Transcript The Jacksonians

The Jacksonians
1828-1840
Characteristics of the Jacksonians
Defender of the common man
Forceful presidential leadership
Importance placed on states rights, but union must be
preserved
Equality of economic opportunity
Guardians of democracy and individual liberty
Defenders of the Constitution
Election of 1824
Major players
Andrew Jackson
John Quincy Adams
Henry Clay
William Crawford
Popular Jackson wins in the popular vote and the electoral
vote, but doesn’t achieve a majority
Election goes to House of Representatives
Clay helps Adams win in the House
Clay appointed Secretary of State
Seen by many as the “corrupt bargain”
Jackson becomes a bitter rival of Clay and Adams
Splits Republican Party (National Rep. vs. Democrats)
Election of 1828
Jackson wins easily in a rematch of the previous election
Factors influencing the election
Nearly universal white male suffrage
Most states had dismissed property qualifications
Electors decided based upon popular vote in each state
Jackson’s image
Military hero
Log cabin President
Champion of the common man
Jackson’s inauguration
Seen as a triumph for the common man
Spoils system (AKA Rotation in Office)
Appointed many of his friends to office
• Why would westward expansion lead
many states to drop property qualifications
for voting?
Indian Removal
Southern Indian tribes stood in the way of Westward
expansion
Primary obstacle: Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek,
Chickasaw, and Seminole tribes
Many of the tribes mirrored white society
1820’s on Southern states intensified pressure on Indians
to resettle further West
Tribes were hesitant to abandon ancestral land
States passed laws limiting tribal authority
1830 Jackson secured passage of Indian Removal Act
Controversial measure barely passed Congress
Authorized money and western lands to be used to
“remove” the five Southern tribes
Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes “signed” treaties and
Indian Removal
Several of the tribes resisted
Second Creek War
Seminole War
Cherokee chose to take their case to court
Cherokee v. Georgia (1831)
Marshall court ruled Cherokee had a right to their land
Worcester v. Georgia (1832)
Court claimed the Cherokee were a “distinct” political
entity and were entitled to federal protection
Jackson responds “John Marshall has made his decision,
let him enforce it”
Trail of Tears (Van Buren 1838)
Last and final removal of the Cherokee, 8k die (over 1/3)
Why would Indian Removal have helped to
preserve the Union?
Nullification Crisis
Beginning in 1816 Congress had passed a series of
protective tariffs
South eventually opposed protective tariffs
Tariffs didn’t help Southern cotton (export only)
Raised domestic prices for manufactured goods
Raised again in 1828
Became known as “Tariff of Abominations”
State of South Carolina published “SC Exposition and
Protest” (1828)
Based on Kent. and Virg. Resolutions
Argument for nullifying the tariff in SC
Not so secretly authored by Calhoun (VP)
Nullification Crisis
Calhoun vs. Jackson
Calhoun had hoped Jackson would side with his state’s
rights argument and eliminate tariff
Peggy Eaton Affair
Webster Hayne Debate
Signed tariff of 1832 lowering but not eliminating
tariffs
Calhoun replaced as Vice President by Martin Van
Buren in 1832 election
Calhoun returns to South Carolina to lead his state’s
effort to nullify the tariff
Nullification Crisis
1832 SC legislature votes to nullify tariffs of 1828 & 1832
Jackson threatens military action
Clay authors a compromise “the olive branch and the
sword”
Force Bill authorizing military force
Compromise Tariff 1833 (gradually lowering tariffs)
Compromise averts sectional disaster
Bank War
Jackson vetoed much of Clay’s American system
Maysville Road veto
Early recharter of the 2nd Bank of the U.S.
Jackson saw the bank as a tool of the rich
Clay hoped to use the bank to beat Jackson in the
election of 1832
Jackson decided to wipe out the bank before it was due to
expire in 1836
Jackson order federal money withdrawn from the bank
and deposited in “pet banks”
“Pet banks”—State banks loyal to the democratic
party
Measure actually caused growth of paper money
and speculation
Bank War
Jackson vs. Biddle
Bank President Biddle attempts to save the Bank by
raising interest rates and calling in loans
Disastrous effect on economy
Galvanized opposition against Jackson
Birth of the Whig Party
Specie circular
Fearing growth of paper money from state banks
Jackson orders that all public land sales be paid in hard
currency
Results in a loss of faith in paper money and runs on
state banks
Bad economic policies result in the Panic of 1837 (plus
international causes)
The Whigs labeled Jackson “King Andrew”.
Why?
The blame for the Panic of 1837 never falls
on Jackson. Why? How is this same idea
relevant to modern politicians?
Jackson’s Legacy
1836 Election
Jackson’s successor Martin Van Buren elected
Fails to hold Jackson’s popularity
Blamed for depression
Lacked Jackson’s charisma
Democrats linked to Jackson’s policies
Antibank & Hard Money supporters
1840 Election
William Henry Harrison defeats Van Buren
Whig run a great campaign turning Democratic attacks
against them
“Log cabin and Hard Cider”
“Tippecanoe and Tyler too”