THE AGE OF
JACKSON
1824-1844
Chapter 10 | APUSH
Change, and Jacksonian
Democracy
◦ American change came with a sense of “American zeal”
◦ Alexis de Tocqueville (French aristocrat) was amazed by the American Plan’s inclusion of
all Americans
◦ Railcars, steamboats, et cetera only had one class of passengers
◦ Europeans could not distinguish class: rich and poor had similar attire and access to similar public
sectors
◦ The idea of the “self-made man” outside of African Americans and even free blacks
◦ No female equivalent: by the 1840s, feminism would be on the rise
◦ Politics of the Common Man (1824-1840)
◦ Political debate left the homes of southern gentry and northern merchants
◦ Universal Male Suffrage of newly admitted states (Indiana 16, Illinois 18, MO 21)
◦ Eliminated religious and property qualifications that previous states had
◦ Eastern states would follow suit, giving more white men access to voting
◦ Presidential voting increased from 350K in 1824 to 2.4 million in 1840
◦ Party Nominating Conventions (instead of just party caucuses)
◦ Allowed all voters to participate in electing candidates: thus more democratic
◦ Two-Party System (as the election process became national, large parties were needed)
◦ Rise of Third Parties (though, they could not compete with the large parties of their day)
◦ More Elected Offices (these used to be appointed, now they would be elected)
◦ This allowed for more voting power to elect local governments
◦ Popular Campaigning (as elections went national, candidates needed to appeal to the masses)
◦ Would often criticize “aristocrats” to appeal to the “common man”
◦ Growth of Spoils Systems (government jobs were granted to loyal members of a particular party:
obviously corrupt)
The Election of 1824
◦ The Era of Good Feelings ended in a divisive election (the caucuses
breakdown meant that there were many candidates)
◦ D-R (John Q Adams, Henry Clay, William Crawford, Andrew Jackson)
◦ Jackson won the popular vote, but since electoral votes were split, he didn’t have a majority
(needed according to Constitution)
◦ Thus, the House had to select a winner: Clay used influence to get John Q Adams
elected, who then rewarded Clay’s efforts by making him Secretary of state
◦ Jackson and supporters were furious at the “corrupt bargain”
◦ John Q Adam’s Presidency was controversial
◦ Passed tariffs that generally benefited norther manufactures and alienated
Southern planters: “tariff of abominations”
◦ Jackson saw John’s use of Congressional funds to develop the country internally
and invest in a national university as wasteful and wrong
◦ The Election of 1828 (the Jacksonians attacked viciously)
◦ Outside of the public parades and local barbecues to appeal to the commoners, a
dedicated smear campaign attacked Adam’s himself (reelection)
◦ Adams returned the favor and charged Jackson as an adulterer
◦ Jackson used Southern anger at Adams and western commoners as voting base
◦ “Old Hickory” would win every state west of the Appalachians
JACKSON WAS A
PRESIDENT UNLIKE ANY
BEFORE HIM
He was a strong leader and a symbol of the “common man”
Gained fame for his Battle at New Orleans and being a Indian fighter
He was also a wealthy plantation owner in TN with slaves
He chewed tobacco and was in several duels, having a violent temper
He was the first president since Washington to be without a college education
He was the epitome of the “self-made man” image
DAY 2
Chapter 10
The Presidency of Andrew
Jackson
◦ Presidential power was strictly interpreted from the Constitution
◦ Vetoed 12 (more than all presidents before combined) bills
◦ One was for a highway in Kentucky (Henry Clay’s state)
◦ Disinterested in his presidential cabinet (their drama would result in John C. Calhoun resigning as VP)
◦ The Indian Removal Act (1830): democracy did not include Native Americans
◦ As a symbol of the common man’s desire for more land, Jackson demanded that the native Americans
be relocated west
◦ The Native Americans (living in the United States) appealed to the Supreme Court as citizens of the
United States (Cherokee Nation v. Georgia 1831)
◦ Jackson sided with the states (Georgia),which said that Native Americans were not Americans and they had
no rights to appeal
◦ The Trail of Tears: the fight went on for years but by 1838, the US Army forced 15,000 Cherokees to leave
Georgia
◦ The hardships were great and 4,000 Cherokees would die en route
◦ The Nullification Crisis (Jackson favored states rights, but the Union was sacred)
◦ South Carolina threatened to nullify the “tariff of abominations” and a second tariff of 1832
◦ Jackson prepared the army to attack SC and issued a Proclamation that they could not nullify
◦ The Bank Veto (Jackson’s disdain for the National Bank would make him destroy it)
◦ He felt it served only the wealthy, which commoners agreed with: he would veto the re-charting of the
bank
Jackson’s Second Term
◦ After reelection in 1832, Jackson moved to destroy the Bank of the
United States
◦ He withdrew all federal funds with Sec. of Treasury, Roger Taney
◦ He transferred this money to state banks, which his critics called “Pet Banks”
◦ These attacks on the stability of the national bank, coupled with excessive
speculative spending in westward expansion led to massive inflation
◦ To cope, Jackson issued the Specie Circular, which stated that all purchases of
federal lands must be made in specie (gold or silver)
◦ This made all state banknotes (paper vs. hard currency) worthless
◦ Land sales plummeted or lost value: the Panic of 1837 as Jackson left office
◦ The Election of 1836 (Martin Van Buren – Jackson’s VP)
◦ Won due to the Whig Party’s attempt to drag the election to a House vote
◦ They picked 3 different candidates from 3 regions: Buren won 58% of electoral votes
Martin Van Buren’s Presidency
◦ Jackson’s policies left Buren with the Panic of 1837
◦ Bank after bank began to close and the Whigs blamed the Democrats’ laissez-faire
policies, which limited government’s role in the economy
◦ Buren’s presidency would be defined by the panic and economic depression
◦ Jacksonian Democrats, by extension, would also be to blame
◦ The Whigs sought to capitalize on the situation in the election of 1840
◦ They fronted William Henry “Tippecanoe” Harrison as their man
◦ Would parade a log cabin (a sign of his “common” origins) for elections and hand out free
cider to the people “I could drink a beer with this guy”
◦ The Whigs also began the name-calling from the go: don’t vote for “Martin Van Ruin” who was
an aristocrat with a taste for wine
◦ The Whigs would take their first election with a huge 78% voter turnout (they won 53% of
popular vote and majority of electoral)
◦ William Henry Harrison (Whig) would die less than a month in office
◦ His VP (recent Democrat convert) John Tyler would have his “Accidency”
◦ He was still a Democrat at heart and would veto the Whig attempt to reestablish the
national bank and other Whig legislation
◦ He also favored southern and expansionist Democrats during his term (1841-5)
◦ The Jacksonian Age was in its final stage: the Mexican War and slavery would end it