Andrew Jackson & Rise of the
Common Man
Biography
o Born in SC, but lived in Tennessee
o 1st President to live west of the Appalachian
o Popular among men who lived in the West and South
o War hero from the war of 1812, fought in and won the
Battle of New Orleans
o Lost in the Election of 1824 because John Quincy
Adams won
o Jackson won the popular vote but did not have a majority in
the House of Representatives
o Clay sponsored Adams, so when Adams wins, Adams makes
Clay Secretary of State: CORRUPT BARGAIN
CHANGING AMERICAN POLITICS
o KEY WORDS: AGE OF THE COMMON MAN & JACKSONIAN
DEMOCRACY
o Jackson wins in 1828 because the COMMON MAN gets to
votes
o Emphasis on equality in politics for white men
o Expanded Suffrage (voting rights)
o Brought together a coalition of “common
men”
o Factory workers in the Northeast
o Farmers (non-slaveholders) in the South
o Pioneer farmers in the West
o First political campaigns, have slogans and rallies and the
press gets involved (led to the death of Jackson’s wife)
o Increased voter participation (more people could vote)
o Increase in interest groups/division between sections
SPOILS SYSTEM
o When Jackson gets elected he challenged the
rich (economic) elites by firing them from
their government jobs and hiring his
friends/campaign supporters
o Demonstrates/personifies the democratic spirit
and age of the common man
o Becomes known as the SPOILS SYSTEM
o Kitchen Cabinet- ignores his official cabinet
and hires his BFFs
TRAIL OF TEARS
o Had most supporters in the South and West
o Helped them by removing 60,000 American
Indians from the region
o Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek, Choctaw, Seminole
o Marched the 16,000 Indians 1,000 miles west
into Indian territory
o 4,000 Cherokees died during the journey
o Known as the “Trail of Tears”
o Opened the door for more western settlement
and growth of King Cotton
TRAIL OF TEARS
IMPACT ON POLITICAL PARTIES
o Federalist Party was gone (Hartford
Convention)
o Jackson was a Democrat
o Whigs and Know Nothings organized to oppose him
o Most of their support came from the North, Jackson’s
was in the South/West
o Division of political parties based on
sectionalism
o Increase in campaigning
o Spoils System
BANK WAR & TARIFFS
o Jackson HATED the National Bank
o When was this first established?
o Since he was from the West he had been
negatively affected by the National Bank
o Thought the bank was corrupt and gave the federal
government too much power
o Northerners/Congress supported it
o Congress renewed the bank, but Jackson vetoed the bill
saying it was unconstitutional
o Veto shocked the Whigs because Presidents had rarely used
the veto power before. Whigs thought Jackson was a
power-hungry tyrant trampling on Congress’s rights
THE CONTRADICTION
• Railed against class supremacy /
believed in white supremacy
• Insistent on equality of white men /
took racism for granted
• Subjugation of Native American
– Indian Removal Act & Trail of Tears
• Supported Slavery
– Jackson determined to keep slavery issue
out of national affairs (gag-rule)
• President Andrew Jackson used the spoils
system to
A.
B.
C.
D.
attack the Tariff of Abominations
reward supporters with United States government jobs
win support for construction of the Erie Canal
gain passage of the Indian Removal Act
• President Andrew Jackson represented which
newly enfranchised segment of the
population?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Women
American Indians
The “Common Man”
African Americans
The events in this flow chart
illustrate which of the
following?
A. Decreasing voter turnout
B. The rise of the common man
in American politics
C. The decline of American
political parties
D. Political corruption in
elections
HOW HE GOT ELECTED:
• Jackson portrayed as “a man of the
people”
• First to run a modern campaign
– Songs
– Slogans
– Buttons
– Parades
– Rallies
– Barbecues
WHY:
• In 1828, everybody came out to vote –
Why?
– Common man distrusted the Eastern elites!
• Economics / Politics
– Eastern elites ran the economy and the
federal government
– Common man did not want to be shut out!
• Secure economic independence
• Thought John Quincy Adams stole the Election of
1824
Tariffs & Nullification Crisis 18161833
Tariffs
o Definition: Tax on imports- supported by
manufacturers, disliked by farmers
o Protected American industry from competition
from Europe
o Favored by New England and middle states
The Tariff of 1816
o The first tariff in American history passed for
protection
o About 20 to 25 %
o Not high enough to provide protection
o It started a protective tariff trend
Tariff of 1824
o Congress increased the tariff significantly, but
wool manufacturers wanted more
o S.C. leaders didn’t want a higher tariff, they said
European wool owners would punish cotton
growers by paying a lower price for cotton
o Raised the duty from 25% to 33.3%
o After this tariff, the price of cotton in Europe fell
from 32 cents a pound to 13 cents
Tariff of 1828
o In 1827 manufactures in the North asked for an
even higher tariff
o There were protests all over S.C.
o In 1828 the tariff passed, which raised the duty to
50%
o Southerners were shocked at the rates, called it
the Tariff of Abominations
o Calhoun writes The South Carolina Exposition
and Protest secretly because he is still Vice
President.
Why were the southerners so angry?
o Believed the “Yankee tariff” discriminated against
them
o Southerners sold their cotton in an unprotected
tariff market, but bought manufactured goods in
an American market heavily protected by tariffs
o The South wanted to protect themselves from
the federal government interfering with state’s
rights—saw the tariff issue as a way to take a
stand
Nullifiers vs. Unionists
o Calhoun: (States Rights)
• States created the Federal government.
• If a state believed the government had passed an
unconstitutional law, then the state could nullify it.
• The state would not have to obey the law
o Webster: (Unionist)
• The people, not the states, created the Federal government
• A state could not nullify a law nor secede
o How are the above ideas examples of
sectionalism?
The Tariff of 1832
• 1832:
• Tariff reduced to 35%
• South was still not satisfied
1832- Ordinance of Nullification
• In 1832 S.C. “Nullifiers”:
• had enough votes (2/3rds) to nullify the Tariff of 1832
• Nullified with the Ordinance of Nullification
• Calhoun has resigned and now a senator from SC
leading the nullification fight
Jackson’s Response Dec. 1832
• President Jackson responded to the Nullification
Proclamation- saying nullification was treason and
would use force to collect the tariffs
• Congress passed the Force Bill, which gave Jackson
the power to use the army and navy to enforce
laws, specifically the tariffs.
Compromise Tariff of 1833
• Created by Calhoun and Henry Clay
• Attempt to resolve Nullification Crisis
• Gradually reduce tariff rates for next 10 years
until they reached 20% (the 1816 tariff rate) by
1842
South Carolina’s Response
• S.C. accepts the new tariff
• War is avoided
• S.C. repeals the Ordinance of Nullification, and
nullifies the Force Bill