Unit 5 notes
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The second party system (237)
o Late 1820s ideas of party was spreading beyond New York
o Election of Jackson in 1828 further legitimized the idea of a party as popular institution
o 1830s two parties was created and began to operate at the national level
o Anti-Jackson called themselves Whigs
o Jackson followers called themselves Democrats
 Nation’s oldest political party
o Jackson wanted equal protection and equal benefits to all its white male citizens
 Favor no region of class over another
The spoils system (238)
o Jackson removed 1/5th of the federal office holders during his 8th year
 He discovered that they had misused government funds
 Engaged in other corruptions
o Because of the spoils system the Jackson admini. Helped make the right of elected
officials to appoint their own followers
o Resented the congressional caucus
o 1832 president’s followers staged a national party convention to renominate him for
one more year
Limited nature of democratic reform (238)
o Spoils system + political convention= limited power of elites
o Neither transferred power to people
o Appointed to office usually is a political ally to the president
o Jacksonian rhetoric said the power in Washington restrict people with pol. Conn.
o Believed in forceful presidential leadership
o Vice president Calhoun began a controversial constitutional theory
 Supported tariff in 1816
Calhoun’s theory of nullification (239)
o Inspired from Jefferson and Madison Kentucky and Virginia resolution and the 10th
amend.
o States should be the final arbiters of the constitutionality of federal laws
 If state think congress passed unconstitutional law they can hold a special
federal can null and void within the state.
o Had many supporters but main enemy is martin van burin
Martin Van Burin
o Won election of governorship in 1828
o Resigned in 1829
o Established himself as a cabinet member and the president’s circle of political allies
known as kitchen cabinet
o Van Buren’s influence with the president is very strong
States’ rights versus national power
o Daniel Webster - senator of a mass. And nationalist Whig
o Attacked Hayne and Calhoun for their challenge to the integrity of the union
o Challenged Hayne on debate of states right vs national power. Coached by Calhoun
o Then delivered his second reply to Hayne
Unit 5 notes
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o Very popular speech to northerners
Compromise
o 1832 controversy of nullification created crisis of south Carolinians responded angrily to
a congressional tariff bill
o state convention nullified the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 and forbid collection of duties
within the state
o South Carolina elected Hayne to serve as governor
o Calhoun was replacing Hayne as senator
o 1833 Jackson proposed a force bill allowing the president to use the military to see that
acts of congress were obeyed
o not a single state supported South Carolina
o Henry Clay created a compromise that the tariff would be lowered a little every year so
that in 1842 it would be the same as 1816
o Compromise and force bill was established in 1833
o Convention nullified the force act
Changing attitudes toward the Indians
o 18th century: Considered the Indians as noble savages
o 19th century took on a hostile view of Indians
 thought they were uncivilized
o westerners wanted them removed because of the endless conflict and violence
o finding ways of moving the native Americans out of the land to expand white settlement
Saux and Fox Indians defeated
o Black hawk war was known because of the white cruelty towards the Indians
o Saux and Foxes retreated across the Mississippi into Iowa.
 White troops pursued them
 Slaughtered most of them
Agrarian tribes of the south
o The five societies established settled agricultural societies with successful economies
o Cherokee in Georgia created own language and own constitution
o Some argued that Cherokees should keep their land
o Cherokee women did domestic tasks
Removal act
o Fed gov. wanted to remove the land of the southern Indians and move them to the west
o Was not fast enough to satisfy the region’s whites
o 1830 passed the removal acts which gained appropriate money to move the Indians to
the west
o In Cherokee nation v Georgia and Worcester v Georgia the court partially vindicated the tribe
Cherokee resistance
o Treaty ceded the tribe’s land to Georgia in return for 5 million dollars
o Didn’t recognize the treaty was legitimate and refused to leave their homes.
Cherokee removal
o 1000 fled across state line to North Carolina
Indian removal
o 1/8 or more emigres perished before reaching their destination
o Called it the trail of tears
Unit 5 notes
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Between 1830 and 1838 all the five civilized tribes were expelled from the southern states
 Forced to move to the new Indian territory
 Created by congress by the Indian intercourse act of 1834
 Seminoles in Florida managed to resist the pressure to relocate.
 ceded their lands to the government and agreed to move to Indian territory in
3 years
 most moved but some stayed and created an uprising in 1835 to defend lands
The Seminole war
o Seminoles were masters of guerilla warfare in the everglades
o Spend 20 million dollars to get rid of the Seminoles
 Even then followers of Osceola remained in Florida
o In 1842 the government abandoned the project
o By the many Seminoles were killed or moved westward
The meaning of removal
o By 1830s important Indian society on the east side of the Mississippi moved west
o Ceded over 100 million acres of eastern land to federal gov.
o In return they had received 68 million dollars and 32 million acres of bad land.
o Divided by tribes and guarded by American forts
Alternatives to removal
o Many examples of Indians and whites living side by side
o During Lewis and Clark expedition they lived with Indians
o British settlers along the Atlantic coast had established plantations
 They were expanding westward and thought that the native owned lands as
virgin land
o Thought that the native American were obstacles to be removed
Jackson’s opposition to concentrated power
o Jackson used federal power against rebellious states and Indian tribes
o Consistently opposed to concentrating power
o Jackson vetoed the proposed Maysville road in Kentucky
o Jackson’s opposition to federal power was the most celebrated episode of Jackson’s
presidency
Nicholas biddle
o BUS was the most powerful and far-flung financial institution in the nation
o Government owned 1/5th of the bank’s stock
o Nicholas biddle served as president from 1823 and on
o Jackson was determined to destroy it
Hard and soft money
o Two factions: soft money and hard money
o Soft money- issuing bank notes and not gold or silver,
 Best way to circulate bank currency
 Consisted of state bankers and their allies
 Believed in rapid economic growth
o Hard money- believed that gold and silver were the only basis for money
 Condemned all banks issuing bank notes
 Believed in public virtue
Unit 5 notes
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o Jackson fell into debt as a result of the panic of 1797
o Did not want to renew charter of the BUS
Jackson’s veto
o Clay, Webster and other advisor wanted biddle to apply to congress in 1832 for a bill to
renew the bank
o Forcing a vote now would allow the bank to become a major issue in 1832
o Congress passed recharted bill and Jackson vetoed it
o Clay ran for president in 1832
o Jackson defeated clay
Removal of government deposits
o Can’t destroy the bank before charter ends but he can weaken it
o Remove gov. deposit on the bank
o Secretary of treasury refused and got fired
o Nicholas tried to give Jackson a bad name
o Realized that his actions will likely to cause financial distress
Jackson victorius
o When BUS died the US lost a financial institution and was left with unstable banking
systems
Charles river bridge v warren bridge
o Happened in 1837
o Dispute over two companies in Massachusetts to build a bridge across the Charles river
o One company had a longstanding charter from state to operate
o The other had applied to the legislature for authorization
o The second company won
Birth of the Whig party
o Some people denounced him as king Andrew the first
o Began calling themselves the Whigs
o The nation now had to competing political parties
o Calling it the second party system
Democrats emphasis on opportunity
o Democrats believed the role of the gov. should be limited
o But it should include efforts to remove obstacles to opportunity
o Locofocos was focused on a vigorous assault on monopoly
Whigs’ call for economic union
o Political philosophy known as whiggery
 Favored expanding power of the feds.
 Encouraging industrial and commercial development
 Knitting the country together into a consolidated economic system
o Cautious about westward expansion
Anti-mason
o Whigs drew support from substantial merchants and manufacturers of the northeast
o Democrats drew support from smaller merchants and the working men of the northeast
 Favored an agrarian economy
 Opposed to development of power
Unit 5 notes
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Whigs tended to be wealthier than the democrats
Whigs worked to develop a popular following by making a connection to a movement
called the anti-mason.
 Emerged in the 1820s
 In response to the society of freemason
Crash course 16
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America women lived life like in Europe
o Legally and socially subservient to men
o Trapped within patriarchal structure
Lower and working class women were more equal to men of their own class
Higher the social class the greater the restriction on women
o Lowest mortality rates
Women participated in the American revolution
Principle of coverture- husbands held authority over the person, property and choices of their
wives
Women weren’t allowed to own property
o Property ownership was a precondition for voting
Republican motherhood- raising children
o Needed to be educated so that they can educate their children
o Allowed women the access to education
Cult of domesticity
o Decreed that a women’s place was in the home
o Men had to provide for the family
Women also bought into the cult of domesticity
Women can only find low paying jobs
Reform movements
o Women can claim to be the moral conscience of the nation
o Francis Willard founded women’s Christian temperance union in 1874
o Women didn’t support alcohol
o Made a huge difference in amer. Life
 Realized they could be more against alcohol if they can vote
Many women were contributors of anti-slavery movement
Maria Stewart first American women to lecture mixed male and female audience
Uncle tom’s cabin introduced millions of Americans to the ideal that afri. Amer. People were
people
o Humanized slaves that it was banned throughout most of the south
Frederick douglass and William Lloyd garrison became supporters of women’s rights
Women’s suffrage raised most importantly in falls convention of 1848
Unit 5 notes
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Eliz. Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Susan b. Anthony published the declaration of
sentiments
o More radical than declaration of independence
 Took on patriarchal structure
th
19 century movement for women’s rights
o International movement
o Was primarily a middle class or upper class effort
o Needed to parti. In market eco. To gain eco. Freedom
o Faced strong resistance
o Equal rights movement was never ratified
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