The Role of
Politics in
Sectionalism
James Monroe
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1758 – 1831
Dem.-Republican
5th President (1817-25)
Last President to have
participated in the
Revolution
Former Gov. of VA,
Secretary of State, and
Secretary of War
Southerner, slave owner
“The Era of Good Feelings”
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Term used to describe
Monroe’s presidency
Right after War of 1812,
Nationalism surged and
Americans thought of
themselves as Americans
first, rather than of their
region of the country
Collapse of Federalist
Party left only 1 major
political party, so little
political disagreement
Tariff of 1816
British goods had been
cut off during War of
1812, but once war was
over US market was
flooded with cheap British
goods
 US industry had begun to
grow during the war, but
now was at risk with
return of foreign goods
 Tariff was championed by
Henry Clay and John C.
Calhoun (West & South!)
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Death of the First National Bank
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Had been established as part
of Hamilton’s Economic Plan
Congress did not renew its
charter when it expired in
1811
State and private banks took
over, issuing their own
currency and over-lending,
leading to high inflation
US government had to borrow
money from these state and
private banks to pay for the
War of 1812, leaving it deeply
in debt after the war
Second National Bank of the US
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Not overly popular with
small farmers because it
was aimed at helping
Eastern industrialists
Despite this, the need for
federal regulation of
currency prompted
Calhoun, Webster, and
Clay to force through a
bill creating a Second
National Bank in 1816
McCulloch v. Maryland
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1819
Maryland attempted to
tax the Second National
Bank
Supreme Court ruled
that: 1) “necessary and
proper” clause allows US
gov’t to create a National
Bank; 2) the federal
government stands above
the states and 3) the
states can not interfere
with federal agencies
Panic of 1819
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National Bank offered
easy credit, overextended
itself by giving more
loans than it had money
When British banks called
in their loans to US
banks, The National Bank
had to call in its loans,
triggering US’s first
economic depression
The Missouri Compromise
Missouri admitted as
a slave state, but
balanced by
admission of Maine as
a free state
 No new slave states
allowed north of
Missouri’s southern
border
 Ends “Era of Good
Feelings”
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The Monroe Doctrine
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US concerned that Spain would
try to retake the newly
independent nations in Latin
America; also worried about
Russian expansion in Alaska
1823: Pres. Monroe issued a
formal statement of US policy
1) Europe would not be
allowed to interfere in the
affairs of countries in the
Americas
2) No new European
colonization would be allowed
in Americas
3) US would not interfere in
the affairs of countries in the
Americas or in Europe
Gibbons v. Ogden
1824
 New York had granted
a monopoly over all
steam boat traffic
 Supreme Court ruled
that Congress alone
has the right to
regulate interstate
and foreign
commerce
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Election of 1824
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4 candidates for
president, all were Dem.Republicans
New England supported
John Quincy Adams
South supported William
Crawford
West supported Andrew
Jackson and Henry Clay
Election was so close, it
went to the House of
Representatives to decide
the winner
“The Corrupt Bargain”
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Henry Clay (who was
Speaker of the House and
hated Jackson) threw his
support to John Quincy
Adams in return for being
named Secretary of State
Adams became president;
Andrew Jackson
denounced Clay’s deal as
a “corrupt bargain”
Democratic-Republican Party
splits
Andrew Jackson’s
supporters became
the Democratic Party
 John Quincy Adams’
supporters became
the National
Republican Party
 End of political unity,
return of the twoparty system
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John Quincy Adams
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1767 – 1848
National Republican
6th President (1825-29)
Son of John Adams
Adams objectives: 1)
Stronger federal
government; 2)Federal
construction of
transportation
infrastructure; 3)Found a
national university; 4)
Create high tariffs to
protect US industry
“The American System”
John Quincy Adams’ &
Henry Clay’s plan to tie
the nation together
 1) Protective tariffs
 2) Internal
improvements to
increase interstate
commerce
 3) A strong National
Bank
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South hated the idea of the
“American System”
Southerners tended to be strict-constructionists,
support states rights over strong central
government
 See no Constitutional support for a National
Bank or federal construction of infrastructure
 Tariffs hurt farmers
 Believed in doctrine of nullification – states don’t
have to enforce laws they interpret as
unconstitutional or harmful to the state
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“Tariff of Abominations”
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Tariff of 1828
Highest tariff in US
history
Designed to protect US
industries from cheaper
English imports
Badly hurt South by
raising prices of
manufactured goods and
by causing British to have
less capital with which to
buy Southern cotton
Election of 1828
Andrew Jackson vs.
John Quincy Adams
 Jackson was billed as
the “common man”
while Adams was
portrayed as an
aristocratic elitist
 Jackson won both the
popular and electoral
vote
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Andrew Jackson
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1767 – 1845
Democrat
7th president
Nicknamed “Old Hickory,”
a tribute to his
background as a
frontiersman
War hero from both War
of 1812 and Seminole
Indian War
First president to survive
an assassination attempt
Jacksonian Democracy
Suffrage extended to
any adult white male
 Jackson was 1st
president to come
from background of
poverty, so he was
the hero of the
common man
 Still, Jackson hated
Native Americans and
supported slavery
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“The Spoils System”
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Jackson began new
tradition of dismissing
what had been career
government officials and
replacing them with his
party’s loyal followers
This still happens today –
Presidents reward their
supporters with important
government jobs
Nat Turner
1800 – 1831
 Virginia slave who
had religious “visions”
 Practiced as a Baptist
preacher (nicknamed
“The Prophet” by
other slaves)
 Believed that God
called on him to lead
a slave rebellion
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Nat Turner’s Rebellion
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August 21, 1831
Slave uprising that
resulted in the deaths of
56 whites in VA
Quickly suppressed by
the militia, dozens of
slaves (including Turner)
were executed for their
roles in the rebellion
Led to bans throughout
the South on educating
slaves and allowing slaves
to freely assemble
without white supervision
South Carolina Nullification
Crisis
1832: South Carolina
declared new tariffs
unconstitutional and
thereby nullified
 John C. Calhoun resigned as
Vice-President to support
SC position as a senator
 Jackson considered this
treasonous and prepared to
use military force on SC to
enforce the tariffs
 SC threatened to secede
(leave the US) if high tariffs
weren’t repealed
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Compromise of 1833
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Henry Clay delayed
passage of the Force Bill
which would give Jackson
permission to take
military action against SC
until he could force
through a bill that would
gradually reduce tariffs
over the next 10 years
Once this compromise
tariff was passed, SC
repealed its nullification
and crisis was averted
Jackson and the National Bank
Jackson disliked the Bank
 Congress passed a bill
extending the Bank’s
charter in 1832, but
Jackson vetoed; instead,
Jackson withdrew all of
the federal governments
deposits from the Bank
and moved them to state
banks
 National Bank no longer
had money to lend and
closed
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The Whig Party
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1834: National
Republican Party changed
its name to the Whig
Party
“Whigs” in England were
people who opposed the
power of the king;
American Whigs felt that
Andrew Jackson had
been abusive of his
power as president
Election of 1836
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Jackson supported his VP
Martin Van Buren as his
successor
Van Buren easily won the
Democratic nomination at
convention (1st time
national party convention
used)
Whigs could not settle on
one candidate to run and
so their votes were split;
Van Buren won
Martin Van Buren
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1782 – 1862
Democrat
8th President (183741)
Former Vice-President
and Secretary of State
under Jackson
Lost presidential
elections of 1840 and
1848
Panic of 1837
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State banks loaned
money freely without the
National Bank to oversee
them
Loaned more money than
they had, leading to
failure of many of the
banks
Inflation soared,
unemployment rose,
businesses closed, many
people lost everything
Ruined Van Buren’s
presidency
Election of 1840
Whigs nominated war
hero William Henry
Harrison after Henry
Clay and Daniel
Webster each proved
too divisive to win
majority support
within the party
 Harrison easily
defeated Van Buren
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William Henry Harrison
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1773 – 1841
Whig
9th President (1841)
Nicknamed “Old
Tippecanoe” from his
fame as hero of
Northwest Indian War
Shortest tenure in US
history – president for
only 32 days before dying
of pneumonia