Every man is equally entitled to protection by law; but when the laws undertake to add… artificial distinctions, to grant titles, gratuities, and exclusive privileges, to make the rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble members of society—the farmers, mechanics, and laborers—who have neither the time nor the means of securing like favors to themselves, have a right to complain of the injustice of their government.

This passage is associated with Andrew Jackson’s populist critique of government-granted privilege during the Bank War era. In the early 1830s Jackson argued that federal policy should not create “artificial distinctions” by conferring special favors—such as monopolistic charters, titles, or exclusive economic advantages—on politically connected elites. The sentiment reflects the Jacksonian Democratic appeal to “the humble members of society” (farmers, mechanics, laborers) and their suspicion that institutions like the Second Bank of the United States and protective legislation concentrated wealth and power. The quote is commonly presented as part of Jackson’s public justification for resisting entrenched financial and political interests.

Jackson contrasts equal protection under law with laws that actively manufacture inequality. The core claim is not that society will be perfectly equal, but that government becomes unjust when it uses legal power to distribute advantages—titles, gratuities, exclusive privileges—that ordinary citizens cannot realistically obtain. By naming farmers, mechanics, and laborers, he frames political economy as a moral issue: legislation should serve the general welfare rather than a favored class. The quote encapsulates a recurring democratic argument against cronyism and monopoly: when law becomes a tool for enriching the already powerful, the legitimacy of government is undermined and the disadvantaged are entitled to protest.