A culture achieves identity not so much through the ascendancy
of one particular set of convictions as through the emergence of
its peculiar and distinctive dialogue. R. W. B. LEWIS

The differing world views of Jacksonians and Whigs informed
their dialogue over the major issues of the age. Though some of
the issues may have seemed remote to many Americans of the
Jacksonian generation, they became immediate and compelling
when they were discussed within the context of individualism.
Each public issue necessarily became part of a national dialogue
on the proper nature of the individual's relations with his fellow
men. Some of the most important issues that the parties ad-
dressed concerned the individual's relationships to the public
sphere, the rule of law, and the social hierarchy.

Jacksonians and Whigs differed sharply over the propriety of
enlarging the public sphere. They debated whether energetic
government enhanced or diminished the well-being of Ameri-
cans. They disagreed on whether men could exercise power
over others without becoming corrupt or tyrannical. Finally,
they argued about the degree of unity that was necessary for the
nation and about what effect geographic expansion would have
on the ties which united Americans.

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