The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Westward expansion led to increased suffrage for “common” men in the “new states” who

did not qualify in the “older states”

Jefferson’s vision of “republicanism” did not apply in the West because there were no

“virtuous elite” to rule for the people

As more western states extended democracy to

“common men,” political parties in eastern states felt

pressure to do the same

By 1840, more than 90% of all adult white men could vote (“universal white male suffrage”)

But…this extension of suffrage did not include African-Americans or women

The 1830s & 1840s experienced: Massive voter turnout due to the growth of

suffrage & increased organization of political parties

Direct methods of selecting presidential electors, county officials, state judges, & governors (replaced indirect methods by state legislatures)

The election of 1824 was a 4-way race among Dem-Republicans: John Quincy Adams represented New England William Crawford represented the South Henry Clay & Andrew Jackson represented

the West Jackson won the popular vote but not a

majority of electoral votes

Sec of State under Monroe

Speaker of the House; author of American System

Not taken seriously at first; but “war hero” status made Jackson a nat’l candidate

Sec of Treasury under Monroe

Jackson did well in the South & the West

Clay’s influence was limited to a few

western states

JQ Adams won NE

Crawford won VA but few other Southern states

But, because no one candidate received 51% of the electoral votes, the House of Reps had

to determine the presidential winnerAdams won when

Henry Clay threw his support behind him

Led to charges that Adams had "bought"

the presidency (Corrupt Bargain!!)

Adams had a difficult presidency: JQ Adams wanted to continue the nationalist

programs of the “Era of Good Feelings” The depression of 1819 limited the nationalist

agenda & few of Adams’ policies became law A protective tariff was passed to help farmers

& industry, but this angered the South

One exception: the National Road

“Jacksonians” prepared for the election of 1828 by creating a well-organized, national campaign Jackson (TN) formed a coalition with Adams’

VP Calhoun (SC), Van Buren (NY), & 2 newspaper editors (KY) to rival JQ Adams

Formed the basis of 1st modern political party, calling themselves the “DemocratsDemocrats”

“Democrats” distinguished themselves as different from the “Nationalist Republicans” who has strayed from the Jeffersonian ideal

But, these “Jacksonian Democrats” are not going to mirror the “Jeffersonian Republicans”

The election of 1828 changed American politics: Showed the effectiveness of political parties

in elections It was the 1st election with overt mudslinging

& propaganda Exciting appeals to average the man (public

rallies & barbeques) Jackson won the election as a “common

man of the people”

“Ms. Jackson is a bigamist” & “Ms. Adams is a bastard”

Democrats presented Jackson as “Old Hickory,”

uneducated, a hero, a dueler & a man of the people

Democrats painted Adams as an out-of-

touch aristocrat

Who is Andrew Jackson? Jackson’s wild & rowdy inauguration

Jackson was a popular candidate but it was not clear what type of president Jackson would be: Jackson’s supporters wanted states’ rights &

limited gov’t During the campaign, Jackson never clarified

his stand on major issues: banks, tariffs, etc. Only stood for Indian removal

In the 1820s & 1830s, America became more democratic: Westward expansion facilitated the expansion

of suffrage for common white men Led to unprecedented voter participation by

citizens Allowed for a new breed of “common man”

politicians to come to power

Review QuestionsReview Questions: What did the term common man mean in the

early 19th century? In what ways were Presidents Washington,

Adams, Jefferson, Madison, & Monroe different from the “common man”?

When Andrew Jackson was elected president, it represented a new era in American history: He was the first president that represented

the “common man” His party (the Democrats) took advantage of

the extension of suffrage to common white men

He greatly expanded the powers of the presidency

Jackson advocated “negative activism” & increased presidential powers by using the

veto more times than any previous president

When Jackson was elected, he rewarded loyal supporters with gov’t jobs (the spoils system) Massive turnover in the civil service had not

yet occurred Rotation in office began to be seen as a very

democratic way to reduce gov’t corruption & incompetence

Jackson was not the 1st to do this… he just extended it to more people!

Jackson’ s presidency began rough with the Petticoat Affair: His entire cabinet resigned when Jackson

supported the moral character of Sec of War John Eaton’s wife

Jackson formed a new cabinet but relied almost exclusively on his close friends & unofficial advisors (the “Kitchen CabinetKitchen Cabinet”)

Only Sec of State Van Buren remained loyal to Jackson

The “National” Republicans led by Clay & JQ Adams split with the old-style Democratic-Republicans

President Jackson dealt a blow to the American System: He was OK with national projects but did not

like spending federal money for state projects In 1830, Jackson vetoed funds for the

Maysville Road because it was exclusively in Kentucky

Kentucky was home of Henry Clay, who Jackson never forgave for the “Corrupt Bargain”

Jackson vetoed 7 other bills of public works projects, including roads and canals

By 1820, the South was anxious about federal powers over states: VP Calhoun became the defender of “states’

rights” He wanted to protect slavery & hated

industrial protective tariffs After the Tariff of 1828Tariff of 1828 passed, the South

affirmed nullificationnullification (the right of an individual state to ignore federal laws)

“Tariff of Abominations”

Calhoun (SC) led the argument for nullification in Exposition & Protest in 1828 to protect Southern

rights against Northern self-interest

Southerners hated tariffs for 2 main reasons: tariffs increase the costs of foreign industrial goods (which are

usually cheaper than those made in America) so goods are more expensive AND countries reciprocate with high

tariffs on American cotton

4 years later, Congress passed the Tariff Tariff of 1832of 1832; South Carolina invoked nullification & refused to collect tariff duties

Jackson viewed nullification as a treasonous threat to the Union Congress passed the Force BillForce Bill to make S.C.

collect tariff taxes Jackson threatened to “hang Calhoun from

the nearest tree”

This 1832 tariff actually intended to lower the Tariff of Abominations, but Southerners viewed the tariff as

an unconstitutional violation of states’ rights

In 1833, Henry Clay presented a compromise which severely lowered the tariff, SC withdrew nullification, & Jackson did not have to enforce

the Force Act

Significance of Nullification Crisis: Nullification implied that states had the right

to declare federal laws void & the right to secede from the Union

More than any other president, Jackson asserted that the central gov’t is supreme over the states & was willing to use force to preserve federal authority

The tariff debates among the North, South, & West increased sectional rivalries in the 1830s

In 1829, a NE Congressmen introduced a bill to slow western land sales (this bill was really an effort to keep

NE’s power in Congress from slipping)

Robert Hayne (SC) proposed nullification &

an alliance between South & West against NE

Daniel Webster (MA) countered: “Liberty & Union, now & forever,

one & inseparable”

“Liberty first & Union afterwards”

This bill led to sectional tensions, culminating in the Webster-Hayne DebateWebster-Hayne Debate in 1830

Daniel Webster presented one of the most significant arguments against states’ rights & nullification The U.S. was more than just a compact of

states…it was a creation of the people The Constitution gave the national gov’t

ultimate power & supremacy over the states Nullification would lead to anarchy & civil war

Southerners were disappointed with JQ Adams’ slow movement in dealing with Indians

Jackson promised to act quickly but the Cherokee were a problem: They were not “uncivilized” because they had

a republican gov’t, an agrarian lifestyle, & a formal alphabet (Sequoyah)

They refused to move from GA

When gold was discovered in GA, the GA gov’t abolished Cherokee tribal rule & defied the Constitution Jackson supported the states & asked

Congress for the Indian Removal Act of 1830Indian Removal Act of 1830 But…the Supreme Court ruled in Cherokee Cherokee

Nation v GANation v GA (1831) & Worcester v GAWorcester v GA (1832) that the states have no power over tribes

Two more John Marshall decisions!!

GA defied the Supreme Court’s decisions & continued to take Cherokee lands

Jackson supported GA’s defiance: “Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it”

In 1838, the U.S. Army forced the Cherokees west on the “Trail of Tears”Trail of Tears”

The major political issue of Jackson’s reign was his killing of the Second Bank Second Bank of the U.S.of the U.S.: The BUS held ~$10 million in gov’t money &

made loans to people & businesses The BUS helped control America’s 329

private, state-chartered banks by forcing them to be smart when issuing loans

The 2nd BUS had 30 branches & was biggest bank in America

In 1828, the national gov’t coined only a limited supply of hard money & printed

no paper money at all

These state-chartered banks had tendency to issue more loans than they could support with

their “hard currency” reserves

All of America’s paper bank notes which financed land purchases, businesses, & economic growth came from these private, state-chartered banks

But the BUS was controversial: Many blamed it for a depression in 1819 by

overextending credit & too quickly calling in loans

Many people still viewed the BUS as an unconstitutional monopoly that gave too much power to the upper class

BUS manager Nicholas Biddle was effective, but seen as arrogant, vain, & “aristocratic”

Since entering office in 1828, Jackson disliked the BUS

Clay, Webster, & Biddle worried about the future of the BUS whose expiration was up in 1836

Congress re-chartered the BUS in 1832 but Jackson vetoed it: Claimed it unconstitutional, a violation of

states’ rights, & “dangerous to people’s liberties”

Congress was unable to override the veto

Jackson’s veto did not immediately kill the BUS…its charter would not end for 4 years

Jackson frequently attacked the bank as an agency through which speculators & monopolists cheated honest farmers

Jackson’s veto surprised the financial community but was very popular in the South & West

Jackson made the BUS a key issue in the election of 1832: Jackson defeated Henry Clay Jackson viewed his win as a mandate by the

people to continue his war against the BUS

Jackson attacked the BUS by withdrawing all federal money & moved the funds to 23 state banks

Jackson’s opponents argued that he overstepped his authority: Unpopular in Jackson’s cabinet Some who supported his veto of the re-

charter now questioned whether Jackson had gone too far & overstepped his powersThis move effectively ended

Henry Clay’s American System

Favorable state banks were called “pet” or “wildcat” banks

Irony?

Jackson issued the Specie CircularSpecie Circular in 1836 to move U.S. away from paper money by accepting only gold or silver (specie) for land sales

The economy sank & Panic of 1837Panic of 1837 led to a 6-year recession due to: Price inflation & the inconsistent extension of credit by “pet” banks

Drop in worldwide cotton prices

…and Jackson’s successor, Martin Van Buren, will have to deal with

In 1834, an anti-Jackson coalition formed a new party, the WhigsWhigs: Supported by ex-Federalists, “Clay

Republicans,” commercial farmers in the West & South, industrialists in the North

Supported a strong national gov’t & economic regulation

The Whigs gained support during the Panic of 1837 & the recession

Were strongly opposed to “King Andrew”

Andrew Jackson ushered in a new form of politics by embracing the surge in democratic suffrage: Forming the Democratic Party, active

campaigning, the spoils system, & “common man” image

Jackson’s liberal use of the veto strengthened presidential power

Opposition to Jackson led to the permanent two-party system

The Good The Common Man involvement in Government Strong Executive Power Massive Voter Turnout Sparked Re-Creation of 2 Party System

The Bad The Spoils System Banking Instability Excessive Check of the Supreme Court Greater Sectionalism –Result of Split with

Calhoun The Ugly

Native American Policy Trail of Tears

Review QuestionReview Question: What characteristics of “Jacksonian politics”

do we see today? Which aspect of Jackson’s presidency was

most significant: strengthening the national gov’t by resisting nullification OR damaging the economy during the Bank War?