US History › Section E · Industry and Jacksonian democracy › Topic E.7
Majority rule and its critics
By the 1830s the majority had become a dominant force in American life. A French visitor warned that it could be as oppressive as any king, and mobs, Congress and the 1840 campaign all showed what majority rule could do, for good and ill.
In this topic
- The majority as a new power
- Tocqueville's journey
- What Tocqueville admired
- The tyranny of the majority
- Worked example: reading Tocqueville critically
- Mobs against minorities
- Worked example: the killing of Elijah Lovejoy
- Silencing debate in government
- The second party system
- The log cabin campaign of 1840
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
This topic is part of Wuanberri Pro. Checking your access…