Frontiersman or Front Man
Election of 1824
 Marked an end to the “Era of Good Feelings”
 Also an end to the “Virginia Dynasty”
 Jefferson, Madison, Monroe.
The Candidates
 John Quincy Adams (Secretary of State)
 William H. Crawford (Secretary of Treasury)
 Andrew Jackson
 Henry Clay
 All democratic-republicans
 Each with different personalities and governmental
beliefs
Results
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Jackson 99 E.C. 152,933 Popular votes
Adams 84 E.C. 115, 696 Popular votes
Crawford 41 E.C. 46, 979 Popular votes
Clay 37 E.C. 47, 136 Popular votes
Jackson did not have majority of E.C. (Effect of Clay)
Vote goes to the House of Representatives
Clay, coming in 4th, is out of the race
“Corrupt Bargain”
 Clay uses his dislike of Jackson to sway support to
Adams
 Adams becomes president and appoints Clay to
Secretary of State.
 Jackson supporters denounce as a corrupt system of
elite interests without listening to the will of the
people
 Adams presidency marked by legislative opposition
I’d rather be right than be president”
Election of 1828
 Easily won by Jackson over Adams
 More active interest in politics emerged
 State organizations based on political participation
 Mass campaigning encouraged participation
 Party loyalty among politicians and public
 Jackson wins with coalition of the North, South and
West
“Age of the Common Man”
 Jackson was a symbol of the possibilities of personal
advancement that frontier offered
 Strong executive who largely ignored his cabinet
 “Kitchen Cabinet”:
 Nickname given by political opponents of Jackson to
his personal friends who were the unofficial cabinet
Jacksonian Democracy
 Strengthens presidency by using veto more often than
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all other presidents combined
Overrode sectional interests which made him very
popular:
In contrast to a time where Congress was dominated
by popular sectional figures:
Clay, Calhoun, Webster:
All rivals of Jackson
 AKA Patronage
System or Rotation in office
Spoils
System
 Practice of giving government jobs to friends as
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opposed to having any sense of merit
Jackson removed around 919 positions upon assuming
office
Explained as reform or constructive turnover
Performance in public office, Jackson maintained,
required no special intelligence or training
Would protect against corrupt civil servants
Tariff of Abominations 1828
 As the North industrialized, the industries wanted
protection from foreign competition
 Southerners were outvoted by the North and West and
tariffs were passed
 South argued that the tariff was of sectional interest
and only helped some while harming others
 Claimed to be unconstitutional due to violation of
states rights
Cont
 John Calhoun of South Carolina writes a defense to
doctrine of nullification:
 States could refuse to enforce laws deemed to be
unconstitutional
 South Carolina nullifies a 1833 tariff and threatens to
secede.
 Jackson considers the act treason, obtains bill from
Congress which allows him to collect tax by force if
necessary
Cont
 Henry Clay designs a compromise tariff that ends
threat of secession and civil war
 Reduced tariffs to 1816 levels
Veto of Maysville Road Bill 1830
 Congress votes to allocate funds for construction of a
road near Maysville, Ky
 Jackson vetoed claiming the funds were
unconstitutional and funding should come from state
funds
 Loss for Henry Clay and supporters of Jackson in the
west
Jackson and Native Americans
 Policy of U.S. government towards Nat-Ams had been
to allow them to stay east of the Mississippi River:
 As long as they attempted to adopt or assimilate white
ways
 TJ offered the alternative of removal to Indian
Territory west of the Mississippi River
Five Civilized Tribes
 Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks, and
Seminoles
 Cherokees had adopted many white customs
 Constitution based on the U.S.
 Schools for children
Sequoyah
Developed the
Cherokee
writing system
Indian Removal Act 1830
 Appropriated funds for removal, by force if necessary
 Some tribes negotiated treaties to leave
 Cherokees decided to use the court system
 Cherokee Nation v Georgia (1831)
 Worchester v Georgia (1832)
 Marshall ruled in favor of the Cherokee
 Jackson ignores and continues with policy
 “John Marshall made his decision, now let him enforce it”
Trail of Tears
 Cherokees, last of the 5 Civilized Tribes to move
 Forcibly moved by the U.S. Army to present day
Oklahoma
 Around 4,000 out of 15,000 died
Jackson’s Bank War
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2nd Bank of the U.S. chartered 1816
Functioned as a quasi-private institution
Held government money
Sold government bonds
Made commercial loans
Most important function:
Control over state banks which tended to issue more
paper money than they could back in hard currency
 Overall, the Bank acted as a stabilizer by controlling
money supply
Cont.
 Western farmers and speculators disliked the Bank
 Panic of 1819 caused in part by the Bank by cutting
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back on available credit
Clay and Webster began an early push for a
rechartering of the 2nd Bank
Congress approved the application
Jackson quickly vetoed the Bank bill:
Unconstitutional
Harmful to states rights
Election of 1832 and Bank War
 Jackson easily defeats Henry Clay who was portrayed
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as the defender of the Bank and privilege
Jackson withdraws all federal deposits ($10 million)
Places the money in state banks called “pet banks” by
critics
Jackson’s response was that his election gave him
authority to act against the Bank
Other than impeachment, not much Congress could
do
Nicholas
Biddle
President of
the National
Bank
Enemy of
Andrew
Jackson
More Bank Backlash Effects
 Marked the end of Clay’s American System
 Beginning of laissez-faire economic policy
 Formation of permanent opposition political party:
 (American two-party system):
 Whigs, which was a reference to the patriots who
challenged King George
 Refer to Jackson as “King Andrew”
 Believed he was acting more like a tyrant than a
president
Response of Nicholas Biddle
 As federal funds are withdrawn, Biddle calls in Bank’s
commercial loans
 Caused recession and panic
 Merchants, businessman, southern planters outraged
at Jackson
Specie Circular & Panic of 1837
 Widespread use of paper money issued by state banks
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alarms Jackson
Issues the “Specie Circular” that required all purchases
of public lands be made in hard currency
Banks suspended business
Led to the collapse of banking system which led to
worst recession to date
Federal government provided no assistance during this
time (no bailouts, etc)
Election of 1836
 Whigs attempt to run 4 sectional candidates as
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strategy to draw Electoral College votes away from VP
Martin Van Buren
Would take the election to the House of Reps
Strategy fails
Van Buren becomes known as “Van Ruin”
Inherited all problems Jackson left behind
4 dismal years in the White House
Election of 1840
 Whigs run William Henry Harrison
 “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too”
 Easily defeats Van Buren
 Harrison dies a month after taking office
 John Tyler becomes first president to assume office
upon death of the president
 Nicknamed “His Accidency”
 Turned out to be anti-Whig and anti-Jackson
 Vetoed bills related to American System
William Henry Harrison
John Tyler