France had just gone through a revolution, and putting a ruler in power that ruled similarly to the ruler beforehand could spark another unwanted revolution.  This solution appeals to Metternich because of his conservative views.  The congress was able to restore the throne to the people who had held it before which kept things the same, but minimal changes were needed to keep the peace in France.  The impact of this decision made by the congress pleased both sides.  It made France a constitutional monarchy, which pleased the citizens of France.  It also was able to appeal to Metternich's beliefs because the rulers were able to regain control and it still was still a version of monarchy.

 

 

 

 

Image Link: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/CongressVienna.jpg

Ideologies Blog Post

For the vine group project, our group had nationalism.  In the 19th century, Nationalism was the ideology  that asserted a nation as a natural organic entity of which the citizens share language bonds, and customs. Nationalism is also large against foreign rulers.  Our vine shows this because Craig and I are Italians that are united by our country.  When Andrew, who represents Austria, tries to come and take over, we unite as a country and expel this foreign ruler.


What I learned from the other blog posts is the ideas of Conservatism and Liberalism. The ideas of liberalism is that for the majority of the population to have an influence in politics.  They also believed in Constitutional Monarchy rather than tyranny.  However, conservatism believed in preserving the traditional government which was an absolute monarchy.  They believed that if average systems took over, it would create chaos and violence.  Socially, they wanted to stop social change and keep the wealthy minority in power.