There has been a great deal of attention given during the past few
years to the redefinition and description of the theory of Jacksonian
democracy. I have derived much from the treatments of this theme
by Joseph Dorfman, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., and Herbert W.
Schneider. If the specimens of Jacksonian thought here collected
contribute to the understanding and elucidation of the critical differ-
ences among these interpreters and furnish a reservoir of materials for
teachers and students of American social thought, I shall be well
satisfied.

In editing these selections, I have been guided by a desire to
make them as readable as possible. I have therefore altered punctua-
tion and spelling to conform to current American usage. For the
most part, the titles given the selections and the subheadings used
within each selection have been introduced by me to facilitate the
reading of the volume. The original titles are given in full in the
first footnote to each selection. Subheadings, passages, and footnotes
inserted by the editor are marked by brackets, and deletions are
consistently indicated by suspension points. With the exceptions
noted, the texts are given as they were first printed.

The editor of a collection such as this is dependent upon libraries
for much assistance; I have been fortunate in finding ready and
capable aid in the staffs of the New York Public Library and the
Columbia University Library. Oskar Piest, the editor of this series,
and Herbert W. Schneider, one of the advisory editors, have listened
to my problems and given sage advice. In the preparation of the
manuscript for the press, Eleanor W. Blau and Lee Rubin have been
my right and left hands. The selections from Walt Whitman's
editorials appear as published in The Gathering of the Forces, edited
by C. Rodgers and J. Black ( G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1920),
by permission of the publishers. It is a pleasure to me to make public
acknowledgement of my debt to all these who have helped me. In
giving testimony of my gratitude to them, however, I absolve myself
from no responsibility.

J. L. B.

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, June, 1947

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