Page 258 - American Stories, A History of the United States

the hotel reflected a decline in traditional status distinctions, the broad gulf between potential
patrons and those who could not pay what the hotels charged signaled growing inequality based 10.1
on wealth rather than inherited status.
Hotel life also reflected the emergence of democratic politics. A new breed of professional poli-
ticians spent much of their time in hotels as they traveled about. Congressmen or state legislators 10.2
often stayed in hotels during sessions, making deals and bargains. The hotel was thus a symbol for
the democratic spirit of the age, one that shows its shortcomings and its strengths. The new democ-
racy was first of all political. Almost all white males now had the right to vote, and modern political 10.3
parties arose appealing to a mass electorate. it was also social. Democracy undermined the habit of
deferring to people because of their birth or ancestry. People born in relatively humble circumstances
increasingly hoped to climb the ladder of success. But the ideals of equal citizenship and opportunity 10.4
did not extend across the lines of race and gender, which actually hardened during this period.

Democracy in Theory and Practice

10.1 How did the relationship between the government and the people change during
this time?
D uring the 1820s and 1830s, democracy first became a generally accepted term

to describe how American institutions were supposed to work. Although the
Founders had defined democracy as direct rule by the people, most of them
rejected this approach to government because it conflicted with their concept
of a well-balanced republic led by a “natural aristocracy.” For champions of popular
government in the Jacksonian period, however, the people were sovereign and could do
no wrong: “The voice of the people is the voice of God.” Conservatives were less certain
of the wisdom of the common folk. But even they were recognizing that they had to win
over public opinion before making major decisions.
Besides evoking “popular sovereignty,” the democratic impulse seemed to stimu-
late social leveling. Earlier Americans had usually assumed that the rich and wellborn
were the natural leaders of the community and guardians of its culture and values. But
by the 1830s, the disappearance of inherited social ranks and clearly defined aristocra-
cies or privileged groups struck European visitors such as Alexis de Tocqueville as the
most radical feature of democracy in America. Historians have described this develop-
ment as a decline of the spirit of “deference.”
The decline of deference meant that “self-made men” of lowly origins could more
readily acquire power and influence and that exclusiveness and aristocratic pretensions
were likely to provoke hostility or scorn. But economic equality—an equitable shar-
ing of wealth—was not part of the mainstream agenda of the Jacksonian period. This
was a competitive capitalist society. The watchword was equality of opportunity, not
equality of reward. Life was a race. So long as all white males appeared to have an equal
start, there could be no reason for complaint if some were winners and others losers.
Historians now generally agree that economic inequality—the gap between rich and
poor—actually increased during this period.

Democratic Culture

Although some types of inequality persisted or even grew during the age of democ-
racy, they did so despite a growing belief that equality was the governing principle of
American society.
One example of this was the decline of distinctive modes of dress for upper and
lower classes. The elaborate periwigs and knee breeches of eighteenth-century gentle-
men gave way to short hair and pantaloons for men of all classes. Fashionable dress
among women also ceased to be a sure index of gentility; serving girls on their day off
wore the same kind of finery as the wives and daughters of the wealthy—or at least
reasonable imitations.
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