How democratic was the Jacksonian democracy?

Jacksonian
democracy was a form of procedural democracy that significantly varied from the norms associated
with the modern, liberal democracy.

Procedural democracy generally describes
a system in which the basic, mechanical functioning of democracy (such as elections) occurs but
which may lack other liberal ideas which buttress democracy (principally meaning free speech and
the rule of law).

Free speech and the rule of law were not absent in the
Jacksonian democracy, but they did not meet contemporary standards. For instance, bureaucratic
appointments were made to political favorites at every level, and they, in turn, used their
administrative authority to support the Democratic Party. This system, called the "spoils
system," helped cement the rise of party machines which undermined the equal application of
law. Similarly, while there were no overt restrictions on free speech, those in power engaged in
intense levels of coercion to limit it, including the suppression of attempts to
mail...

href="http://sites.austincc.edu/caddis/jacksonian-democracy/">http://sites.austincc.edu/caddis/jacksonian-democracy/
href="https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1140/political-patronage">https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1140/political-p...