The Age of Jackson

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The Age of Jackson

• Chapter 3

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Election of 1824

• One-party politics in effect no party
• The candidates
• John Quincy Adams, Sec. of State
• Andrew Jackson, Hero of New Orleans
• William Crawford, Sec. of Treasury
• Henry Clay, Speaker of the House
• John C. Calhoun, Sec. of War
• All Republicans more about personalities and
  sectional allegiances than issues

3
The Election of 1824

• Jackson won the popular vote and the electoral
  vote thrown into House of Representatives
• Charges of Corrupt Bargain (Clay Adams)

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John Quincy Adams

• One of the ablest men, hardest workers, and
  finest intellectuals ever in the White House.
• Tried to promote not only manufacturing and
  agriculture, but also the arts, literature, and
  science.
• But he lacked the common touch and refused to
  play the game of politics.
• Most found him cold and tactless.
• Could not build any popular support for his
  programs.

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John Quincy Adams

• Also, the election had united his enemies and was
  creating a new party system
• Adams, Clay, and the minority became
  National-Republicans
• Jackson and the majority became the
  Democratic-Republicans (later just Democrats)

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First Third PartyThe Anti-Masons

• The Freemasons (or Masons) were a secret
  fraternal group.
• Most Mason were wealthy businessmen.
• When a former member threatened to write a book
  revealing the Masons secrets, he was murdered.
• A political party formed devoted to Anti-Masonry
  (arousing public opinion against the Masons). It
  would eventually be absorbed by the Whigs.

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Election of 1828Age of the Common Man?

• Democratization
• The ending of property qualifications had greatly
  increased the number of men qualified to vote.
• 4 times as many men voted in 1828 than in 1824
• Individuals should have an equal opportunity to
  better themselves and should be granted political
  rights and privileges.
• All adult white males could vote (no blacks,
  women, Indians). Jackson did not stress social
  equality. Wanted everyone to have an opportunity
  to succeed or fail. Not equality of results.

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Election of 1828Acceptance of Parties

• Professional politicians
• Politics no longer just for the wealthy.
• Enough jobs in government to support full-time
  careers in politics.
• Politics became mass entertainment
• Campaign hoopla frequently overshadowed issues.
• Parades, massive rallies, and barbecues were used
  to stir voters, and providing free alcohol became
  an almost universal campaign tactic.
• The election marked the beginning of politics as
  Americans have practiced it ever since, with two
  disciplined national parties actively competing
  for votes, emphasizing personalities over issues.

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Election of 1828

• Jackson wins by a comfortable margin.
• Electoral vote 178 to 83
• The election of Andrew Jackson signaled a new era
  in American History.
• The maturing republic now included 24 states and
  13 million people.
• Many of these people were on the move during the
  19th century, heading West.

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Jacksonin Office

• President of the People Inauguration
• Jacksons character
• Jackson was the first president from west of the
  Appalachians. He was a man of action, and though
  he had a quick mind, he had little use for
  learning.
• His troops named him Old Hickory out of respect
  for his toughness, but that strength sometimes
  became arrogance, and he could be vindictive and
  a bully. He was not a man to provoke, and indeed
  had a reputation for fighting and dueling.
• Jackson was a shrewd politician. He knew how to
  manipulate men and could be affable or abusive as
  the occasion demanded. He also displayed a keen
  sense of public opinion, reading the shifting
  national mood better than any of his
  contemporaries.

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Jackson in Office

• The Spoils system
• Rotation in federal office holders.
• Introduced as a way of rewarding political
  supporters.
• Political rivalry between Martin Van Buren and
  John C. Calhoun
• Peggy Eaton Affair
• Jackson is drawn closer to Martin Van Buren
• Racial Prejudice in the Jacksonian Era
• Attitude toward blacks
• Planter who owned nearly 100 slaves
• Attorney General Robert Taney
• Blacks were a separate and degraded people.

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Jackson American Indians

• Indian Removal Act of 1830
• Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole
• Trail of Tears (1838)
• Thousand-mile trip
• 12,000 Cherokees
• Only 8,000 reached Oklahoma

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The Bank War

• The National Bank and the Panic of 1819
• Nicholas Biddle tries to recharter
• Clash between Jackson Biddle
• Jacksons veto
• Election of 1832 The Bank Destroyed
• Removal of the deposits
• Pet banks or state banks
• Will lead to economic chaos

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The Nullification Crisis

• The Growing Crisis in South Carolina
• Denmark Veseys slave insurrection of 1822
• Blacks outnumbered whites
• Need for stronger constitutional protection of
  slavery
• Tariff of Abominations (1828)
• The constitutional doctrine of implied powers was
  used to justify higher protective tariffs and
  they were afraid that it would soon be used to
  end slavery.

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The Nullification Crisis

• V.P. John C. Calhoun
• South Carolina Exposition and Protest (1828)
• Theory of Nullification (repeal a federal law)
• Webster-Hayne Debate (1830)
• Minority rights versus majority rule

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The Nullification CrisisCompact Theory (states
rights)

• The Union was a compact between sovereign states.
  
• Each state had the right to nullify any federal
  law that exceeded the powers granted to Congress
  under the Constitution.
• The law would then become null and void in that
  state.
• Congress could either repeal the law or propose a
  constitutional amendment expressly giving it the
  power in question.
• If the amendment was ratified, the nullifying
  state could either accept the decision or
  exercise its ultimate right as a sovereign state
  and secede from the Union.

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The Nullification CrisisNationalists Theory
(Union)

• Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts replied
  sharply that the Union was not a compact of
  sovereign states.
• The people, and not the states, he argued, had
  created the Constitution.
• The federal government did not merely act as the
  agent of the states but had sovereign powers in
  those areas where it had been delegated
  responsibility.
• The doctrine of judicial review gave the Supreme
  Court authority to determine the meaning of the
  Constitution.

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The Nullification Crisis

• Tariff of 1832
• South Carolinas response
• Declared the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 null,
  void, and no law, nor binding upon this state,
  its officers or citizens.
• Proclamation on Nullification (1832)
• Idea of a perpetual Union
• Force Bill
• Jackson ordered armed forces to Charleston and
  privately threatened to hang Calhoun.
• Violence seemed imminent until Clay negotiated a
  compromise.

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The Nullification Crisis

• Compromise of 1833
• Tariffs were gradually lowered.
• South Carolina dropped nullification.
• South lost its dominance to North and West.
• The controversy convinced many southerners that
  they were becoming a permanent minority.
• As that feeling of isolation grew, it was not
  nullification but the threat of secession that
  ultimately became the Souths primary weapon.

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JacksonLeaves Office

• Accomplishments
• Enlarged the power of the presidency
• The President is the direct representative of
  the American people only responsible to the
  people, not Congress.
• Converted the veto into an effective presidential
  power.
• The veto would help presidents shape legislation
  in Congress.
• Political parties seen as a positive good

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JacksonLeaves Office

• Failures
• Growing social stratification
• Gap between rich and poor visibly widened
• Jacksons financial policies and lack of a
  national bank helped lead to the Panic of 1837,
  which was a serious depression that lasted until
  1843.

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Van Buren

• V.P. Martin Van Buren wins in 1836
• Panic of 1837
• Blamed on the Democrats
• Van Ruins Depression
• Election of 1840 Log Cabin and Hard Cider
• William Henry Harrison (Whig)
• Tippecanoe and Tyler too
• Van! Van! Is a Used-up Man!
• The Whigs Triumph

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The Whigs Triumph (Second Party System)
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Significant Events
? 1822 Denmark Vesey conspiracy
? 1824 Jackson finishes first in presidential race
? 1825 House elects John Quincy Adams president
? 1827 Cherokee adopt written constitution
? 1828 Tariff of Abominations Jackson elected
? 1830 Webster-Hayne debates
? 1830-1838 Indian removal
? 1832 Jacksons Proclamation on Nullification
? 1833 Jackson removes deposits from Bank of US
? 1834 Whig Party organized
? 1838 Trail of Tears
? 1840 Harrison elected president