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Chapter 9
*Election of 1824
Four men sought to succeed Monroe
and ran for President
William
Crawford - 41 Electoral Votes
John Quincy Adams- 84 Electoral Votes
Andrew Jackson - 99 " "
Henry
Clay - 37 " "
Vote went into the
House of Representatives (12th Amend)
*Top 3 Candidates
only (Clay out)
-Crawford was ill (paralyzed)
Adams v Jackson
*Politics - Jackson was becoming
popular in the West. Clay was still very influential in Congress.
Clay supported Adams because they had similar
policies
(support of the American System)
and
Clay doubted Jackson's ability
Adams wins the election
-with Clay's support in the House of Reps
Political Results:
The Corrupt Bargain - Jackson's followers
said that Adam's promised to make Clay his Secretary of State once elected.
There is no evidence ...
but it carried
serious political consequences
John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay were discredited in the eyes of the American People
The Republican Party realigned itself
Jackson began to run for President in the next election
**
John Quincy Adams - very capable but unsuccessful leader
(Adams was a minority President, as states
rights feelings were emerging)
He only made 12 Federal appointments
Brilliant, but tactless politician
*Ardent Nationalist;
refused to recognize state's rights activists
*First Annual Message to Congress
Adams calls for National Programs
*Roads, Canals, Navy, Schools Observatories
and
He Worked
against Sectionalism
Problem
He refused to compromise; failing to listen to the people who elected him
Result
Congress worked against him !!
Tariff of Abominations (1828)
Tariffs caused
sectionalism
Jackson's followers purposely created an unfair bill
(extremely high revenues in the north,
very unfair to the south)
Playing both ends against the middle; hoping the tariff would be defeated
It Passed!
(to everyone's surprise)
Jackson said little on the Tariff
The Rise of the Common
Man
Jeffersonian Democracy
- the people should be governed as little as possible
*Early US voting
requirements
-W, M, Property
*The East controlled elections
*Candidates were chosen by
powerful
party members in private caucus
Population grew - cities grew
*Twice as many males that voted in 1824
voted in 1828. East lost its grip and control of vote
People wanted a say in government and who their candidates
would be
Newspapers, Conventions, Rallies
*Voting done on paper, printed ballots (not vocal)
*States
began to remove restrictions by replacing the private caucus with state conventions
(Hotel Ballroom or Bar Room)
On the National Level, delegates chosen in state conventions would meet in national conventions to choose national candidates
New candidates - had to be elected
(not chosen)
- popular politician
Jacksonian Democracy-added
whatever governing was to be done should be done directly by the people.
(coonskin congressmen)
The
Election of 1828
Revolution of 1828
*Mud slinging campaign
Corrupt Bargain, Jackson's duels,
Rachel Jackson,
Adam's salary
Jackson - 56% Pop Vote 178 Electoral
Adams - 44% " " 83 "
A
victory for the lower classes of the northeast,
small property owners
sectional victory
The
Election of the Peoples President
* The most popular figure of his time
* Symbolized the era of the common
man as new voting reforms took place with "peoples candidates"
* His politics dominated the era
in which he served as President
* After two terms in office, he handpicked his successors
+
Jackson was the first President from the west
+ He was the first President to be nominated at a formal party
convention
+ First (since Washington) without a college education
+ He distrusted an overly powerful
federal government
Jacksonian Democracy
Nationalism; preserving the Union; territorial expansion;
Relationship with his vice-president,
John C. Calhoun (nullification)
State's Rights Their
duty to foster natural progress
Individualism private and free enterprise
Equality white males only
Mediocrity OK ; education encouraged, but not revered
Jackson's Government
Andrew Jackson
was not a "common man"
(duelist, individual, versatile)
In 1824, Thomas Jefferson spoke of how Jackson
"could never speak on account of the rashness of his feelings. I have seen him attempt it repeatedly, and as often choke
with rage.His passions are no doubt cooler now......but he is a dangerous man".
-yet identified as their champion
Common Touch - legendary!
-made decisions based on emotion
-was able to grasp will of people
His
advisers were mediocre people
Spoils System - appointments based upon support and friendship.
*Jackson appointed
friends openly
He expected unquestioned loyalty
Jackson's view of the Presidency
While in
office he created the office of the Presidency as we know it today
a) in addition to executive responsibilities, he
initiated laws and dominated Congress --->Increasing his power.
b) He truly felt
that
he represented the American People
c) His primary duty:
Preserve the Union
d) As Chief Executive
- He used his veto power 12 times and also used the pocket veto
The Problem of Peggy O'Neale Eaton
Jackson's Sec of War, John Eaton and his wife of Peggy, daughter of a Tavernkeeper had a scandalous past.
Vice-President
Calhoun's wife set precedence by snubbing her in D.C.
Cabinet divided;
Jackson sided with the Eatons
Martin
van Buren gained Jackson's favor by getting cabinet members to resign. Interim - Kitchen Cabinet
*John Calhoun is
out of favor*
South Carolina
- Concern about the protective tariff
- Concerned about their
"peculiar institution" and Denmark Vescey
The Exposition and Protest of
South Carolina-Tariff
of Abominations secretly written by John C. Calhoun
state is sovereign with the power expressed
in
the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
* the "nullification theory"
Webster/Hayne
Debate
Unionism v Sectionalism
North wanted to slow down west settlements to preserve its power
South
wanted to side with the west;
agenda - increase its political power to block any anti-slavery law
Argument reached
the Senate Floor
Sen Robert Y. Hayne of So. Carolina argued liberty and individual state freedom at the expense of
the US Constitution
Daniel Webster of Massachusetts speech (legendary) rejected the idea that the US was a league
of sovereign states
The US Government is for the People and answerable to the People
If the states
decided on the constitutionality of laws, then the constitution would fall apart
Only the Supreme Court had that
Power
Webster's speech - National Pride
however
In the South - preserve slavery
Jackson and Calhoun break
Calhoun -
rumored to have criticized Jackson in regard to Florida
*The
Peggy Eaton Affair
*Jefferson Day Celebration
Calhoun and supporters hoped to sway Jackson into supporting
Southern positions.
After a series of speeches favoring states' rights
Jackson rose to toast -
"Our Union, it must be preserved"!
Calhoun was deeply shaken,
his toast- "The Union, next
to our liberty, most dear"!
Jackson had stated his position publicly;
nationalism spread across the country
Indian Policy
Jackson felt that Indians east of the Mississippi should be moved west of River on
to land forbidden to whites
During his 8 years-94 Indian Treaties
The Cherokee Tribe
They
lived in Georgia, adapting to the ways of the white man
(farming, factories, schools)
Sequoyah developed Cherokee
Alphabet
Cherokees owned plantations and even black slaves
*Gold was discovered on Cherokee Land
In
1828, State of Georgia claimed Cherokee land
Cherokees took their case to the Supreme Court where it ruled that Georgia
had no jurisdiction.
Georgia refused to abide by the Supreme Courts decision
Jackson's reply to John Marshall's
decision was, " He made it, now let him enforce it".
Jackson stood by and did nothing
(feared the nullification
theory)
He really sympathized with the Indians but clearly wanted land open to white settlers
He proposed
the removal of the remaining eastern tribes
He felt that they would be better off in land west of the Mississippi
called Indian Territory (Oklahoma)
where they could practice their customs
In 1830, Congress passed the Indian
Removal Act
Cherokee Trail of Tears
US Army, Gen. Winfield Scott forced march 15,000 Cherokee out of their ancestral
homeland
4,000 died on the 116 day journey
Bureau of Indian Affairs - 1836
Black Hawk War
1832
- resistance to policy in Wisconsin and Illinois
Seminoles, led by Osceola,
fought off US Army successfully
for 7 years
Reservation system was established
guarantees were made to the tribes
almost never carried out
by whites
**
Tariff of 1832
In December, 1831 - Jackson recommends to Congress a proposal to
eliminate the worst features of the Tariff of Abominations - It Passes!!
South wants more!
So. Carolina
-Theory of Nullification
* A special state convention declares the tariffs of 1828 & 1832
"null and void"
* They forbid Federal Officials from collecting tariff revenues
*
Threatened Secession
Jackson's Response
Nullification Proclamation
warning So. Carolina - Treason
Showdown -So. Carolina raised an army
Congress passed a "Force Bill"
President use of the army
to collect
The American People rallied around Andrew Jackson
Compromise was reached
Clay proposed a
new lower tariff and it was passed in the House and Senate
So. Carolina called their state convention and withdrew
its nullification ordinance
but
Nullification is not dead
Jackson and The National Bank
The 2nd Bank of the United States was managed by Nicholas Biddle
Bank was very unpopular in the West
*
it regulated the money supply
(regulated the credit)
Bank was very powerful -> resentment
In 1832
(Presidential Election Year)
Biddle tried to get the Bank
re-chartered, even though 4 years were left on its existing
charter.
Congress passed the bank bill
Jackson vetoed it!
Reasons:
a) the bank only benefited the
rich
b) government should not be part of a major corporation
c) the bank exploited the west for the benefit
of eastern stockholders
d) its economic and political power were a threat to national security
* As usual,
Jackson has the support of the American People
Jackson removed all US Govt Funds and utilized Pet Banks
Biddle fought back with the bank's resources
Result:
financial panic --> depression
state banks
increased along with credit and the money supply
banks financed internal improvement within their states
Jackson
ordered that the sale of government land be in gold/silver
(Specie Circular)
bank failures in England cause
creditors to call in their loans to American Banks
price of cotton dropped dramatically
crop failures
are now magnified
New England manufacturers over-expanded
Result ------> economic depression
(after
Jackson leaves office)
Foreign Affairs
"Shirt Sleeve Diplomacy"
-very effective
Hostile relations
with England were eliminated along with trade restrictions
France's Napoleonic
debt of 5 million
- still outstanding. Tallied in 1831
France refuses to pay;
Jackson denounces them;
France
threatens war
England mediates --> France pays
Scorecard:
* Jackson bolstered executive
power:
* He led the common people into national politics
* He united them into the powerful Democratic Party
* He proved that they could be trusted with the vote
The BUS controversy caused smaller undercapitalized
banks to emerge during a time when sound banking was a necessity
Election of 1836
Jackson's hand
picked successor
Martin Van Buren
The Whig Party
Anti-Jackson politicians formed a political engine
to combat Jackson
They ran four candidates against him
Hugh White, Daniel Webster,
W.P Mangum, William Henry
Harrison
Purpose - get the election to the House of Representatives
Martin Van Buren - A New Yorker
"The first-class second-rate man"
As Jackson second,
he incurred the resentment of many Democrats.
He was a mediocre leader living in the shadow of a great one
The Financial Panic of 1837
a) land
sales were reduced
b) banks failed
c) unemployment
d) farming problems
England cut back investments because
of internal problems
Van Buren's
"Divorce Bill" putting US surplus funds in vaults
The United
States Treasury
was independent of private investment
Knocked down in 1840; brought back in 1846 ------------->
20 Century - FED
Martin did manage to issue an executive order limiting govt workers to a 10 hour day
Election
of 1840
"Little Van" v William Henry Harrison
Whigs - "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too"
The Campaign
Van Buren was depicted as an aristo
Harrison - a man of the people
@(nominated because
he was issueless and enemy less....in fact a popular general and Indian Fighter)
John Tyler-Virginian, balanced ticket
Harrison was portrayed as a log cabin dweller, hard drinking poor man
(He was actually from one of Virginia's
first families)
Log Cabins and Hard Cider
a colorful campaign
Harrison wins - caught pneumonia during
his inauguration and died one month later
The Two Party System of American Politics Emerges
From
Jeffersonian Republicanism
to The Era of Good Feeling
to Jacksonian Democracy
To the Democratic
and The Whig Party
(protective tariffs, internal improvements,
reform, national bank)
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