The Jackson Era

Chapter 11

Off and Running

• The Election of 1824– Monroe declines to run for 2nd term– 4 candidates for presidency

James Monroe

William H. Crawfordformer congressman

from GA

limited federal government

strong state powers

defended slavery

poor health weakened his chances

Andrew Jackson-Tennessee

not a Washington politician

war hero of 1812

raised in povertyspoke for the little people

Henry Clay– -Kentucky

Speaker of the HouseFought for internal improvements, high tariffswanted a strong national bank

John Quincy Adams

– -MassachusettsSon of former President

John Adamswanted to

shift economy from farming to manufacturing

• Jackson, Clay and Adams were “Favorite Son” candidates.

• Their states backed them, not the national party.

Playing with Numbers

• Jackson received largest number of popular votes.

• No candidate received a majority (>1/2) of the electoral votes

• Jackson won 99 electoral votes, a plurality (largest, single share)

• 12th Amendment: When no candidate wins

a majority, the House of Representatives chooses

the President.

• Clay and Adams plan a scheme• Clay will use his influence as

Speaker of House to sway votes towards Adams.

• In return, Clay to be named Sec. of State

•Jackson accuses men of making a “corrupt bargain”

•Adams appoints Clay secretary of state

ELECTION NUMBERS

Candidate Electoral Popular House

Vote Vote Vote

Jackson 99 153,544 7

Adams 84 108,740 13

Crawford 41 41,618 4

Clay 37 47,136 0

Adams Presidency

• Corrupt bargain cast a shadow over the presidency

• He wanted policies that ran against popular opinion

• Wanted a stronger navy• Wanted federal government to direct

economic growth• Congress turned down many of his

proposals

Election of 1828 Republican Party Divides

Democratic-Republicans

-supported Jackson-favored states’ rights-mistrusted strong central government-immigrants, laborers, frontiersmen were democrats

National-Republicans

-supported Adams-wanted a strong central

government-supported federal measures like

road building, and Bank of the US (helps to shape the economy)

-merchants, successful farmers were Republicans

New Kind of Campaign

• Both parties resorted to mudslinging – Ruining the others’ reputation with insults

Jackson’s camp:-accuses Adams of betraying interests of the people.-released handbills calling him “unholy and having selfish ambition”

– Slogans, rallies, buttons, B-B Q’s became a new element to campaigns

Adams’ camp:-created a vicious song against Jackson telling about embarrassing incidents in his life.-told of Jackson’s involvement in an execution of soldiers who deserted in War of 1812.-Adam’s called him a “barbarian and a savage”

Jackson Wins!• He receives most of the votes in the frontier• Receives many votes from the South

– His policy of states rights helped

John C. Calhoun – South Carolina (Adams VP) switched parties and ran as Jackson’s VP

They won by a landslide (overwhelming victory)– 56% of the popular vote– 178 electoral votes

Review for Section 1• Identify:

Andrew JacksonHenry ClayJohn Quincy AdamsDemocratic-RepublicansNational-Republicans

• Define:favorite sonmajoritypluralitymudslinginglandslide

• Compare/Contrast:Democratic-Republicans and National Republicans

answers• Identify:

Andrew Jackson: winner of 1828 electionHenry Clay: named Sec of State after Adams becomes PresidentJohn Quincy Adams: winner of 1824 electionDemocratic-Republicans: split of the republican party/Jackson supportedNational-Republicans: split of the republican party/Adams supported

• Define:favorite son: backed by home statesmajority: more than ½ plurality: largest single sharemudslinging: ruining opponents reputationlandslide: overwhelming victory

• Compare/Contrast:Democratic-Republicans and National Republicans: DR supported Jackson,

favored state's rights, mistrusted strong central government, were frontier people, immigrants, or laborers. NR supported Adams, a strong central government, Bank of the US

Jacksonian Democracy

Background on Jackson– Born in a log cabin– parents were poor farmers– they died before he was 15– He fought with the Patriots

as a teenager during the American Revolution

– Elected to congress from Tennessee

– became famous in War of 1812defeated Creek Nation in Battle of Horseshoe Bendvictory at Battle of New Orleans

– Called “Old Hickory” because he was as tough as a hickory stick

– Popular with the “common man” because of his success story

New Voters

• Most states had limited suffrage

-the right to vote-limited to men who

owned property or paid taxes

• 1815 requirements loosened

• Between 1824 – 1828: 57% of white males were voting from 37% earlier

• White male sharecroppers, factory workers etc. allowed to vote

• By 1840 80% of white males could vote, no women, African Americans or Native Americans

Friends in High Places• Democrats did not like

bureaucracy-a system in which

non-elected officials carry out laws

• Said that ordinary citizens could handle any government job

• Jackson fired many government workers and replaced them with his supporters

• He said that a new set of government employees would be good for democracy

• Fired ones didn’t agree!

• Supporter of Jackson said “To the victors belong the “spoils”

• The practice of replacing government employees with the candidate’s supporters became known as the “spoils system”

Electoral Changes• Caucus system abandoned

- where major political candidates were chosen by committees made up of members of congress

• Replaced by nominating conventions- where delegates from the states select the parties candidate

Allowed more voter input

Each state holds conventions to choose delegates to send to the national meeting

2008 Presidential Election

• 1st democratic national party convention held in 1832 in Baltimore, Maryland.– Drew delegates from each state– Nominate candidate who could

gather 2/3rds of vote– Jackson won the nomination

T is for Tariff• Tariff: a fee paid by merchants who

imported goods• Jackson faced a tariff crisis

-1828 congress passed high tariff on manufactured goods from Europe

Manufacturers in NE liked it

-made US goods more desirable-Southerners opposed. They traded cotton for

European manufactured goods. $$

S is for South or Secede• Southerners were outraged over

tariffs

• VP Calhoun argued that a state or group of states had a right to nullify (cancel) a federal law it felt was unconstitutional

• Some southerners wanted to secede (break away) from the US and form their own government

• VP Calhoun pondered if a state had the right to go its own way if it didn’t agree with the federal government.

• Decided they did

because of “state’s rights”-that states have many rights and powers that are independent of the federal government

Where does everybody stand?

• Webster/Hayne debate

Daniel Webster-defends the constitution; says that nullification could only mean the end of the union

Robert Hayne-defends the idea that states had a right to nullify acts of the federal government and even to secede

• Andrew Jackson-Southerners hoped he would side with them; however at a dinner party he said “Our federal government must be preserved”

John Calhoun-defender of states rights. After the President’s comments, he wins election to the senate to defend state’s rights and resigns as VP.

Sticks and Stones…

• Southerners anger builds• A new, lower tariff is passed

by congress• It did not appease the south

• South Carolina state legislature passed the “nullification act” declaring it would not pay the illegal tariffs.

• They threatened to secede if the feds interfered with them

• Jackson thinks they have gone mad

• Henry Clay proposes a bill to greatly lower the tariff.

• Jackson supports it.• Jackson persuaded Congress

to pass the “force bill” which allows the President to use military force to enforce the law.

• South Carolina accepted the compromise tariff

• Jackson sent a strong message that the federal government would not allow a state to go its own way without a fight

Review• Identify:• Nullification Act• Force Bill• Define:

– Suffrage:– Bureaucracy– Spoils system– Caucus– Nominating convention– Tariff– Nullify– Secede– States’ rights

Why was President Jackson popular with the average citizen?

Answers• Identify:• Nullification Act: declaring it would not pay the illegal tariffs of 1828

and 1832• Force Bill: allows President to use military force to enforce acts of

congress• Define:

– Suffrage: right to vote– Bureaucracy: system in which non-elected officials carry out laws– Spoils system: replacing government employees with the winning

candidates supporters– Caucus: major political candidates were chosen by committees made up

of members of Congress– Nominating convention: delegates from the states selected the party’s

presidential candidate– Tariff: a fee paid by merchants who imported goods – Nullify: cancel– Secede: break away– States’ rights: rights and powers that are independent of the federal

government

Why was President Jackson popular with the average citizen? Average citizens identified with the president and felt they had a role in the government and the economy because Jackson came from humble beginnings.

Whose land is it anyway?• A few background facts

-large #’s of Native Americans still lived in eastern part of US

- GA, MS, FL, AL had valuable land that was held by the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole’s

-

-areas west of the MS river were dry and unsuitable for farming.

-settlers wanted Native Americans to be “relocated” west of the MS river so valuable land would be available for them

-President Jackson supported this idea.

Indian Removal Act of 1830

• Act allowed government to pay Native Americans to move west

• Federal officials were sent to negotiate treaties with them

• Most accepted payment and agreed to move

• 1834 congress created the “Indian Territory” (present day Oklahoma) for them

Indian Removal Act

• Indian Territory—area of land containing most of present-day Oklahoma

Map of Indian Territory

• Cherokee nation in GA refused.

– 1790’s GA had recognized them as a separate nation with its own laws

– They sued the state government; eventually went to Supreme Court (Worcester v. Georgia)

– Chief Justice John Marshall ruled GA had no right to interfere with Cherokee nation

“…[the Cherokee nation] is a distinct community, occupying its own territory,…in which the laws of Georgia have no force.”

--Chief Justice John Marshall

“John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it.”

--Andrew Jackson

The Trail of Tears• 1835 a few Cherokee signed a

treaty giving up their land

• 17000 refused to honor the treaty

• They wrote a protest letter to the government and people of the US

• 1838 General Winfield Scott and 7000 troops came to remove them from their homes

• They were told if they did not go peacefully they would have to go by force

• Cherokee leaders knew fighting would only lead to their end and gave in

• Brutal weather, sickness claimed thousands of Cherokee lives on the way. Their sadness and death gave it the name- “trail of tears”

Some fought back• 1832 the Sauk Chieftain Black Hawk led

the Sauk and Fox peoples back to Illinois, their homeland

• Met by militia, killing hundreds of the Native Americans and chasing the remaining ones over the border into Iowa.

• US troops pursued the retreating Indians and slaughtered them

Seminole Wars– Pressured to sign

treaties in the early 1830’s to sell land

– Chief Osceola and his people refused to leave

– Decided to go to war against US instead

– Joined with group of runaway African Americans

– Used guerilla tactics (surprise attacks) – By 1842 more than 1500 of 10000 American

soldiers had died, mostly from disease– Government gave up and let them remain in

FL– Many Seminole had died or been captured

and sent west– Only a few scattered groups lived east of

the MS

Review• Identify

– Indian Removal Act– General Winfield Scott– Trail of Tears– Black Hawk– OsceolaDefine:

relocate:guerrilla:

Describe how President Jackson reacted to the Supreme Court decision regarding the Cherokee

Answers• Identify

– Indian Removal Act: act allowing Federal Government to pay Native Americans to move West

– General Winfield Scott: Led the 7000 troops to remove the Cherokee from their homes in GA

– Trail of Tears: name given to journey of the Cherokee as they were forced westward-the trail where they cried

– Black Hawk: Sauk Chieftain who tried to reclaim land in Illinois– Osceola: Seminole leader who refused to leave FLDefine:

relocate: to force a person to moveguerrilla: surprise attacks or raids

Describe how President Jackson reacted to the Supreme Court decision regarding the Cherokee: He ignored the ruling and sided with GA and its efforts to remove the Cherokee

Money, Money, Money, Money,…

• Jackson thought the Bank of the US was an organization of wealthy Easterners where ordinary people had no control

• The bank held ALL of the governments money

• It controlled much of the country’s money supply

• Bank was originally chartered by Congress

• Now run by private bankers, not elected officials

• President of bank, Nicholas Biddle, opposite of Jackson

Henry Clay

Ran against JacksonWanted a strong,

national bank

Daniel WebsterDefender of the ConstitutionStrong, national government

• Henry Clay and Daniel Webster planned to use the bank against Jackson in the next presidential election

– Bank has to have a charter to operate

– Biddle asked early to have the bank’s charter renewed, knowing that Jackson would veto it. They wanted to make him look bad.

– Jackson vetoed it. Said the bank favored the rich and hurt the poor.

– Clay and Webster’s plan backfired– Veto actually helped him. He was re-elected in 1832– Jackson withdrew all of the government money from the bank.

By 1836, the bank closed its doors.

New blood in the White House

• Jackson does not run for 3rd term in 1836

• Democrats select Martin Van Buren – New York as candidate

• Whigs- a new political party emerged.

• With Jackson’s support, Van Buren wins

-Economic depression sets in- panic of 1837

-land values drop, investments decline

-banks fail, people lose confidence in the

economy; thousands lose jobs

-poor can’t pay rent or buy food

• Panic of 1837 leads to economic depression

• Result of Jackson’s policies

• Van Buren blamed and defeated in election of 1840

• Van Buren believed in a “laissez-faire” government- it should interfere as little as possible in the nations economy.

• Lasted 6 years, people turned against VanBuren

Washington flipped its “Whig”

• 1840 presidential election– William Henry

Harrison- hero of War of 1812 (defeated Tecumseh at the Battle of Tippecanoe)

– ran against Van Buren. He represented the Whig party

–

– John Tyler- a planter from VA was his running mate

– Their slogan was “Tippecanoe and Tyler too”

– They adopted a “log cabin” as their symbol to show people that they were a “man of the people” even though they came from wealthy backgrounds

– Called the “log cabin campaign”

–Harrison won by a wide margin

–Harrison was the 1st Whig president; 4 weeks after taking office, he died of pneumonia.

Tyler Steps In

– John Tyler was the 1st VP to take office of President at a death

-Tyler had been a democrat before he became a Whig

-disagreed with many Whig policies

-strong supporter of State’s rights

-vetoed several bills sponsored by the Whigs

-Whig leaders eventually expel him from their party

– Whigs could agree on parties goals. More than not they voted on things according to their sections (north, south, etc) caused too much division

– 1844 James Polk becomes President (non Whig)

Procession of Presidents• George Washington 1789-1797• John Adams 1797-1801• Thomas Jefferson 1801-1809• James Madison 1809-1817• James Monroe 1817-1825• John Quincy Adams 1825-1829• Andrew Jackson 1829-1837• Martin VanBuren 1837-1841• William H. Harrison 1841• John Tyler 1841-1845• James Polk 1845-1849

Review• Identify

-Nicholas Biddle:-Henry Clay:-Daniel Webster:-Martin Van Buren: -Whigs: New political group-Panic of 1837:-William Henry Harrison:-James Polk:

• DefineVeto: Depression:Laissez-faire: Log cabin campaign:

• List the reasons for Jackson wanting to “kill” the Bank of the US

Answers• Identify

-Nicholas Biddle: President of the Bank of the US-Henry Clay: Presidential hopeful against Jackson, plots with Webster in bank plan-Daniel Webster: plots with Clay in bank plan-Martin Van Buren: Jackson’s VP who runs for President-Whigs: New political group-Panic of 1837: depression that lasted 6 years-William Henry Harrison:1st Whig President, died 4 weeks into office-James Polk: 1844 president elect

• DefineVeto: rejectDepression: business and employment fall to a very low levelLaissez-faire: government should interfere as little as possible in the nations economyLog cabin campaign: Name given to the Whig/Harrison campaign

• List the reasons for Jackson wanting to “kill” the Bank of the US

He believed it favored the rich and hurt the poor and that it had too much power.