"The Era of Jacksonian Democracy"
1828-1848


How democratic should
the American Democracy
be?
The election of Andrew
Jackson in 1828 initiates
a new and more
democratic era in
American political and
social history. **
Election of 1824
James Monroe,
1758-1831
John Quincy
Adams, 17671848
William
Crawford,
1772-1834
Birth of the Second Party System—
Election of 1824**




The election brings an end of the Era of Good Feelings and
the birth of the Second Party System. The year 1825 also
saw a "return to prosperity" in the U. S.
Virginia Dynasty – 4/5th of presidents had been from
Virginia (all the republicans were Virginians)
The unity of the Era of Good Feelings would shatter as the
Republican Party began to fracture into different camps
with different political agendas. The Republicans were in
disarray in 1824
Emergence of Democrats and Whigs as two principal
parties
Monroe's successor was to be Secretary of State, John Quincy
Adams who was seen by many as a Federalist in disguise





A Nationalist
Government should exercise
power in shaping society and
economy and assist the growth
of business and industry
Federally financed internal
improvements
Favored Banks and paper
money
Promotion of business growth
via a protective tariff
Candidacy of Andrew Jackson





The hero of New Orleans and
Indian campaigns
He ran on his name and reputation.
His military record was his sole
claim to fame **
Jackson came to symbolize the
triumph of democracy in America
His only issues were his dislike of
banks, especially the Bank of the
U.S., and paper money
He especially disliked the fact that
government policies favored
business and industry **
Election of Adams in 1824
Since there was no majority,
according to the 12th
Amendment, Congress—
the House of
Representatives—was to
select, voting by state,
among the top candidates
(Jackson, Crawford and
Adams). Consequently,
John Quincy Adams
became president by vote
of the House of
Representatives.
A Qualified Victory



Since Jackson was the popular
and electoral leader, he felt he
should be and would be chosen
president
Adams "assumed office under a
cloud of suspicion. Adams had
a difficult and frustrating
presidency”
“The political winds were
blowing against nationalist
programs. . . [and] Adams
refused to bow to public
opinion”
Age of the “Common Man”


By the 1820s, there was strong sentiment in the U. S. that services
previously reserved for an aristocratic or privileged class was the right
of every white male. There was a strong belief in "equality of
condition." It is part of the decline of traditional rigid class lines and a
deference granted automatically to clearly defined aristocracies in
American society. Indeed, aristocratic pretensions provoked popular
hostility and scorn.
Jacksonian America was too permeated with racism and male
chauvinism to give much heed to claims that the equal rights
prescribed by the Declaration of Independence should be extended to
blacks and women. Most of those who advocated democratization
explicitly limited its application to white males, and in some ways the
civil and political status of blacks and women actually deteriorated
during “the age of the common man.”**
What Did Jackson Stand For?





Laissez Faire
The government should not
favor any segment of society
period
Government should strike down
any obstacles that granted
privilege to certain groups (i.e.
banks)
The common man had a natural
virtue**
Aristocratic nationalists were
suppressing the common man
The Professional Politician—Emergence of a New Breed


With the stress on equality, the
political life of the nation
drastically changed, allowing for
the emergence of professional
politicians of a new breed, i.e., men
who pursued the votes of the mass
electorate. To cultivate this class,
they had to travel about—they had
to get out and campaign, speak
before the public**
In such a climate, public opinion
had to be cultivated, won over—it
had to grant support to major
policy decisions
The “Stump
Speaker”
Birth of Popular Politics in the Age of Jackson**





Western states, to lure settlers, enacted universal suffrage
New England was forced to enact universal suffrage just to
keep up
Popular election of presidential electors in most states
Prior to elections, most Americans, now living in a
prosperous nation, had time to think about issues that
affected them
The development of a new “Two Party System” comprised
of the Democrats and Whigs
Election of 1840—A Watershed

The election of 1840
was the first in which
two fully organized
national parties
nominated a single
candidate and
campaigned in all the
states of the nation**

William Henry Harrison
(1773-1841, right) became
president
Andrew Jackson, Founder of the Democratic Party**




The Nationalist wing of the Republican
Party led by Adams began to call
themselves the National Republicans
The Jacksonian wing of the party led by
Jackson began to call itself the Democratic
Republicans
The "Democrats" became the first modern
American political party.** It was founded
to promote the cause of a particular
presidential candidate
The argument is that national parties came
into being to compete for the great prize of
the presidency **
The


th
Early-19
Century Democratic
Party**
The "Democrats" became the first modern
American political party
It was founded to promote the cause of a
particular presidential candidate
National parties came into being to compete
for the great prize of the presidency **
Election of 1828 Began New Era**
The election of this year
marked the "birth of a new
era of mass democracy”
Election of 1828 Traits & Characteristics**



It ended sedate
transfer of power to
the Secretary of State
It ended the Virginian
Dynasty—Jackson was
from Tennessee
Widespread use of
electioneering
techniques
Jackson & the British

Mud Slinging

Both men participated in
campaigning, thus breaking with
tradition**
Jackson & the British

"American Justice or the
Ferocious Yankee General
Jack's Reward for Butchering
Two British Subjects" This
1819 British cartoon attacks
General Andrew Jackson for
executing two British
subjects. In 1817, Jackson
had executed Alexander
Arbuthnot and Lieutenant
Robert Armbrister for
spying, giving aid to the
enemy and commanding
hostile Indians in warfare
against the U.S. during the
Florida Seminole War.
A Dirty Campaign**

Mud Slinging

Both men participated in
campaigning, thus breaking with
tradition**
Adams called an overeducated
aristocrat with European habits; an
elitist; and a squanderer of money
Jackson accused of being a savage
and a murderer; having a
prostitute for a mother; and living
in adultery with his previously
married wife, Rachel


1828—A Landslide Victory for Jackson
“What gave Jacksonians the
edge was their success in
portraying their candidate
as an authentic man of the
people. . . . a true
representative of the
common people. . . .
Nature's nobleman was
pitted against the aloof
New England
intellectual.”**
How Common a Common Man?



Aristocrat
Rich
High taste
Jackson turned out to be one of the
most forceful and domineering
of American presidents. His
most striking character traits
were an indomitable will, an
intolerance of opposition, and a
prickly pride that would not
permit him to forgive or forget
an insult or supposed act of
betrayal**
The Nationalist Agenda of 1828**


Nationalists believed government should
manage the national economy and promote
business and industry for the good of the
country
Nationalists believed in tying the sections of
the country together via federally financed
interior improvements
Jackson Opposed This Program
The Spoils System**



Jackson introduced an open endorsement of rotation of office
holders. He was the first president to defend such a practice as
legitimate democratic doctrine, and he applied it by staffing
federal offices with his own personal supporters
In 1829, 20,000 federal jobs existed. Jackson dismissed onefifth of federal employees, most of which were incompetent.
He used empty positions to reward his supporters and his
party**
Jackson set a pattern for using minor federal jobs to reward
political supporters
Jackson & Internal Improvements



Jackson worried that internal improvements were
unconstitutional for the federal government to finance (he
was a strict constructionist), e.g. the Mayo Road** veto
which Jackson vetoed on these grounds—10-C
Jackson quietly approved improvement bills, however,
that would win him votes
In 1830, Jackson vetoed Henry Clay's road bill just to
spite him
President Jackson’s Indian Policy**
Indian Removal was the first
major policy question facing
Jackson. He had long favored
moving the eastern Indians to
lands west of the Mississippi. It
was only left to determine how
that process should proceed.
He eventually opted for a
coercive removal policy, riding
roughshod over humanitarian
and constitutional
concerns/objections
The “Trail of Tears”**
Route of Indian Removal
Worcester v. Georgia **


Supreme Court under
John Marshall (right)
ruled that a state had no
authority on Indian
lands, period
Georgia, in 1828, forced
the Cherokee to leave
anyway, with the
blessing of Jackson
Tariff of Abominations (1828)**



It had the support of not only manufacturers but
many farmers (e. g., wool and hemp growers)
Southern "free traders" were angered by the
tariff. Tariffs increased the prices that Southern
agriculturalists paid for manufactured goods
Southerners threatened to prompt retaliatory
measures—counter-protection—by nations that
provided Southerners markets for their products
The Nullification Crisis**


John C. Calhoun (left)
penned The South
Carolina Exposition and
Protest that claimed that a
state could declare a
federal law null and void
in its state (Virginia and
Kentucky resolutions)
Calhoun was vicepresident
Resolution of the Nullification Crisis**


The crisis was averted
in 1833 by Henry Clay
(1777-1852).
Clay worked out a
compromise and South
Carolina rescinded its
nullification. That
compromise was a
lower tariff.
Jackson & the Supremacy of the
Union**
Jefferson Day Dinner of 1830
 Jackson's toast: "Our
Union: It must be
preserved."
 Calhoun’s toast: "The
Union next to Liberty
most dear. May we
always remember that it
can only be preserved by
distributing equally the
benefits and the burdens
of the Union."
The “Bank War” of the 1830s**



Bank of the United States

"The Bank War" brought to the
forefront the issue of the federal
government's relationship to the
national system of finance
All federal deposits were placed in the
bank. It had the power to keep state
and private banks in check. The
president of the BUS was Nicholas
Biddle.
Jackson and others were tired of paper
money circulating in greater quantities
than banks had on hand of gold and
silver. Notes fluctuated in value**
Jackson vetoed the Bank Bill of 1832 to
re-charter the bank
Biddle’s Response**



Jackson in 1833 ceased
depositing federal money
in the Bank of the United
States
Nicholas Biddle
counterattacks by calling
in loans
This set off a wave of bank
failures. Thousands lost
their life's savings
overnight in the Panic of
1837
Jackson’s Specie Circular of 1836**



Jackson slammed the lid on
federal land sales with his
specie circular in 1836 that
stipulated that federal land
had to be paid for in specie
Western speculators who
were unable to sell land and
pay their debts went
bankrupt and depression hit
the entire nation
Precipitated the Financial
Panic of 1837—10-F2
Choosing a Successor for 1836**
Jackson Evaluated



His passions and prejudices ruled him
rather than intelligence
Jackson set new patterns of aggressive
presidential behavior and initiative. He
made policy personally and used the
veto more often than his 6 predecessors
put together
Previous presidents had ruled by
committee and were expected to veto a
bill only if it was believed
unconstitutional. Jackson set the
precedent for a combative relationship
between president and Congress
Vice-president Martin Van
Buren (1782-1862)
Birth of the Whig Party in the 1830s



Jackson made enemies and his enemies joined forces
in the Whig Party to oppose his chosen successor,
Vice-president Martin Van Buren
Took their name from the Whigs in England who
opposed the King in Parliament and they took the
name to stand against “King Andrew I”**
They favored federal involvement to foster economic
growth**
Election of 1836
Van Buren Policy
 Straighten out the financial
disorder
 Commitment to Policy of
Laissez-faire **
"It was in fact international in
scope and reflected some
complex changes in the world
economy that were beyond the
control of American
policymakers. But the Whigs
were quick to blame the state of
the economy on Jacksonian
finance."
Election of 1840
Why Van Buren
Lost**



The bad economy
Van Buren’s lack of
personal charisma
Effective campaigning
by the Whig Party
America’s “Second Party System”
Comes of Age in 1840**
“America's 'second party system' came of age in the election
of 1840. Unlike the earlier competition between
Federalists and Jeffersonian Republicans, the rivalry of
Democrats and Whigs made the two-party pattern a
normal feature of electoral politics in the United States.
During the 1840s, the two national parties competed on
fairly equal terms for the support of the electorate.
Allegiance to one party or the other became an important
source of personal identity for many American and
increased their interest and participation in politics. In
addition to drama and entertainment, the parties offered
the voters a real choice of programs and ideologies.”
Marketing William Henry Harrison


Whigs depicted Van
Buren as an effeminate
fop who sipped
champagne, had high
tastes
They depicted Harrison as
living in a log cabin, down
home, common Joe, mystic
type—packaged him as a
“people’s man”
Who Were the Whigs?**





Generally supported by industrialists and merchants,
farmers and planters who had adapted to the market
economy
Favored Evangelical Protestants
Welcomed a market economy—positive federal guidance
and support of business and economic development
Wanted restraint of individualism and disorder—done by
enforcing cultural and moral values out of the Puritan
tradition (an "I am my brother's keeper" mentality)
Favored loose constructionist position on the Constitution
Who Were the Democrats?**







Stood for negative liberal state, i.e., government should keep hands off
the economy
Generally supported by smaller farmers, workers, declining gentry,
emerging entrepreneurs (excluded from established commercial
groups)
Backed by Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopalian, non-Church goers,
immigrants, freethinkers, backwoods farmers, those who enjoyed
forms of entertainment condemned by the new moral reformers
Strict constructionist position on Constitution
Favored states' rights
Pro-laissez-faire
Party of individualism and personal liberty
The Age of Jackson