Jackson Era 2

1
Jackson Era 2
2
Objectives

• Evaluate the significance of the debate over
  tariffs and the idea of nullification.
• Summarize the key events of the conflict over the
  second Bank of the United States in the 1830s.
• Analyze the political environment in the United
  States after Andrew Jackson.

3
Terms and People

• Tariff of Abominations name that opponents from
  the agricultural south gave to the high
  protective tariff of 1828
• John C. Calhoun vice president who resigned to
  lead South Carolinas fight over nullification in
  the Senate
• nullification concept that a state could void a
  federal law that it deemed unconstitutional

4
Terms and People (continued)

• Whig member of a political party formed in the
  1830s, favored a strong federal government,
  protective tariffs, a national bank, and internal
  improvements

5
What major political issues emerged during the
1830s?
Conflicts and crises that arose during Jacksons
presidency led to the formation of a rival
political party called the Whigs. In spite of
this, Jacksons handpicked successor, Martin Van
Buren, won in 1836 but lost to the Whigs in 1840.
6

• In 1828, Congress passed a high protective
  tariff.
• The goal was to promote industry, but the tariff
  raised the prices farmers had to pay for goods.
• Southerners called it the Tariff of Abominations.

Tariffs were a continuing source of dispute
between the industrial North (favored) and
agricultural South (opposed).
7
In 1832, South Carolina voted to nullify the
tariff. The state threatened to secede from the
Union if the federal government used force to
collect the tariffs.

• Vice President John C. Calhoun expected Jackson
  to reject the tariff. Instead, Jackson modified
  it only slightly.
• In protest, Calhoun resigned as Vice President to
  lead the nullification battle in the Senate.

8
Resolution of the Nullification Crisis of 1833
Economic nationalists such as Daniel Webster
rejected the concept of nullification.
Jackson, a Democrat, normally supported southern
states, but he strongly rejected this challenge
to his authority and to the Union.
In a compromise, Congress lowered the tariff. The
issues of nullification and secession were left
unresolved.
Congress passed a Force Bill that authorized
troops to enforce collection.
9
Despite his opposition to nullification, Jackson
generally supported the agricultural South.

• His ideal was an agrarian republic in which
  almost all white men owned farms and enjoyed a
  rough equality.
• Industrialization and the growing class of wage
  earning factory workers made his ideal
  unrealistic.
• The expanding gap between rich factory owners and
  poor workers became troubling to many Americans.

10
The second Bank of the United States divided
Americans.
Jacksonian Democrats
Business Leaders

• Felt the second Bank symbolized money power.
• Believed the new business economy encouraged
  corruption.
• Opposed policies they felt enriched business at
  the expense of farmers and workers.

• Believed the second Bank was necessary to
  maintain a stable supply of currency.

11

• In 1832, Congress voted to renew the Banks
  charter.
• Jackson vetoed the charter renewal.
• The Bank War strengthened Jacksons popularity
  with ordinary Americans and helped him win
  reelection in 1832.

This cartoon shows Jackson using a veto to slay a
monster representing the Bank and its supporters.
12
Presidential vetoes were rare. Bank supporters
denounced Jackson as a power-hungry tyrant and
formed a new political party, the Whigs.
The Whigs were led by Daniel Webster of
Massachusetts and Henry Clay of Kentucky. Whigs
favored a strong federal government, broad
interpretation of the Constitution, protective
tariffs, internal improvements, and moral reform.

13

• Martin Van Buren of New York, Jacksons
  handpicked successor, won the election of 1836.
• With no federal banks, state banks flooded the
  market with currency, causing extreme inflation.
• The government stopped accepting paper money for
  land purchases, leading to a sudden drop in land
  values.

Jacksons economic policies led to disaster for
the next president.
14
The resulting Panic of 1837 became the worst
depression the nation had yet experienced.

• Inflation caused by the state banks hurt common
  people.
• The drop in land values led to bankruptcies. Many
  planters and farmers lost their land.
• A third of urban workers lost their jobs, and
  wages dropped by 30 percent.

The Panic hurt Van Buren and the Democratic
Party.
15
In 1840, the Whigs nominated William Henry
Harrison and John Tyler.

• Harrison was portrayed as a simple farmer, born
  in a log cabin, while Van Buren was painted as an
  ineffective, corrupt aristocrat.
• The slogan Tippecanoe and Tyler Too reminded
  voters of Harrisons military record.

Harrisons victorious 1840 campaign focused on
symbols like his log cabin background, seen in
this flag.
16
One month after his inauguration, President
Harrison died of pneumonia.

• Vice President John Tyler assumed the Presidency
  and, to the dismay of the Whigs, rejected their
  policies.
• Tyler vetoed legislation to restore the Bank of
  the United States and to enact Clays American
  System.