ndrew Jackson

Key Concept 4.1: The United States began to develop a modern democracy and celebrated a new national
culture, while Americans sought to define the nation's democratic ideals and change their society and
institutions to match them. By the 1820s and 1830s, new political parties arose — the Democrats, led, by Andrew Jackson, and the Whigs, led by Henry Clay — that disagreed about the role and powers of the federal government and issues such as the national bank, tariffs, and federally funded internal improvements.

Modern democracy which can otherwise be known as representative government can be defined as the government constituted by the elected representatives of the people who are elected into positions for the purpose of holding power and authority in trust for the people. In this government, there must be a political party system in operations and the power of arms of government such as executive, legislature and judiciary must be separated and well defined by the constitution. It is a government in which the majority dominates the government while the minority must have a say in the government.

The representative government gives the people the opportunities to choose their political leader and also allows the people the right to participate in the decision making process of their country. The representative government is based on the respect for the rule of law and obedience to the provisions of the constitution by the elected political leaders. In this type of government the fundamental human right of the citizens is well defined by the constitution of the country..