American Art History

Shonda Gadberry

October 9, 2011

American Art History

Dr. Joshua Fisher

Political Popularity

In 1829, Andrew Jackson took office as the President of the United States of America. During his term as president, Andrew Jackson introduced the spoils system. The spoils system is where the victorious party would replace most of the upper class with people that were loyal to it. This was a way of rewarding political supporters with patronage. Although Jackson had never liked holding public office, he had served in several different positions during his career. He served in the House of Representatives and in the Senate, he was the governor of Florida for a short time and then in the Senate later. He left each position shortly after he took office. Even before he was elected president, he showed signs of being a ‘people person.’ He possessed qualities of firmness, passion, and shrewdness. These were all qualities that the people wanted in the leader of their country.

The painting by Francis William Edmunds, The City and the Country Beaux, is an exaggerated genre scene. In the painting, we can see the woman that is being courted by two very different men. The man on the left is from the country, while the man on the right is from the city. In this painting, the country man is shown to be seated in a vulgar manner with his legs spread open wide. His clothes look like they are made by hand and he seems to be quite relaxed without a care in the world. The man from the city, on the other hand, appears to be wearing expensive, store bought clothes. He is portrayed in more of a polite and respectful manner.

Voters said that Jackson would be the people’s president, that the nation would be undivided, and that there would be no difference in the Yankee nation or the confused population of the South. This painting shows the political differences between the North and the South during the time it was created. Although The City and the Country Beaux was...