The Age of Jackson
Mr. Clowes
APUSH
Bringing Politics to the People
• As American politics became more democratic
during the early 1800’s, voter turnout and middle
and lower class participation in politics
experienced dramatic increases
– Factors that democratized the US
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Universal male suffrage
Party conventions
Popular election of the president
Third parties
More elected offices
Popular campaigning
Bringing Politics to the People
• Universal Male Suffrage
– As frontier states were admitted to the US they
adopted state constitutions that allowed for all
white males to vote
• This eliminated property qualifications that had
prevented lower and middle class males from voting
• This also eliminated the property qualifications for
holding political offices, so now lower and middle class
males could run for any public office
Bringing Politics to the People
• In the past the “King Caucus” chose a party’s
candidate for elections
– King Caucus – a party’s leaders would hold a
secret meeting to choose a candidate
• Beginning in the 1820’s and 1830’s candidates
for political offices began to be chosen at state
and local conventions by the party’s
supporterns
– This eliminated the secret meetings (King Caucus)
Bringing Politics to the People
• As the political parties began to change their
process for choosing candidates, so did the
presidential election process change
– In the past, the electoral college (who has always
determined the election winner) was made up of
delegates chosen by state legislatures
– This changed in the early 1820’s as states began to
give their electoral votes to whichever presidential
candidate won that states popular election
– By the election of 1832 the only state still using the
old elector system was South Carolina, all other states
were using the popular voting system
Bringing Politics to the People
• The two party system did alienate many people
from politics who could not relate/identify with
either party
• The development of third parties offered many of
these people a chance to participate in
government
– The first successful third party was the Anti-Mason
part
• The Anti-Masons attacked the secret meetings of political
leaders and appealed strongly to the middle and lower
classes
• It was also responsible for the party nominating convention
Bringing Politics to the People
• While most political offices had begun as
appointments (the winner of an election
would appoint people directly to the positions
around him), during the early 1800’s many
political offices came to be elected positions
– This gave people more of a reason to participate
in government as they were now able to have a
say in the decision of what political leaders would
influence their daily lives
Bringing Politics to the People
• Now that the “common man” was having such
a powerful influence on elections political
leaders realized that they would have to take
their cause to the ‘everyday’ people, not just
the elite of society
– This led to modern campaigning methods
• Parades and festivals
• Public speeches for the masses
– These campaigning methods appealed to the
people and led to much larger voter turnouts
The Election of 1824
• The election of 1824 is considered the last of
the “old elections”
• Though there was only one party at the time,
the Republican party, the “King Caucus”
system could not pick a candidate so four men
ran for president… John Quincy Adams,
Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and William
Crawford
The Election of 1824
• Jackson, by now a national war hero, won the
popular vote and the electoral vote… BUT the
Constitution states that the presidential winner
must have a majority of the electoral vote, which
Jackson did not
• The election went to the House which Clay
controlled
• Clay and Jackson were bitter rivals so Clay sided
with JQ Adams and he gave him enough votes to
win the election
The Election of 1824
• As JQ Adams was selecting his cabinet he
appointed Clay as his Secretary of State, at the
time one of the most prestigious positions in
all of the US government
– Jackson’s supporters cried foul, claiming that Clay
and Adams had made a dirty bargain during the
election in the House
The Splitting of the Republicans
• While president Adams pressed for many bills
that alienated true Republicans
– He requested money for internal improvements,
aid for Northern manufacturing, and the infamous
“Tariff of Abominations”
• Jackson’s supporters called many of JQ Adams
other requests ‘wasteful’
– Money for a national university, funds for a
national observatory (astronomy)
The Tariff…
• In 1824 Congress had already increased tariffs
• In 1828 Jacksonians had hoped to make Adams look
even worse by pushing for even higher tariffs, a bill
that would become the Tariff of Abominations
– They had hoped that it would be so harmful that even
Northerners would strike it down, making even them
dislike Adams
– Instead the Northerners made some small revisions and
passed the bill… Southerners were appalled…
– The bill was labeled by Southerners as the “Tariff of
Abominations” who now reversed their decisions and
pushed for it to be repealed, but it was too late…
The Tariff…
• Cotton prices were falling because of
overproduction
• Southerners were now forced to sell their cotton
at lowered prices and then buy foreign
manufactured goods at much higher prices (the
tariffs were increasing the prices of all foreign
goods because of the added taxes)
– Many Southerners quit buying the foreign goods and
began buying Northern goods, thus the Tariff of
Abominations hurt the Southern economy buy helped
the Northern economy
The Election of 1828
• For Jacksonians, the election of 1828 began as
soon as the election of 1824 had ended
– They made appeals to the public
• They stated that the candidate whom the people had chosen
in 1824 had been taken away from them due to a corrupt
and secret bargain
– The idea of “Whole Hog for Jackson in 1828”
• They created the moniker “Old Hickory” to make
Jackson seem like a commoner
– In reality Jackson was a wealthy plantation owner
from the upper class
The Election of 1828
• The election became a contest of slander as both
campaigns turned to insulting the other to win public
support
– The Jacksonians accused Adams of marrying a woman who
had been born out of wedlock
– Adams was also accused of being a privileged man who freely
spent the people’s money… (he had purchased a billiards
table and an expensive chess set for the White House
– The supporters of Adams accused Jackson of being an
adulterer
• He had married his wife Rachel before his last divorce had
been finalized
• She died soon after the election and Jackson forever
blamed the Adams campaign committee for her death
The Election of 1828
• Jackson won the Southern and Western regions
while Adams won New England
• Jackson won the popular vote by more than
150,000 votes, and the electoral 178 to 83
• The election showed the growing political power
of the West as it played the deciding factor in the
election
• Adams would still be an important politician for
the next 20 years and his funeral was the largest
ever in Washington DC up to its time
Old Hickory
• Jackson was a true folk hero to the masses
– He had been an orphan but had made himself into
a successful politician, war hero, and wealthy
plantation owner
• Jackson’s anger was legendary, but so was his
loyalty and honesty
• Jackson believed in the common man and
embraced democracy
Jackson’s Political Beliefs
• Jackson was a true Republican
– He denounced Federalist ways, believing that they
were for the privileged and elitist
– He did believe in the sacredness of the Union and
believed that the federal government should be
the true power of the country
– He believed that the common man was as capable
of achieving greatness as the wealthy was  he
embraced Western democracy
The Spoils System
• Jackson firmly believed in appointing individuals
to government jobs and offices (i.e. postmaster
generals, sheriffs, fire chiefs, etc.)
– When he became president most government job and
office holders were fired and replaced with his loyal
supporters  this process became known as the
Spoils System and became a part of American
government
– Jackson defended this practice by stating that no man
had any more of a claim for a government position
than any other
The Spoils System
• The Spoils System also reinforced the two-party
system as individuals were forced to choose a party
for which to pledge loyalty (otherwise they would be
left out of the rewards given to loyal followers by the
victors)
• A major disadvantage of the Spoils System was the
fact that many positions were filled with
inexperienced and unqualified individuals who were
not prepared for the job  this led to many cases of
inefficiently run government offices
Jefferson as President
• Jefferson fervently saw himself as a champion of
the common man, thus he fought many
government policies and bills that he felt would
have given more wealth to the upper class
– He opposed increased government spending (i.e. he
vetoed bills that would have given money for internal
improvements)
– He vetoed the rechartering of the Second National
Bank of America
– He removed what remained of Native Americans from
the West in order to allow for more lands to be settled
Maysville Veto
• Jefferson did allow for some money to be
allocated for improved transportation, but he
only allowed federal money to be contributed to
interstate projects
• He vetoed the construction of the Maysville Road,
explaining that is was wholly within the state of
Kentucky and would only benefit that one state
– Many have argued he also did this to spite Henry Clay,
for Kentucky was his home state
The Peggy Eaton Affair
• Jackson did have an official Cabinet, but they
were mainly weak politicians who Jackson
rarely consulted
– The exception was Martin Van Buren, the
Secretary of State, who was a very skill negotiator
• Jackson’s main group of advisors were an
unofficial group known as the “Kitchen
Cabinet”
The Peggy Eaton Affair
• Jackson’s Secretary of War, John Eaton, married
Peggy O’Neale (now Peggy Eaton)
• She was the source of much scandal and gossip
(much as Jackson’s now deceased Rachel had
been during the election of 1828)
• Jackson came to her defense and much of his
Cabinet resigned over the matter
– His vice president, John C. Calhoun, even resigned
over the matter  the two would become very bitter
rivals over this situation and other later disputes
Removing the Last Natives…
• Jackson believed that the best lands were for
the white settlers
• In 1830 he had the Indian Removal Act passed
– He believed it to be the best situation for the
Native Americans
– It moved the Natives to lands west of the
Mississippi River
– By 1835 most of the native tribes had complied
Marshall and Old Hickory
• Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) – Marshall
ruled that the Cherokees did not have the right of
a foreign nation and therefore they could not sue
in federal court
• Worcester v. Georgia (1832) – Marshall ruled that
Georgia’s laws did not have jurisdiction on
Cherokee lands, and therefore the Cherokees did
not have to move west
– Jackson would reply to Marshall’s decision, “He has
made his decision, now let him enforce it”
The Trail of Tears
• Six years after Worcester the Cherokees,
despite the decision of the Supreme Court,
were forced off of their lands and moved west
by US soldiers
• Their trek west was known as the Trail of Tears
– Of the 15,000 who were forced to move over
4,000 would die from the harsh conditions of the
forced march
Nullification
• Nullification means the right of a state to
determine the constitutionality of federal
laws, and thus their right to decide whether to
follow them
• States’ rights advocates were the strongest
supporters of the policy of nullification
– These were mainly found in the South and in the
West
Webster-Hayne Debate
• New England, afraid at the number of its people
moving west (this drained their political power)
proposed a bill in Congress that would make it more
difficult to buy public lands
• Robert Hayne, a South Carolina congressman, led the
protests of the South and West against New England
and the North…
– He stated that since the Constitution was ratified by the
states that they had the right to determine when the
federal government was doing wrong… thus, the states
could nullify federal laws
– He noted Northern disloyalties in his speech (Hartford
Convention, the Tariff of Abominations, etc.)
Webster-Hayne Debate
• Daniel Webster, a senator from New Hampshire,
defended the Northerners
– He argued that the people had made a pact with the
federal government in forming the Constitution, not
the states  therefore, the states had no justification
in their nullification efforts
– He ended with the now famous quote… “Liberty and
union, now and forever, one and inseparable”
– His words would prove significant in terms of the Civil
War, for from then on the North had something to
focus on, unity and the Union…
Nullification Continues…
• Jackson and Webster would become the leaders
of the arguments for union… Jackson’s own vice
president, John Calhoun would become the
leader for nullification (until he resigned)
• Another incident occurred at a White House
toasting
– Jackson: “Our federal Union… it must be preserved”
– Calhoun: “The Union, next to our liberties, most
dear!”
The South Carolina Exposition
• Calhoun, while still vice president, would
secretly write The South Carolina Exposition
– This document furthered the argument for
nullification
– It stated that South Carolina had a right to nullify
The Tariff of Abomination (the Tariff of 1828) since
it was not serving in the state’s best interest
Nullification Continues…
• In 1832 Congress passed the Tariff of 1832
– It did away with the most harmful pieces of the
Tariff of 1828, but many tariffs still remained that
Southern states felt were harmful
• In 1832 South Carolina called a special state
convention where its representatives decided
that no more tariffs would be collected within
its borders, thereby nullifying the new tariffs
– They also threatened with secession (breaking
from the Union)
Nullification Continues
• President Jackson responded quickly and
forcefully…
– Jackson had the Force Bill passed
• It authorized military force to enforce the Tariff of 1832
(the military would take over the harbors and customs
houses in order to enforce the tariffs)
• The House was able to stall the Bill long enough for
their to be compromise…
The End of Nullification… For Now…
• Jackson did make one last effort to avoid
conflict and he asked Congress to consider
negotiating a new tariff
• the Tariff of 1833 was passed and it was
enough to calm the situation
• Jackson called down the military invading
South Carolina
• South Carolina rescinded its acts of
nullification
Another Banking Crisis
• The director of the National Bank in the 1820’s
and 1830’s was Nicholas Biddle
– He was a very effective director, but he was very
arrogant
– Jackson saw his arrogance as a sign that he was using
his powers to help the wealthy and oppress the
common man
– Jackson made it very clear that he was not going to
allow the bank to be rechartered
• He planned to veto it on the grounds that it was
unconstitutional
The Bank Veto
• Clay saw an opportunity to discredit Jackson
on the banking issue in hopes of hurting his
chances for reelection
– He convinced Congress to bring the bank’s charter
up for reapproval, which it received and which
Jackson of course vetoed, calling it an unjust
monopoly
– Instead of turning on him the public loved Jackson
for “defending” the common man
A Financial Crisis
• In order to ‘kill’ the bank even before its charter
was expired Jackson had all of the nation’s money
pulled out of the National Bank and deposited
into his “Pet Banks”
• Land speculation continued to run rampant in the
western states and prices for land and
manufactured goods became badly inflated
– Large amounts of money made their way into
circulation because of the National Bank being no
longer able to control currency  this led to further
inflation
A Financial Crisis
• Jackson attempted to fight this inflation by issuing an
order that stated that all lands purchased from the
government (western lands) would now have to be
purchased in gold or silver (called Specie Circular)
– This only worsened the situation by making paper currency
worth even less than its already decreasing value
– Land sales plummeted and, as they had during the
Financial Panic of 1819, land speculators failed on their
bank loans and caused many banks to go bankrupt, leading
to many people to lose their savings
– This decrease in spending power led many
industries/manufacturers to fail as well, leading to a
nationwide financial crisis
The End of Jackson’s Tenure
• Since Jackson’s second term ended in 1836
and the financial crisis did not fully explode
until 1837, blame for the financial downturn
did not fall on his shoulders
– The blame would fall on the next president,
Jackson’s protégé Martin Van Buren
The Election of 1836
• Jackson endorsed the man who had loyally
supported him throughout his tenure as
president, Van Buren
– He had served Jackson as Secretary of State and as
Vice President, and had also supported him
throughout all of Jackson’s controversies, the
Peggy Eaton Affair, the Nullification Crisis, the
Bank Veto, etc…
Another Political Party?
• Jackson’s severe demeanor led to the splitting
of the Republican Party
– Jackson’s supporters became known as Democrats
– Clay’s supporters would form another political
party, the Whigs
• The term Whig was a reference to both the British
political party that had supported liberty during the
Revolution, and also to the founding political party of
the Federalists
The Democrats
• Were very similar to the Jeffersonians
• Favored limited government
– Wanted equal political and economic opportunities
for all (that is, white males)
– Opposed elitist, big government policies such as the
National Bank and high tariffs that protected Northern
manufacturers  anything seen as supporting the
wealthy
• Most strong in the South and the West, also in
the working classes of the North
The Whigs
• Were very similar to the Federalists
• Pushed for policies that would lead to a powerful
and active federal government
– Supported the policies of Clay’s American System
– Opposed anything associated with “immigrants”
• Crime, immoral acts (drinking, gambling), radical
government that empowered the lower classes
• Were strongest in the New England region and in
the upper classes of all regions, also with pious
Protestants
The Election of 1836
• Knowing that they would have a very difficult
time in defeating Jackson’s hand-picked protégé,
the Whigs tried a unique strategy of nominating
three candidates in an attempt to keep Van Buren
from gaining a majority of the electoral votes and
thus sending the election into the House of
Representatives
• The Whigs’ strategy failed horribly and Van Buren
gained the necessary majority electoral vote
Van Buren as President
• Van Buren’s term as president (1836-1840)
was an uneventful and unproductive term
– His presidency was mired in the Financial Crisis of
1837, which he adopted from his mentor Jackson
– The Whigs tried to pass many pieces of legislation
surrounding policies of the American System
(higher tariffs, banking credit, internal
improvements, etc.) but Van Buren continuously
vetoed this bills as unnecessary
The Whigs Gain Power
• The Election of 1840
– With his image hurt by the financial crisis that had
embraced the country, Van Buren faced an uphill
battle for reelection as president in 1840
– The Whigs chose as their candidate the war hero
William Henry Harrison (“Ol’ Tippecanoe”)
• The Whigs stole a play from the Jackson handbook and
portrayed Harrison as a common man (they played on his
being born in a log cabin and being raised on hard cider)
– Harrison swept the electoral vote and the Whigs won
the election, bringing an end to the Age of Jackson…