The Presidency of Andrew
Jackson
Tempest and Turmoil in a New
Political Order, 1829-1837
Mythology of the Age of
Common Man
• Jackson, and most of his supporters, were
uncommon men
• But Jackson and the political culture in
general railed against “artificial
distinctions,” especially those created by
governmental policy
Jackson’s Stated Principles
• Small government
• Judicious tariff
• Retirement of the
• Jackson’s election and
national debt
values was anathema
to the old political
• “rotation in office”
order:
“the
reign
of
• “just” policy toward
King Mob seemed
indians
triumphant”—Joseph
• States rights—but he’d
Story
decide what that meant
Jackson’s administration
• Cabinet was ordinary—designed to give
sectional balance
• Jackson relied on unofficial advisor’s too:
the Kitchen Cabinet
• Cabinet rivalry between Martin Van Buren
and John Caldwell Calhoun dominated
politics
Van Buren & Calhoun
Eaton Affair
• Suggests a great deal about Andrew
Jackson’s state of mind following Rachel’s
death
• Became a proxy for the Calhoun-Van Buren
Feud
• Suggests a great deal about how polite
society viewed gender roles and how these
roles were policed
Jackson and Internal
Improvements
• AJ tended to be a strict constructionist—
unless he needed to be a loose
constructionist
• Vetoed the Maysville Road Bill—largely to
get at Henry Clay
• Supported other “pork barrel” internal
improvements
Nullification Crisis
• Both a constitutional and sectional debate:
protective tariff wasn’t mentioned in Constitution
and South and New England are both attempting
to build alliances with Western states
• Almost led to armed conflict
• Webster-Hayne Debate
• Jefferson Day Dinner/Florida debacle
• Final Break with Calhoun
• Real meaning of failure of SC to nullify Tariff
South Carolina
Indian Removal
• Most criticized part of AJ’s presidency
• 1830 Indian Removal Act (land in the
“west” in exchange for ancestral lands in
the east)
• Failed to support John Marshall’s ruling that
Cherokees had right to land in Georgia
• Trail of Tears
Indian Removal Map
John Ross
Bank Recharter Controversy
• AJ didn’t believe Bank was Constitutional and
thought it facilitated “Artificial Distinctions”
• Clay’s supporters made Bank the election issue of
1832—pushed through recharter bill which AJ
vetoed
• AJ won 1832 election
• AJ removed government money from 2dBUS and
placed it in “pet banks”
• Coupled with distribution scheme and the “specie
circular”, AJ’s fiscal policies brought on the Panic
of 1837
2dBUS—420 Chestnut St.,
Philadelphia
Political Legacy of Andrew
Jackson
• 2d Party system emerged by 1836—Jacksonians
were “Democrats” and his opponents were
“Whigs”
• Until mid-1840s, Whigs only agreed that they
opposed Jacksonians
• Politicians afterwards got right with Andrew
Jackson by portraying themselves as just plain
folks
• Martin Van Buren created national strategy of
focusing on local issues and ignoring national
issues like slavery
Jackson’s Immediate Legacy:
President Martin Van Buren
•
•
•
•
Panic of 1837
Independent Treasury
Gag Rule debates
1840 Election—Log Cabins and Hard Cider
William Henry Harrison