Between 1816 and 1828, mass democracy spread throughout the United States of America following the effects of the War of 1812. Although in that time mass democracy did not mean the same thing as it does today. In fact it was relatively the opposite of what it means now. At the time, though, it was an achievement because all white males had the privilege of voting and before that it was mostly only wealthy, successful white males who could vote. “The only limit to our fulfillment of tomorrow will be our doubts of today” (Roosevelt). Before lower-class white males gained access to the right to vote, they knew they were being treated unfairly. They made the change happen so they could vote, they didn't know if they would succeed or fail, but they tried. Now mass democracy means that anyone over the age of 18 has the right to choose who they would like to become president. In both cases people usually choose who they share the most beliefs with, the person whose vision of the country was close to theirs. Even though they couldn't vote, women could still be active in the church and advocate for their rights, which was more than what women in New England were urged to do. The birth of the new nation after the War of 1812 included many things such as patriotism, expansion, global presence, and roots of sectionalism, but only some led to mass democracy. Although many people did not have the right to vote after the War of 1812, nationalism, the Second Great Awakening, and the Market Revolution led to the rise of mass democracy. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay For starters, nationalism contributed to the rise of mass democracy in small ways. Some of these small reasons were that the federalist group was now non-existent. So, for a while, the Democratic-Republicans were the only group. This gave rise to the Era of Good Feelings because, with the decline of the Federalists, it allowed the Democratic-Republicans to govern in a spirit of seemingly nonpartisan harmony. The people were proud to have beaten Britain, but now they still have to work out their own system of government. The people were also proud to be democratic. People who prided themselves on being democratic included the common man, so they wanted to have a say in their government which they supported. People were also proud to be religious, so they wanted to follow a religion that they completely or almost completely agreed with. They also wanted the world to improve, they wanted the citizens of the United States to follow God's wise words. People liked to see people around them have the same beliefs. As a result, the common man wanted to have a say in government so he could vote for someone he agreed with. Preachers also wanted people to believe what they saw in the worldview and for the common man to have a say in the church. If they were proud to follow the religion they chose, then they should be proud to follow the president and for that to happen they needed a say. This led to mass democracy because common men wanted to have a say, a vote, in what happened in the United States. Additionally, the Second Great Awakening had a large impact on the rise of mass democracy following the War of 1812. This had a large impact because the government had no say in matters of religion due to the First Amendment establishing theseparation between Church and State. So people had a say in what religion they wanted to practice. If they had ideas other than one religion, they might start a new form of religion or practice a different religion. With the spread of religions, the spread of people also spreads. The expansion led to the formation of more states. As people moved west there were more homesteaders, so there were more people who were the common man. People were initially able to begin moving westward more easily from the Erie Canal. Western states first had total male suffrage because they consisted mostly of common men who were farmers. Transcendentalism also goes with the Second Great Awakening. They both wanted change to happen. The Second Great Awakening caused a religious awakening that cleansed society of perceived moral evils, and social reforms created a system in which victims of a perceived turbulent and unstable society could be rehabilitated. Transcendentalism created utopian societies that create a sense of community in an increasingly impersonal society. There were revivals, also called camp meetings. At camp meetings or revivals there were sometimes as many as 25,000 people in attendance. Many people saw future Western states as lawless. They saw their states as lawless due to the involvement of alcohol and other crimes. They organized meetings to try to convince people to return to their "roots". People seeking to return to their roots lead to a redefinition of how the world should have been. People were creating new religions and starting to practice them, if they had different views than the religion they originally practiced. People having a say in their religion, society and lifestyle led to the second Great Awakening contributing to the rise of mass democracy. Finally, one thing about the aftermath of the War of 1812 that had the greatest impact on the rise of mass democracy was the market revolution. The market revolution contributed to mass democracy by allowing the common man to earn money from inventions, so they felt that they should be able to vote if they could do so many other things. Transportation has played an important role in the market revolution. People made up different things or thought differently in general. DeWitt Clinton was thinking about the future. It was he who came up with the idea of ​​the Erie Canal and put his thinking into practice. Everyone else at the time thought he was crazy for digging a ditch all over New York. The horse and buggy, wagon, roads, canals, and the iron horse made transportation easier and faster. Faster and easier transportation has allowed people to move to other places. Rail systems led to expansion. It also brought opportunities, goods to ship and immigration. Goods were now shipped north, south, east, and west. We've had people come to the United States from Ireland, Germany, and China. People had new opportunities because patents were issued in the United States. Patents made it so that a person could have an idea and the government would make it that person's idea and keep it safe. If someone tried to steal the idea or invention, the patent would prove that it was their idea, so their idea would be safe. If people could protect their ideas and earn money by making inventions, they would have thought they should have a say in government too. Since people made their own inventions, they didn't have to.