Changing of the Guard
#8
The election of 1800 was decided by one vote in favor of Jefferson (instead of Burr), which led to a different type
of leadership. The President was Ant-Federalistic believing that a nation of farmers who tended to their own
affairs was far superior to a government that told the people what to do. The election of 1800 pitted Thomas
Jefferson against John Marshall in many decisions of the Supreme Court.
The first of such decisions was Marbury v Madison 1803, in which the power of judicial review was established.
This meant that the Supreme Court had the power to go back and review court cases in which they felt an
improper decision had been cast. Also in 1803, Jefferson was presented with a conundrum: the Louisiana Purchase
of 1803 was technically unconstitutional in that the Senate and House did not vote on it. Jefferson went against his
own patriotic soul and oked the deal to send $15 million to Napoleon Bonaparte in exchange for this land purchase
and, in effect, doubled the size of the territorial US.
William Marbury v. James Madison—Judicial Review
Era of Good Feelings
The end of the first party system was not to happen until the Virginia Dynasty ended. Washington, Adams,
Jefferson, Madison, Monroe: all from Virginia would see their dynasty end with the election of John Quincy Adams
in 1824. The Presidency of James Monroe was called the “Era of Good Feelings”, mostly in that he travelled New
England and greeted everyone who cheered for the very likable president. No major wars to attend to and life was
good.
John Quincy Adams…Life not so good
John Quincy Adams was the son of John Adams (2 nd President), and in his DNA was a deep sense of duty and living
up to his father’s great work in helping to stabilize the county. Well, the Seminole War in Florida was his first
chance to demonstrate his strength as a leader. Ordering the army to stop Seminole Indian raids on US owned
Georgia by “adopting the necessary measures” to make it so. So Andrew Jackson took that to mean “at all costs”
and proceeded to invade Florida (most Americans at the time saw it logical to take the Florida peninsula for US
territory. Jackson invaded and took no prisoners. Instead of condemning Jackson, President Adams took
responsibility and claimed that we have the right to defend ourselves from outside invaders. The Spanish knew full
well that the Americans could easily take Florida by force, so the Spanish quickly tried to cut their losses and
presented the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819 which ceded Florida to the US and the US would give up its claim to any
land south of the 42nd parallel. This meant that the US gets Florida and Spain in return gets an assurance that the
US will not claim land south of present-day Oregon. The Spanish would retain the northernmost area of California,
Nevada, Colorado, and most importantly Texas.
The Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise of 1820 found its roots in the fact that the territory of Missouri applied to become a
state and slavery was already well established in that territory. The main problem was that the sectionalism of the
US was polarizing on the issue of slavery. The North had no slavery in their states while the South did have slavery,
as you know. But Missouri posed an interesting problem. Missouri wanted to become a slave state yet its location
was in the area considered to be “the North”. A compromise was reached after many threats and much debate—
the solution was to have Missouri become a Southern state (allowing slavery) and a new state would be granted to
the North (Maine—remember, Massachusetts had two parts: present-day Mass., and Maine territory). So it was
decided and declared “the Missouri Compromise of 1820”. All states south of 36’30” parallel would be slave states
(except for Missouri that was just north of that line), and the north got Maine in return to keep the balance even
between slavery southern and non-slavery northern states.
Missouri Compromise 1820
Marshall’s Court
In Fletcher v Peck in 1810, Marshall and his court decided that contracts could NOT be broken. This president even
applied to contracts prior to the American Revolution while some wanted all contracts to be null and void, basically
a reset back to no contracts. Another key case was Dartmouth College v Woodward in 1819, which upheld
Fletcher v Peck as a president (prior ruling), and this decision placed greater restrictions on the state government
and their ability to ‘control’ corporations. Another key case was dealing with the Cherokee Indians in Worcester v
Georgia 1832. Marshall’s decision was in favor of the US but defined the Cherokee as living in a Nation within a
Nation: the rights of the Native Americans, on their land, supersedes the laws of the United States.
The Monroe Doctrine
The revolutions occurring to the South of the US gave birth to the idea of spheres of influence. This would occur by
the Americans controlling the Americas and keeping our European cousins out so that the US could profit from all
the natural resources in Central and South America without competition. No more European colonization would be
tolerated by the US in the territory we claimed to control (through our sphere of influence). Named “the Monroe
Doctrine” in 1820, the terms were that the US would see future European colonization as an act of war, and the US
would stay out of European affairs on the continent of Europe. With this doctrine, the US was claiming supreme
power in the Americas and also it established a sense of nationalism (proud to be American) even though it upset
Spain, France, and of course, Great Britain. This fear of retaliation for France to help Spain reclaim territory, or
Great Britain to come take Cuba had the effect of binding the Americans together with common fears and
common goals. This new commonness among Americans of all races is called Nationalism.
“Corrupt Bargain”
In the presidential election of 1824, JQ Adams faced Crawford and Clay along with Andrew Jackson. The 12 th
Amendment to the Constitution was passed after the disaster of the 1800 election in the tie in the House of Rep.
so the 12th Amend. held that only the two top vote getters are in a run-off for presidency. Jackson received the
most electoral votes but in spite of Jackson, Clay through his support to Adams just because he hated Jackson. The
2nd and 3rd most electoral vote getting together cost Jackson the Presidency. In return for his kindness, Adams
elected in 1824, made Clay his Secretary of State. This inside maneuvering that infuriated Jackson and his followers
was named, “Corrupt Bargain”.
The Second President Adams
The second president Adams would be haunted by the disgruntled Jacksonians throughout his term in office. The
first major problem for Adams was, “the Tariff of Abominations” in 1828 . The tariff was a tax on imported goods
which stemmed from the New England wool manufacturers who complained that Great Britain is “dumping”
textiles and wool products at lower than profitable prices just to put the New England manufacturers out of
business. (they couldn’t sell their products cheaply or they would go out of business as the British had hoped).
Adams had to decide if angering the New England textile manufactures by not signing the tariff would outweigh
the extra cost put onto raw materials from distant lands. He labored over the decision but eventually gave in to the
New England manufacturers and received anguish from the Southerners for this tariff—Southerners dubbed the
tariff as, “The Tariff of Abominations”. Jackson won the presidency in 1828 bringing forward a new type of
president—a president of the people, for the people. He was extremely popular in the West and South and was
determined to be a good, honest president (well, as honest a president we had up to that point).
The People’s President
More than any President prior or future, General Andrew Jackson became President Andrew Jackson. Upon
inauguration, he led his faithful laborers, farmers, and other supporting middle and lower classes through the
White House soiling rugs and destroying fine furniture along the way. John Marshall remarked, “the reign of King
‘Mob’ seems triumphant”. Although the Jacksonian Era did not provide as much economic equality between the
social classes as he had hoped, Jackson’s Presidency opened the right to vote up to new groups of people who
throughout US history—had had no voice. (remember taxation without representation??). (Just 27% of the people
could vote in 1824, by 1860 it was over 81%). Leading historians agree that the age of Jackson developed a sense
of Americanism—long lost from the early days of the revolution. Jackson was not only supported by the West and
South; he appealed to the Eastern working class as they grappled with capitalistic ruling class.
President Andrew Jackson
The President for the Common Man
Although Jackson was no great democratic philosopher like Jefferson, he did possess a simple and true theory of
democracy. “Equal protection and equal benefit” to all white men was his philosophy. This was no music to the
aristocracy who viewed Jackson as unrefined and uneducated. For all the attempts toward equality that Jackson
fought for, there was no doubt that he stood firm that African Americans need to remain slaves. Jackson also set
out to clean house in the government. He went after office holders in office more than a decade. He argued,
“offices belong to the people, not the entrenched office holders”. But after 8 long years as president, he was only
able to root out 1/5 of the entrenched office holders. He finally embraced the “Spoils System” allowing elected
officials to appoint their followers to public office (not elected by the people).
Calhoun and Nullification
After serving Jackson as Vice President for 8 years, Calhoun began to sour on the “tariff of abominations” of 1828,
as it did so much harm to his home state of South Carolina. In reality, it was the overuse of farmland that led to
exhaustion of the land which became unable to compete with the rich soils of the West and Southwest.
Nevertheless, Calhoun blamed the tariff for keeping South Carolina from prospering economically. The idea of
secession was extreme (breaking away from the Union of the US and becoming a lone state/nation), Calhoun
offered a softer approach—nullification. Drawing from the ideas of Madison and Jefferson—in the Virginia and
Kentucky Resolutions of 1789-99, he argued that since the Union of the US is made up of states bound together in
a union agreeing to use common federal law, the states (not the courts or Congress), had the final say on the
constitutionality of federal law. This he referred to by previous resolutions as nullification—South Carolina was
simply going to ignore federal laws they deem unfit for their state. If the Congress passed a law that South Carolina
felt was unconstitutional, they would hold a special convention and debate the law and deem whether it was null
and void within their state. The nullification doctrine served to “nullify” the tariff of 1828 that was stifling their
economy.
Van Buren & the Webster-Hayne Debate
Van Buren was best known for creating a group of unofficial advisors “kitchen cabinet”, who advised President
Jackson. The Webster-Hayne debate of 1830 was between Daniel Webster and Robert Hayne. Both Senators,
Webster exclaimed, “Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable”—referring to the nullification
doctrine the Senator from South Carolina (Hayne). Hayne claimed that the Northeast was in a constant conspiracy
against the West and South and that if the two areas joined together, they would force the Northeasterners to
lower the Tariff of 1828. Webster quickly challenged Hayne to a debate—not one on the tariff or public lands but
on the subject of state’s rights vs. national power.
At a Presidential dinner, President Jackson (supporting the Democratic party) rose to toast the head table and
claimed, “Our Federal Union—It MUST be preserved” while staring at Calhoun. Calhoun while seated responded,
“the Union, next to our liberty most dear”. Sharp distinct lines had been drawn.
Nullification Crisis
South Carolinians hoped the 1832 tariff bill would offer relief from the 1828 tariff of abominations. It did not, and
so South Carolina elected to NOT collect the duty (tax) on imports as outlined in the tariffs of 1828 and 1832.
Senator Henry Clay devised a plan to lower the tariff gradually so that by 1842 it would be at 1816 levels. This
averted disaster, for now but this issue was not going away. This issue will burn in the hearts key South Carolinians
until inevitably they will secede from the Union.
Removal of the Indians
In addition to being the people’s President, Jackson held firm racism against the Native Americans. He wanted to
move the Indians West (to lands of no value), since the Native Americans used no natural resources, it was
obvious to Jackson that they could live in another place just as well. Once seen as “Nobel Savages”, the mood
toward the Native Americans changed—in the 1800’s as the white man moved west in increasing numbers, all the
while encountering the Native Americans who they were pushing off of the traditional Indian lands. Jackson’s view
of Native Americans was that they were not just uncivilized, but un-civilizable. White settlers preferred to relocate
the Native Americans (not for their safety), it was because the white men wanted their land. The federal
government had no room to negotiate with the Native Americans and no authority over them as outlined in the
Constitution—“a nation within a nation.”
The 5 Civilized Tribes
Territory of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida was the area where the “five civilized tribes” were found.
The Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw were these tribes with agricultural societies and thriving
economies. To complicate things, the Cherokee, for example, were primarily farmers who had given up hunting
and gathering and were the most “civilized tribe” in the view of most whites who claimed that the civilized tribes
had “learned” to be civilized and therefore should be allowed to keep their lands. This did not fly with the landhungry whites who pushed Jackson to push the Supreme Court to pass the Indian Removal Act in 1830. The idea
was to relocate them much further west away from the land that the greedy whites desired. The Supreme Court
cases Cherokee Nation v Georgia in 1831 and Worcester v. Georgia in 1832 were attempts to halt Indian removal
from their lands. Marshall’s decision in Worcester v. Georgia was to reinforce the fact that Native Americans’ land
could not be encroached upon. Furthermore, this decision had outlined what the Constitution had failed to do; it
gave the Native Americans property rights AND in so doing, demonstrated the federal power over state power.
Jackson was outraged; he claimed, “Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it.” The wily General
Jackson knew that the Supreme Court had no power to enforce the law if the government did not go along with it.
So Jackson sent representatives to the Cherokee Nation to get them to sign a treaty for $5 million dollars to cede
their Georgia land to the US in exchange for lands east of the Mississippi River (Oklahoma). The group that signed
was a minority faction and none of them were representatives of the Cherokee Nation. (this will happen again in
Panama for the Panama Canal). The US had a signed treaty signed by a Cherokee. A Great majority of the Cherokee
did not recognize the treaty and refused to leave.
Cherokee on The Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
The Cherokee were removed from their lands in Georgia by US Army cavalry who followed orders to move the
defenseless people along the arduous journey terminating in the future state known as Oklahoma. Eventually, all
five civilized tribes were moved via different routes as to not have too many Native Americans in one area at a
time. (chance of uprising). Thousands died along the Trail of Tears—young, old, sick all walked along the hundreds
of miles carrying their only worldly belongings. A kind General in the US Army felt compassion towards these poor
cold people and offered extra army blankets…unfortunately the blankets were covered in small pox and proceeded
to kill all the Native Americans that accepted them. All five tribes would receive different designated areas of
present-day Oklahoma (not much there)…(the Indians would get their sweet revenge when oil was found beneath
Indian Territory in Oklahoma)…(classic).
Seminole Warriors
The Seminoles, on the other hand, managed to hide in the Florida swamps and use guerrilla warfare tactics in
order to not be subjected to the same fate as the other 5 tribes. The Seminoles were the only Native American
tribe to keep from being beaten by the US government. The Seminole War cast upon these defiant Indians by the
US government resisted although there were heavy losses. By 1842 most Seminole were dead or had moved west
yet a large percentage of the diehard Seminole Indians were never captured nor forced off their land. Jackson once
remarked; “Indians have neither the intelligence, the industry, the moral habits, nor the desire of
improvement”…In Jackson’s mind, white men and Native Americans will never work together in harmony.
Jackson and the Bank War
There were two things that Jackson always had distain for—Indians and The Second Bank of the United States. The
reason for this was simple—he feared the concentrated power of the government by use of this GIGANTIC bank.
(he felt smaller banks could better serve the people—a very Anti-Federalist sentiment). Tackling the Bank would be
tougher than he first realized so he first set his sights on the issue of hard money vs. soft money. (paper vs. coins &
bars of gold/silver). Convinced to apply for a new charter (4 years before the charter expired), presented Jackson
the opportunity to pounce on the Bank. A bill was passed to allow the Bank a new charter. Jackson obviously
vetoed the Bill, and the Congress did not have enough votes to override the veto. So the Bank was not dead, only
severely wounded by this action. Not able to abolish the Bank until the charter expired, Jackson decided to remove
US deposits in the Bank and place the money into smaller banks (called his “pet banks”). The first secretary of the
treasury refused to move the money stating that it would upset the financial system of the US government. So he
fired him and appointed another. He too refused. Then Jackson turned to a more willing Roger B. Taney who did
follow his orders. Nicolas Biddle (the President of the Bank since 1823 was not going to let the Bank wither away
without a fight. Biddle called in loans and raised interest rates (putting a strain on the Bank’s ability to pay all its
creditors. Biddle felt that without the normal government deposits, the Bank’s assets would be stretched too thin
and would eventually falter. Then Biddle would ask Congress for another charter with more power to withstand a
crazy President. The battle raged on back and forth until financial conditions severely worsened in the winter of
1833-34. Supporters of the Bank blamed Jackson and his policies for the crisis. But the Jacksonians just blamed
Biddle of getting in the way of government. When distressed citizens pleaded to the President, he responded, “Go
to Biddle!”. Then Biddle’s credit was far over stretched and he had to go back on his own policy. The Second Bank
of the United States died in 1836 to the delight of Jackson and his followers. But left without a sound, stable
financial institution to assist the government, the US entered into a dark and rocky time period with a fragile and
fragmented banking system that would plague the US for over a century. (Until FDR in the 1930’s). This was the
time period when the Robber Barons gained their fortunes. J. Rockefeller, J. Vanderbilt, JP Morgan, and A.
Carnegie would be the captains of industry, and usher in a wave of industrialism that would be both an economic
boom, and a living hell for the poor working class.
The Taney Court
In return for his loyalty, Roger B. Taney would be appointed to the Supreme Court as Chief Justice. He would
reside on the Court and be more democratic and less nationalistic than his predecessor (Marshall). He did change
on major thing while on the Court—he amended Marshall’s decision regarding contracts decided in Dartmouth
College v. Woodward… Marshall had claimed that contracts are contracts and may not be broken. Taney’s
interpretation was that the object of government was to promote the general happiness, the object that took
precedence over contracts and property. A state, therefore, had the right to amend a contract in order to advance
the well-being of the community if they so wished. (this is a stark contrast to Marshall’s ruling). So in the case of
Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, he argued, “by having a monopoly, did not function in the best interest of
the community”. Hence, the second bridge would be better for the community, and in effect, change the Marshall
ruling.
The Whigs
The beginnings of the Whig Party rooted itself in opposition to “KING JACKSON I”. The Whigs preferred to expand
power at the Federal level (much like the Founding Fathers of the Virginia Dynasty). They promoted industrial and
commercial development and were centered in New England yet strong ties to the plantation South. While the
Democrats wanted rapid westward expansion to reap the riches (natural resources), the Whigs preferred slow
growth to the West claiming that rapid westward expansion would cause economic instability. Democrats tended
to be more agrarian and working class (like Jackson).
Clay’s American System
Henry Clay’s talent was creating internal improvements and economic development which he called the American
System. Clay ran for President three times yet never won. Together with his buddies, John C. Calhoun, and Daniel
Webster, they all shared a focused hatred of Jackson and what he brought to the office of Presidency.
Van Buren and the financial Panic of 1837
President Van Buren took was elected in 1836 while times were good. The economy was booming, infrastructure
was being built in nearly every state. And soon the US government, for the first time in history, was out of debt. It
actually had a surplus of money that it chose to return to the states (who quickly used the funds on canals and
roads. Just prior to leaving office, Jackson (during his lame duck session), ordered, “specie circular” in order to
slow down the economy and keep the land speculators honest. This meant that ONLY hard money would be
accepted for debts. (thinking this would HELP the economy, it had the opposite effect). The country was sent into
an economic Panic (recession)—a “Panic” was changed to a “Recession” in 1910; recession just sounds so soothing,
but make no mistake about it, economy bad…economy very bad). Prices fell, RR projects failed, canal projects
failed and bread riots broke out in all major cities. Van Buren did little to stop the Panic and continued financial
downfall. It turned out to be a series of financial storms all hitting the country at the same time. Yes, the hard
money idea backfired as speculators made a run on the banks to exchange their paper money for hard money. Yes,
the surplus provided by the Bank of the US actually weakened the “pet state banks”. But it was Europe that was
the knock-out punch. Europeans (mostly English), were in a Panic of their own. So they called in the loans from the
US further hurting the US economy. It was a perfect storm of financial meltdown, and Van Buren’s head was
spinning. But Van Buren (his sharp administration and cabinet probably), came up with a plan for an independent
treasury. To be “divorced” from the private banks was what he felt would help the country the most. “The
treasury” would be located in Washington DC and would be free from the rich bankers and speculators. After
much debate, it did pass through both Houses of Congress.
The Webster-Ashburton Treaty
A minor land dispute on America’s Northeastern edge (Maine), between Canada and the US led to the Aroostook
War in 1837. The once prosperous fur industry the French enjoyed prior to the Revolutionary War, the new raw
material was wood. Lumberjacks make their way up the Aroostook River to prime timber for logging. Once there
were involved in violent clashes with resident Canadian lumberjacks with their eyes on the same trees. After a
series of these clashes, the Aroostook War had begun. Another incident happened a few years later involving a
slave ship (the Creole). The ship was sailing from Virginia to New Orleans, but on the way, the slaves overtook their
captors and sailed to the Bahamas. The British (who owned the Bahamas AND CANADA), claimed them to be free.
Many Americans (especially Southern Americans were pissed!!!). To calm the waters, the Webster-Ashburton
Treaty established a firm border to the lands between Maine and Canada.
The Penny Press
Newspapers brought the news for generations to the colonists and later to the Americans. The Penny Press did it
by being a penny and focused on trivial local news and sex, crime, and violence. Prior to the Penny Press, the large
newspapers were produced for the upper classes to read. The Penny Press opened up journalism to the lower
classes (the common man), and attracted more and more of a following. (precursor to the National Inquirer)…But
it sold—and sold well. (go figure). At the time, public education was expanding and, in turn, more readership. The
1820’s and 30’s saw a large influx of working class move into the cities: artisans, clerks, workers all drawn into the
city looking for information that was appealing to them. In six months, it had a circulation of 8,000 in New York City
and outpaced all other newspapers. The penny press added to the culture of America in that it spoke “to the
people, for the people”, not for the aristocrats.