The Age of Jackson,
1824-1844
Daniel Acosta
Helen Cai
Zamir Borja
Jacksonian Democracy
 Rise of Democratic
Society
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Class divisions were
not noticeable
Widespread belief in
the self-made man
No belief in the “selfmade woman” or civil
rights
Jacksonian Democracy
 Politics of the Common Man
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Universal Male Suffrage
Party Nominating Conventions
Popular Election of the President
Two-Party System
Rise of Third Parties
More Elected Offices
Popular Campaigning
Spoils System & Rotation of Officeholders
Jackson Vs AdamsElection of 1824
 Era of Good Feelings
ended in political
divisions
 Candidates were John
Quincy Adams, Henry
Clay, William Crawford,
and Andrew Jackson
 Corrupt Bargain
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Jackson won majority
of popular votes
Electoral votes were
split 4-ways
Henry Clay used his
influence to sway the
House of Rep’s choice
into electing Adams as
victor
President Adams
appointed Clay as his
secretary of state
President John Quincy Adams
 Jacksonians denounced
Adams for internal
improvements, aid to
manufacturing, and a
national university and
astronomical observatory
 Tariff of 1828 : Tariff of
Abominations
Satisfied Northern
manufacturers but hurt
Southern planters
The Revolution of 1828
 Adams sought reelection
 Southern and Western
discontent benefited
Jackson and ruined
Adams
 Both political parties
resorted to smearing
each other
 Jackson won the election
due to his reputation as a
war hero and self-made
man
Andrew Jackson’s Presidency
 7th President of the United States
 Yo
 Hero of the Battle of New
Orleans in the War of 1812
 President of the “Common Man”
(Working and Middle Class)
 An Indian Fighter
Jackson’s Role As President
 Created “Kitchen
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Cabinet” using the Spoils
System
Vetoed 12 bills in his
Eight Years as President
Was not on the same
page with Henry Clay
Was opposed to National
debt and increased
national spending
Rejected Congress’s
powers, whose most
audible voice was Clay
The Peggy Eaton Affair
 Eaton was accused of being
an adulteress by the wives of
Jackson’s cabinet
 Thus, not invited to private
parties
 With his powers, Jackson
forced the cabinet to befriend
Eaton
 As a result, most of the cabinet
resigned, including John
Calhoun, his vice president
Jackson’s Policy Concerning
Native American Tribes
 Since Jackson was for the
common man, he
sympathized with people
who wanted western land
 Indian Removal Act of 1830resettlement of Native
Americans to lands west of
the Mississippi
 The Bureau of Indian
Affairs- created to help
these Indian tribes move to
their new land
Supreme Court Cases Concerning
Native American Tribes
 Worcester v. Georgia (1832)
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 Cherokee Nation v.
Georgia (1831)
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Cherokees were not a
foreign nation with the
right to sue in a federal
court
Georgia had no power within
Cherokee territory
Showed a clash of state
power and federal
government
“John Marshall has made his
decision, now let him enforce
it.”
“Trail of Tears”
The Nullification Crisis
 South Carolina called Tariff
of 1828 unconstitutional.
 Nullification Theory- all
states have the right to
decide if a federal law
should be obeyed or void
 The Force Bill gave Jackson the
power to send military to SC
 Nullification and Disunion was
Treason in Jackson’s eyes
 A Possible Event of Succession
for South Carolina
Jackson’s Policy Concerning
the Bank of the United States
 Bank of the United States
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Privately Owned
Nicholas Biddle,
President of BUS
 Jackson thought that the
bank abused its powers due
to Biddle’s pride
 Unconstitutionality in BUS in
Jackson’s eyes
 Clay went against Jackson
(BUS –part of the American
System); wanted it
rechartered
 Jackson, like did with the other
previous legislations, vetoed
the recharter for the bank, not
making it look good for Clay
The Two-Party System in the
Age of Jackson
 Democrats
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Opposed Monopolies,
a national bank, high
tariffs, high land prices
Supported local rule,
free trade, equal
economic opportunity
for men, states’ rights
Resembled Jefferson’s
Republican Party of
the 1790s
 Whigs
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Opposed crime, and
immorality
Favored Clay’s
American System
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National Bank
Protective Tariffs
Internal
Improvements
Can be Compared to
the Federalist Party
Jackson’s Second Term
 “Pet Banks”
 Specie Circular
The Election of 1836
The “Log Cabin and Hard
Cider” Campaign of 1840