Ch. 14:
Andrew
Jackson and
the Growth
of American
Democracy
Compare the following two images:
• The first image is from the
Federalist Period and shows
President George Washington.
• The second image is from the
Jacksonian Era and shows
President Andrew Jackson.
• What are the major differences
between the people shown in the
pictures?
Compare the following two images:
• As the first image shows, the country was
run by the rich and well-born during the
Federalist Period, because they were the
only ones who could vote.
• As the second image shows, the common
man (ordinary Americans) had more
power during the Jacksonian Era. This is
because the 1828 election (when Andrew
Jackson became president) was the first
presidential election that allowed most
ordinary American men to vote. However,
voting rights still didn’t extend to African
Americans, Native Americans, or women
at this time.
The Jacksonian Era
• The period from the 1820s to the 1840s
was a time of great political change.
• During this time, more and more people became
involved in the democratic process.
• You can see this change in the livelier, more
inclusive music and images of the period.
• President Andrew Jackson was at the center of the
political changes of the 1820s to the 1840s, which is
why the entire era (or time period) is named after him
– the Jacksonian Era.
Do you remember
the War of 1812?
• The War of 1812 was fought between
America and Britain. One of the greatest
American victories during the war was the
Battle of New Orleans. General Andrew
Jackson’s men killed or wounded about
2,000 British soldiers, while only about 20
American soldiers were killed or wounded.
The victory made Jackson a war hero, which
would later aid him when he ran for the
presidency.
The man in the
Graphic Organizer on
upper-left
represents rich
pg. 185
and well-born
people (planters,
merchants,
bankers, and
lawyers). They
didn’t trust
Jackson and
most voted for
Adams.
Andrew
Jackson
The woman in the bottomleft represents Native
Americans. Jackson’s
presidency would prove
very harmful to them.
The man in the
upper-right
represents
common people.
Jackson was very
popular with
common
Americans, those
without a lot of
money or power.
The man in the
bottom-right
represents
supporters of
states’ rights, those
who believed that
the states didn’t
have to listen to the
national
government on
matters in which
they disagreed.
The Election of 1828
• Until the 1820s, the right to vote had been limited to
the rich and well-born. It was said that only white
men with property had the education and experience
to vote wisely.
• As new states formed out west on the frontier, all
men were given the same rights, including the right
to vote.
• This led to other states changing voting laws to give
the “common man” the right to vote.
• However, African Americans, Native Americans, and
women still weren’t allowed to vote.
• More than three times as many people voted in 1828
than in 1824.
The Election of 1828
• Many of the new voters believed that they
could rescue the country from disaster.
• They believed that the country had been
taken over by the corrupt rich.
• Jackson had promised to return the
government to “the people.”
• His election reflected a shift in
power to the West and to the
farmers, shopkeepers, and small business
owners who supported him.
The Election of 1828
• Andrew
Jackson
is being
sworn in
as
President
of the
United
States.
The Inauguration of Andrew Jackson
The Inauguration of Andrew Jackson
• More than 10,000 people came to
Washington, D.C. to witness Jackson’s
inauguration on March 4, 1829.
• After Jackson was sworn in as president, a
huge crowd followed him to the White House.
• The celebration turned into a near riot as
everyone surged into the White House at
once. Jackson was nearly pressed to death
before escaping out a back door.
• “It was the people’s day, and the people’s
president, . . . and the people would rule.”
From the Frontier to the White House
Andrew Jackson
was born in this
cabin in a small,
rural South
Carolina town on
March 15, 1767.
From the Frontier to the White House
• Jackson was a self-made
man, achieving his wealth
through his own efforts not
by being born into a
privileged (wealthy) family.
• His father died before he
was born, leaving Jackson,
his mother, and his brothers
poor.
• As a young boy, Jackson
loved sports but had a hot
temper and often would pick
fights.
From the Frontier to the White House
• When the American Revolution began,
Jackson was only 13 years old.
• He joined a local militia and was captured by
the British.
• One day, a British officer ordered Jackson to
polish his boots.
• Jackson responded, “Sir, I am a prisoner of
war and demand to be treated as such.”
• The outraged officer lashed out with his
sword, slicing Jackson’s head and hand.
From the Frontier to the White House
• After the war,
Jackson decided to
become a lawyer and
chose to practice law
in Nashville,
Tennessee.
• Jackson soon earned
enough money to buy
land and slaves and
become a gentleman
planter.
From the Frontier to the White House
• Jackson almost died after challenging a
slave trader named Charles Dickinson to a
pistol duel because Dickinson had insulted
Jackson’s wife. Jackson’s shot killed
Dickinson, but
Dickinson’s shot
was so close to
Jackson’s heart
that doctors
were not able
to remove it.
From the Frontier to the White House
From the Frontier to the White House
• In 1824, Jackson ran for president against
Henry Clay, William Crawford, and John
Quincy Adams. Jackson won the popular
votes, and the most electoral votes as well.
• However, he did not have a majority of the
electoral votes, so
the decision went
to the House of
Representatives
who chose from
the three leading
candidates.
From the Frontier to the White House
• Clay, who had come in fourth,
urged his supporters in the
House to back Adams.
Adams won as a result and
chose Clay to be his secretary
of state.
• Jackson’s supporters accused
Adams and Clay of making a
“corrupt bargain” to rob
Jackson of the presidency,
vowing revenge in the 1828
election.
John Quincy Adams
Henry Clay
From the Frontier to the White House
• Jackson’s supporters used the time between
elections to build a new political organization
that came to be called the Democratic Party.
• The Democratic Party still
exists today and it is the
party of Barack Obama.
• This new party promised to
represent ordinary farmers,
workers, and the poor, not
the rich and well-born.
Origin of the Democratic Donkey
• When Andrew Jackson ran for president in
1828, his opponents tried to label him a
(derogatory word for a donkey) for his populist
views and his slogan, "Let the people rule."
Jackson, however, picked up on their name
calling and turned it to his own advantage by
using the donkey on his campaign posters.
During his presidency, the donkey was
used to represent Jackson's
stubbornness when he vetoed
re-chartering the National Bank.
From the Frontier to the White House
• Jackson’s supporters organized huge
parades, picnics, and rallies. At these
events, supporters sang “The Hunters of
Kentucky,”
the nation’s
first campaign
song.
• These efforts
helped get
him elected
in 1828.
Jackson’s Approach to Governing
The Kitchen Cabinet
• Jackson did not rely on his cabinet for
advice.
• Instead, he turned to his trusted friends and
political supporters.
• These advisors were said to meet with him in
the White House kitchen.
• The rich and well-born looked at the “kitchen
cabinet” with suspicion, believing that they
were not the proper sort to be running the
country.
The Spoils System
• Jackson upset many opponents when he
decided to reward his political supporters
with jobs in the government.
• This would be called the spoils system from
the saying that “to the victor belong the spoils
[prizes] of war.”
• However, only about ten percent of all civil
servants were replaced by Jackson and
many of them were dismissed for good
reason.
The Nullification Crisis
The Nullification Crisis
• In 1828, Congress passed a law raising
tariffs, or taxes, on imported goods such as
cloth and glass. The law was favored by
northern states where many new factories
were located. However, southern states
worried that the tariffs would hurt cotton
sales to other countries.
• Southerners said that a law favoring one
region was unconstitutional. Based on this,
Jackson’s vice president, John C. Calhoun,
called upon southern states to declare the
tariff “null and void,” or illegal and not to be
honored.
The Nullification Crisis
• In 1832, Jackson signed a new law that lowered
tariffs, but it wasn’t enough for states’ rights
supporters in South Carolina.
• Led by Calhoun, they stated that South Carolina
had the right to nullify, or reject, the tariff laws of
1828 and 1832 (this action was called nullification).
• South Carolina threatened to secede, or withdraw,
from the United States.
• An outraged Jackson called upon Congress to pass
the Force Bill, which allowed him to use the federal
army to collect tariffs if needed. At the same time,
Congress also passed a compromise bill that
lowered tariffs still further.
• South Carolina backed down and the nullification
crisis ended.
Jackson Battles the
Bank of the United States
• The Bank of the United States was
partly owned by the federal government.
• Jackson thought that it benefited rich Eastern
investors at the expense of farmers and
workers as well as smaller state banks.
• The bank’s charter was due to come up for
renewal in 1836, but Henry Clay (who was
planning on running for president against
Jackson) decided to push a renewal bill
through Congress in 1832 in hopes of forcing
Jackson to take a political stance on the
issue that could cost him votes.
Jackson Battles the
Bank of the United States
• If Jackson signed the bill, renewing
the bank’s charter, then he would lose votes
from farmers who shared his dislike of banks.
• If Jackson vetoed the bill, he would lose
votes from businesspeople who depended
on the bank for loans.
• Jackson vetoed the bill, calling the bank an
unconstitutional monopoly that existed
mainly to make the rich richer even though
the Supreme Court had already ruled the
bank Constitutional.
Jackson Battles the
Bank of the United States
• Jackson’s move was popular with
most Americans and he won reelection by a
large majority.
• But rather than wait for the bank to die in
1836 when its charter ran out, Jackson
decided to starve it to death by ordering the
secretary of the treasury to remove all
federal deposits from the bank and put the
money in the state banks.
• Business owners begged Jackson not to kill
the bank, but he refused, calling it a victory
for economic democracy.
Jackson’s
Indian Policy
• While admirers of
Jackson called him
“Old Hickory”
because he was as
tough as “the hardest
wood in creation,”
Native Americans
called him “Sharp
Knife.”
• Jackson earned this
name because of his
reputation for
ruthlessness in battle.
• In 1817, President Monroe had ordered Jackson to
lead a campaign in Georgia against the Seminole
and Creek Indians. He proved successful at
defeating both in battle.
• Jackson had no sympathy for Native Americans
and he made it national policy during his
presidency to remove Native Americans from the
East by force.
This engraving shows
General Andrew Jackson
having defeated the
Creek Indians at the
Battle of Horseshoe
Bend. After the battle,
the Creeks were forced
to sign a treaty that
required them to give up
much of their land in
Georgia and Alabama.
Jackson’s
Indian Policy
• White settlers moving westward always
created conflicts with Native Americans living
in those regions.
• The national government had tried to resolve
these conflicts with treaties, where Native
Americans agreed to give up part of their land
in exchange for food, supplies, money, and
they promise that they would be able to keep
the land that they had left forever.
Jackson’s Indian Policy
• Despite these treaties, Native Americans
continued to be pushed off their land by white
settlers hoping to farm or mine the land.
• Jackson wanted to remove the remaining
Native Americans to a new Indian Territory in
the West.
Jackson’s
Indian
Policy
• Most of the eastern Indians
lived in the South. They
belonged to five tribes: the
Creek, Cherokee, Chickasaw,
Choctaw, and Seminole.
• These tribes had adopted
many white ways including
farming, reading, and writing.
These “Five Civilized Tribes”
hoped to live in peace with
their white neighbors.
• However, when cotton
production spread westward,
wealthy planters and poor
settlers wanted to take the
Native Americans’ homelands.
Indian
Removal Act
• In 1830, President Jackson
urged Congress to pass the
Indian Removal Act, which
allowed the president to make
treaties in which Native
Americans in the East traded
their lands for new territory on
the Great Plains.
• In 1831, the Supreme Court
ruled that Indians had a right
to their lands, but an angry
Jackson disagreed and
decided to remove any
Indians who refused to leave
by force if necessary.
The Trail of Tears
The Trail
of Tears
• In 1836, thousands of Creeks who refused to
leave Alabama were rounded up and
marched west in handcuffs.
• Two years later, under President Martin Van
Buren, more than 17,000 Cherokee were
forced from their homes in Georgia and
herded west by federal troops. Four
thousand died from starvation and disease.
The journey was called the “Trail of Tears.”