The Rise of a Mass Democracy 1824 – 1830. Politics for the People By 1820s, aristocracy was...
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Transcript of The Rise of a Mass Democracy 1824 – 1830. Politics for the People By 1820s, aristocracy was...
The Rise of a Mass Democracy
1824 – 1830
Politics for the People
• By 1820s, aristocracy was frowned upon & democracy was respectable
• Emphasis on common people– Davy Crockett – (semiliterate & elected to
Congress)
• However, most high offices continued to be filled by “leading citizens”
Views of Democracy• Jeffersonian
– People should be governed as little as possible
• Jacksonian – Whatever governing was to be done
should be done directly by the people
• The New Democracy– Gov’t in the hands of the
common people– Based on universal white
manhood suffrage
Causes of this New Democracy
• Panic of 1819– Resentment at the gov’t–granted
privileges of the banks • Wanted gov’t to stop “embracing” banks,
substitute hard money for bank notes, & even to abolish banks completely
• Missouri Compromise– Awakening of many Southerners to the
importance of politics• Wanted to protect their interest
Immediate Results
• Strong political parties emerge & viewed as necessary
• Voter turnout increased– 1840 – 78% of voters voted
• New style of politicking emerged– Banners, badges, parades, etc. . .
Changes in Politics
• More democratic methods of nominating presidential candidates1. Nominating conventions v caucuses
Election of 1824
• Four Republican candidates – Andrew Jackson– Henry Clay– William Crawford– John Quincy Adams
• John C. Calhoun was the vice presidential candidate on both Adams & Jackson tickets
• Jackson won the popular vote but not a majority of the electoral votes– Vote goes to the House of
Representatives (12th Amendment)
House of Representatives• House would have to choose from the
top 3 candidates– Clay was eliminated / Crawford suffered a
stroke– Clay was Speaker of the House so he
presided over the hearings
• Clay met privately with Adams and assured him of his support - supposedly
• Adams becomes president in 1825
“Corrupt Bargain”• Adams selects Clay as his Sec of State• Secretary of state
– 3 of the 4 preceding sec had become president
• Adams, the 2nd choice of the people, defeated the 1st choice of the people,
Jackson • Jackson condemned Clay – “Judas of the
West”• No clear proof that agreement was made
– If so, not necessarily corrupt
Yankee in the White House
• Better Sec of State than President• “Minority president”
– Hard to get things accomplished• Political spoilsmen annoyed Adams • Proposals to Congress
– Construction of roads & canals– National university – Astronomical observatory
** If federal gov’t could meddle in local concerns like education & roads, what
about slavery?**
Campaign of 1828
• National Republicans – Adams
• Mudslinging / about Jackson– Mother prostitute– Coffins / duels– adulterer
• Democratic-Democratic-Republicans – Republicans – JacksonJackson
• Mudslinging / about Adams– Gambling– Large sums of money– Pimp
“Revolution of 1828”
• Jackson – 178 / Adams – 83 (p. 261)
• Jackson– Support from West & South/ common people
• Political revolution– Increased voter turnout– Political center of gravity was continuing
to shift away from the eastern seaboard to the emerging states across the mountains
• Peaceful Revolution– Achieved by ballots instead of bullets
“Old Hickory”
• Jackson personified the new West– Individualism, jack-of-all trades,
opportunism, etc…
• Background– Orphaned, brawler, no college
education– Born in the Carolinas/ moved to
Tennessee
• 1st president from the West
Jackson’s Political Beliefs
• Suspicious of the federal gov’t as a bastion of privilege
• Sacredness of the Union & the ultimate supremacy of federal power over that of the states• Demanded prompt & loyal support from his subordinates • Ignored the Supreme Court on several occasions• Frequently used his power of veto
Jackson & the Spoils System
• Spoil System introduced into the federal gov’t on a large numerical scale– “To the victor belong the spoils of the
enemy.”– No party overturn had occurred since the
defeat of the Federalists in 1800• Lead to corruption & incompetence
– “Rotation in Office”
More Victors than Spoils
• Elected as a reformer– Swept out the Adams-Clay gang– Insecurity replaced security &
discouraged many able citizens from entering public servant
– Men bought their positions• Unqualified
– Built a political machines
“Tariff of Abominations”
• Congress had already increased the tariff of 1824 from 23% to 37%– Woolen manufacturers wanted more
• Tariff of 1828 – tariff increased to 45%– Supported by Jacksonites – manufacturing a
president– Jacksonites believed that it would not pass;
however, it passed– Southerners were shocked
» “I am made of wool, look at me!”
Reaction of the Tariff of 1828
• Southern beliefs– Discriminated against them
• Cotton was unprotected & manufactured goods were protected
– Higher prices lead to a reduced volume of purchases, in both directions• South would suffer both as consumers & as
producers
• “The South Carolina Exposition”– John C. Calhoun – Proposed that the states should nullify the tariff because it was unjust & unconstitutional
“Nullies” in South Carolina
• Southerners were still angry over the Tariff of 1828– Were trying to get the 2/3 vote for
nullification
• Tariff of 1832 – passed by Congress– Reduced tariff by 10%– SC still threatening nullification & possible
secession
– SC Flag
SC’s Response
• Clash of Nullifiers & Unionists– Nullifiers received more than 2/3 majority
• Declared Tariff of 1832 “null and void” in SC
• Called upon state legislature to take any military preparations necessary
• Threatened to secede from the Union if Washington regime attempted to collect customs duties by force
Jackson’s Response
• Privately threatened to hang nullifiers
• Dispatched naval and military reinforcements to SC
• Issued proclamation against nullification --Gov Hayes issued counter-proclamation
• Civil War?
The Great Compromiser
• Henry Clay (KY)• Tariff of 1833
– Reduced the Tariff of 1832 by about 10% over a period of 8 years
– Squeezed through Congress– Favored by Calhoun & the South – Opposition from New England & the middle
states
• Force Bill (“Bloody Bill”) also passed– Authorized the president to use the army &
navy, if necessary, to collect federal tariff duties
Issue of Slavery• Southern reaction to the tariff
– Anxieties about possible federal interference with the institution of slavery
• Charleston 1822- Denmark Vesey– Free black who plotted a slave rebellion
• Washington could next take a stand on slavery– Strong stand against all federal
encroachments on states’ rights– South was not developing like other regions
• Overcropped land & cotton prices had fallen
Cabinet Crisis
• Official Cabinet of 6 – Sec of State – Martin Van Buren
• “Kitchen Cabinet”– 13 ever-shifting members– Informal meetings with advisors
• Group did not gather in the kitchen• Influence was exaggerated • Not unconstitutional
Land & Indian Problems• Adams’s land policy
– Tried to curb speculation in the public domain
• Angered Westerns
• Cherokee Indians & Georgia– Georgians wanted Indians out– Adams tried to deal with friendless Indians– Georgian governor threatened to use arms
to prevent federal gov’t from helping the Indians
Transplanting the Tribes
• 1790s – gov’t recognized tribes as separate nations & agreed to acquire land from them only through formal treaties
• Indians were repeatedly coerced or tricked into ceding huge tracts of territory to whites
• Census in 1830 – 13 million people in US• 1820s - 125,000 Native Americans lived
east of the Mississippi
Dealing with the Indian Problem
• “civilizing” & Christianizing the Indians– Society for Propagating the Gospel Among
Indians– Congress appropriated $20,000 for
promotion of literacy & agricultural & vocational instruction among the Indians
Cherokee Indians
• Made remarkable efforts to learn the ways of whites– Agriculture & private property – Cherokee National Council – written legal code– Cotton planters & slave owners
• Five Civilized Tribes– Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws,
Seminoles
• 1828 - Georgia legislature declared council illegal & asserted its own jurisdiction over affairs & lands
• Cherokees applied to Supreme Court
Jackson & the Indians
• Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Indians– Jackson refused to recognize their decision– “John Marshall made his decision; now let him
enforce it.”• Jackson proposed removal of Native
Americans– Uproot more than 100,000 Indians
• 1830 – Indian Removal Act– Transplanting of all Indian
tribes east of the Mississippi
Trail of Tears
• Countless Indians died• Forced to newly established Indian
Territory (Oklahoma), where they were to be free of white encroachments
• 1836 - Bureau of Indian Affairs – Administer relations
with Indians
Movements
Conflicts Begin
• Sauk & Fox braves from Illinois & Wisconsin lead by Black Hawk resisted– Crushed in 1832 by regular troops (Jefferson
Davis & Abraham Lincoln)
• Florida – Seminole Indians (1835 – 1842)– Guerrilla war in the Everglades - 1500
soldiers dead– Costliest Indian conflict in American history– Leader Osceola – captured
Nationalism & Jackson
• Jackson dealt nationalism a blow– Hostile towards roads & canals
• State’s rights - federal money should not be used for roads built entirely within individual states
• Vetoed the Maysville Rd. (KY)
Webster – Hayne Debate (1830)
• Robert Hayne – SC– Condemned
disloyalty of New England during War of 1812 & tariff
– Nullification was the only means of safeguarding interest of the South
– Protecting southern rights within the Union
• Daniel Webster – Represented New
England – Against nullification– “people & not the
states had framed the Constitution”
– “Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable.”
Peggy Eaton Affair - 1831• Sec of War – John H. Eaton
– Wife, Peggy Eaton, was looked down upon because of her background• Especially by VP Calhoun’s wife
– Jackson eventually turned against Calhoun• Calhoun resigned as VP & entered Senate
– “Great Nullifier”– Became a defender of states’ rights
Cement for the Union
• Each section was satisfied with its champion
• Jefferson Day Banquet (1830)– Jackson – “Our union, it must be
preserved.”– Calhoun – “The Union, next to our
liberty, most dear!”