Abstract
In the early 20th century, Sylvester Graham developed a dietary regimen that sought to strike a balance between emotions, naturalism, and spirituality. While many of his concepts, particularly concerning sexual excesses contributing to ill health, have since been debunked, some of these approaches to health maintenance have been refined and expanded in the years since and remain influential today. This paper provides a review of Nissenbaum's book, "Sex, Diet, and Debility in Jacksonian America: Sylvester Graham and Health Reform:", as well as the peer-reviewed and scholarly literature, to determine what Graham's concepts involved, the social reform efforts that emerged during this period in American history, and the impact that these trends had on the American consciousness. A summary of the research and salient findings are presented in the conclusion.

Outline:
Introduction
Summary
Evaluation
Extension
Conclusion

From the Paper
"The main purpose of Stephen Nissenbaum's book is to describe Sylvester Graham's impact on the healthcare reforms taking place during this period of American history. In this book, Nissenbaum links the beginnings of physiological theory and the new commercial economy of Jacksonian American with the later Victorian healthcare reforms. Like his Kellogg cereal counterpart in the movie, "Wellville," Graham was responsible for bringing the wholesome graham cracker snack to the American public, and ultimately creating a multi-billion dollar cereal industry in the United States. The American obsession with "six-pack abs" did not start with Graham, but he was the creator of the graham cracker and believed that dietary and sexual excesses were the primary causes of disease. "

Tags:reform, health, wellville, temperance

From the Paper
"The purpose of this research is to show that the era of Jacksonian democracy, roughly the period 1825-1835, not only encompassed the values of its Whig predecessors but also reorganized and redefined those values in ways that directly shaped and prepared America, perhaps unwittingly, for the arrival of the present-day polyarchical pluralist system. But it was, in fact, no accident, as William Chambers explains:

The shapers of the American nation had provided lessons for a second generation of party leaders. They had shown what parties could be, and had marked the way toward a renewed American Party System which could sustain broad representation, mass participation and popular choice in a functioning political democracy.. ... "

Abstract
This paper explains that Feldberg places importance on the crisis of violence in the 1830's and 1840's because it was the first time in American history that the nation saw such an eruption of unrest. The author points out that Feldberg's approach is not only thorough in the range of the categories of riots examined, but also systematic and in-depth in its analysis of the unrest that was characteristic of the Jacksonian era. The paper explains that in his analysis of the social and cultural factors, such as the temperance crusade and its impact on further alienating the Irish immigrants from the nativists, the reader gets a great deal of insight into the life and times of the people in the Jacksonian era.

From the Paper
"Feldberg's approach to examining the causes and nature of the riots in the era is thorough, examining as it does, anti-immigrant; religious, anti-abolitionist; anti-black and other forms of politically motivated violence. The book even takes the reader through incidents of trouble caused by recreational, labor, and vigilante movements. Through using such an approach, Feldberg examines the root causes of the disturbances, in all its nuances, and thereby presents a picture of a young nation torn apart by the desire of various factions to protect or gain social power, status and political influence."

Tags:nativist, immigrant, abolitionist, vigilante, systematic

Abstract
This paper explains that former Indian fighter Andrew Jackson, who was a blunt and outspoken man, spearheaded one of the most aggressive and far reaching administrations in American history. Next, the author reviews his use of harsh tactics, if he did not get his way, in his fight against the the Second National Bank and the Maysville bill, in his expulsion of the Indian nations to out of state territory even though he claimed to care for the native population. The paper also discusses Jackson's ferocious pursuit of America's debtors abroad. The paper underscores that Jackson used the power of the presidency with disregard for the opinions of his advisers and the public in pursuit of what he believed was the national interest. The paper contains MLA-style footnotes in place of a bibliography at the end.

From the Paper
"The Second Bank of the United States charter was due for renewal. When the bill passed Jackson employed a tactic he would use often during his presidency, he vetoed it. As a result of his highly combative personality and his constant struggle with congress Jackson would go on to veto more legislation than any previous president. After issuing the veto Jackson explained his reasons for killing the bill in his July 10, 1832 bank veto address . He called the bank unconstitutional and claimed that it gave unequal benefits to those few who were lucky enough to hold stock in it. He claimed that the monopoly of the federal governments favor was unjust and against the spirit of fair competition."

Tags:france, second national bank, native americans, foreign investors

Abstract
Shows how Jackson handled crises in 19th century America, such as the Bank Crisis, expansion of suffrage, and the country's transformation from an agrarian to an industrial nation.

From the Paper
"The era in American history that witnessed Jacksonian Democracy is viewed in strikingly different ways by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., Bray Hammond, and Edward Pessen. In the 19th century America was transforming from..."

Abstract
Paper evaluating the promises seen in the historical account of Daniel Feller's "The Jacksonian Promise". The author examines to what extent the idea of promise and hope was achieved in the period of the 1800's arguing that Indians, slaves, women and the working class were denied these ideals.

From the Paper
"In The Jacksonian Promise, Daniel Feller supports an argument that despite poverty among Americans, the word "promise" can be associated with this period because generally Americans agreed that their nation was providentially destined for greatness, and optimism, not gloom. Feller explains that Americans of the 1810s and 1820s were enraptured by the "spirit of improvement"; a ?promise,? symbolized by hope in the steamboat, the American system of manufacturing, and the magnificent network of canals. These new innovations along with the American's establishment of a democratic republic and sustenance of it in the War of 1812, gave Americans the idea that the sky was the limit. Although there was a sincere "promise" in the life of the gentry of America, Indians, slaves, women, and the working class citizenry were denied every bit of promise that was a thought in their minds."

Tags:19th, america, century, indians, slaves, women

Abstract
This paper is an argument in favor of the rich in America, compensating the poor for their lack of wealth. The paper suggests that the disparity in wealth between the wealthy and the working poor is deplorable and that the government of America should be employed as a tool by which the redistribution of wealth in America can take place.

From the Paper
"Public Policy: Redistributing Wealth in America The disparities between the rich and the poor in the United States are significant. Considering only income, the gap between the richest percentage of the population and the poorest appears so great as to be all but insurmountable. However, when we consider not income, but wealth, the situation manifests as even more dire. In the United States, a 1997 study demonstrated that the top 1% of the population controls approximately 40.1% of the nation's private wealth (Miller 47). The reasons why this occurs over time can be myriad, but can generally be boiled down to the economic concept of capital gains. Wealth doesn't grow because individuals work harder than others. Rather, it has grown at the significant pace that it has because interest accrues on capital possessions simply by having the wealth invested somewhere (Miller 47). "

Tags:redistributing, wealth, america

Abstract
This paper on Andrew Jackson provides a bibliography that focuses on the major events of his youth and presidency. The character qualities many found reprehensible in Jackson are viewed as the reason for his ability to lead America through one of its most rapid and challenging eras of change.

From the Paper
"Andrew Jackson was one of the most fascinating and complex presidents in American history. Born three weeks after his father died in the Waxhaw area of the border between North and South Carolina, the young Jackson received a sporadic education but had enough legal training to practice frontier law successfully by the time he was twenty-one. A military and political career would soon follow. Jackson's tenure as president coincided with the rise of capitalism, the rise of urbanism, enormous social and economic change..."

Tags:urbanization, Indian Wars, Jacksonian democracy, frontier law, bank war

Abstract
In the article, the writer provides an in-depth research study on the Tariff of 1828, known as the Tariff of Abominations. The writer discusses that this tariff was a significant precursor to Southern secession and the Civil War. The writer also discusses this tariff as an important indicator of the rise of Jacksonian democracy in America.

From the Paper
"The Civil War and the secession of the Southern states that preceded it is most often seen as the most significant rebellion against the federal government in American history. The decades prior to Civil War however are just as significant as the sectionalist battles that raged and nearly broke apart the Union. One of the key issues during this period that incited debate between federalism and state sovereignty was the so-called Tariff of Abominations."

Tags:tariff of abominations, civil war, states' rights, secession, nullification, andrew jackson, calhoun, tariff of 1828

Abstract
The paper identifies the central thesis of W. Haynes's biography "James K. Polk and the Expansionist Impulse", that much of Polk's actions can be seen as a manifestation of the Jacksonian tradition. The paper shows how Haynes attempts to present a balanced view of the president whose tenure in office oversaw a controversial seismic change in the topography of America. The paper asserts that for undergraduates unfamiliar with this period of time, this book can prove useful.

From the Paper
"James K. Polk remains largely forgotten today in the popular imagination--dwarfed by the memory of America's more famous 19th century presidents like Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln. If he is remembered, he is likely to be more reviled than memorialized as a leader who sought to expand American territory by any means necessary, ethical or not. This reputation is alluded to in the title of University of Texas Arlington history professor Sam W. Haynes's biography James K Polk and the Expansionist Impulse (Pearson/Longman, 1997). Polk added more than 522 acres to America as President, most famously that of Texas, which was once part of Mexico. In reviewing his controversial actions and philosophy of Manifest Destiny, historian Haynes attempts to present a balanced view of the president whose tenure in office oversaw such a seismic change in the topography of America. Polk, even during his own era was celebrated and defamed, celebrated for bringing new land into the American outreach across the West, but also for fighting what was seen even then as an unnecessary, illegal war."

Tags:Texas, Mexican, War, Manifest, Destiny