Important, Yes. Great …?
President Andrew Jackson (18291837) – 7th President
• One of small group of
presidents who greatly
influenced their times - this
makes him an important
president
but …
• Viewed today, his presidency
marked by indifference and
racism towards Natives and
African-Americans
Unit 8 BIG IDEAS
1. Jacksonian democracy gave more political power to
the common man.
2. The spoils system gave government jobs to Jackson’s
friends and supporters.
3. The Indian Removal Act resulted in the forced
relocation of all Natives east of the Mississippi to
reservations in the West.
4. The Nullification Crisis over tariffs foreshadowed the
conflicts that would lead to the Civil War.
5. Jackson used strong executive powers to influence
the U.S. economy.
Election of 1824
Four Democratic-Republican candidates
• Andrew Jackson won most popular and electoral votes,
but not a majority
Jackson’s
just not the
“right sort”
for the job
• Henry Clay convinced House of
Representatives to choose Adams,
son of 2nd president (who were the
only other father/son presidents?)
Adams made Clay his Secretary of State
• Was a deal cut? Jackson supporters
thought so – called it a “corrupt
bargain”
• Jackson supporters in Congress
opposed Adams’ plans – limited his
presidential powers
Conflicts split Democratic-Republicans
• Adams supporters became the
National Republicans
• Jackson supporters founded
modern Democratic Party –
prepared for rematch …
Expanding Democracy
•
•
From early 1800s, states ended
requirements to own property
or pay taxes in order to vote
By 1828, almost all white males
could vote
Election of 1828:
• Jackson campaigned as champion of
common people against wealthy
business owners
• Farmers and workers followed
politics – high voter turnout for
Jackson
• Jacksonian democracy – appeal to
common voters and majority rule
Wish I
coulda
done,
too
I done
voted
for
Jackson,
yesiree!
“Old Hickory”
Who was Andrew Jackson?
• First president not from wealthy
family
• Fought and wounded in
Revolutionary War
• Became frontier lawyer and judge
• U.S. representative and senator
from TN
• Married into money – owned
plantation with slaves
• Known for toughness and bad
temper – fought several duels
Jackson’s Inauguration
• Jackson’s wife died before
inauguration
• Thousands came to see him –
followed to reception at White
House …
• Crowd became rowdy – took
food, broke china
• Observers disgusted by unruly
mob behavior
Why, I never –
simply
scandalous!
Reforming Government
• Jackson removed Adams government
appointees – gave jobs to his
supporters
• Spoils system - election winner gives
government jobs to reward
supporters and friends
• Replaced only about 10% of Adams
appointees
• “Kitchen Cabinet” – Group of
Jackson’s friends who acted as
informal advisors beyond official
cabinet
Next – Part 2: Native American Policy
Unit 8 Part 2: Native American Policy
Southeastern U.S. had
been home to Five
Civilized Tribes –
Cherokee, Choctaw,
Creek, Chickasaw, and
Seminole
Many Natives adopted
European lifestyles to
assimilate with settlers
• Why are there
Cherokee
communities today
in both Oklahoma
and in the American
Southeast?
• Why are there so
many more
Cherokees in
Oklahoma than in
other areas of the
country?
Year
Pounds
1790
1,567,000
1795
8,359,500
1800
36,572,500
1805
73,145,000
1810
88,819,000
1815
104,493,000
1820
167,189,000
1825
266,457,500
1830
365,726,000
1835
530,355,500
1840
673,116,000
1845
902,111,500
1850
1,066,925,500
1855
1,608,708,500
1860
1,918,701,000
U.S. Production of All Types of Raw
Cotton, 1790-1860
•Cotton gin increased demand for
cotton farming land
• 1829: Gold discovered in
Georgia on what was then part
of the Cherokee nation
The Indian Removal Act
· In 1830, Congress passed
the Indian Removal Act,
which forced Native
Americans to move to lands
west of the Mississippi
River.
· The state of Georgia began to take land from the
Cherokee nation, in order to provide more land for farmers.
U.S. Treaty With the Cherokee Nation: 1791
ARTICLE I.
There shall be perpetual peace and friendship between
all the citizens of the United States of America, and all the
individuals composing the whole Cherokee nation of Indians.
ARTICLE VII.
The United States solemnly guarantee to the
Cherokee nation, all their lands not hereby ceded.
U.S. Treaty With the Cherokee Nation: 1791
ARTICLE VIII.
If any citizen of the United States…shall settle on
any of the Cherokees' lands, such person
shall forfeit the protection of the United
States, and the Cherokees may punish him or not, as they
please.
ARTICLE IX.
…nor shall any citizen or inhabitant go into
the Cherokee country, without a passport first
obtained from the Governor of some one of the United States,
or territorial districts, or such other person as the President of
the United States may from time to time authorize to grant the
same.
· The Cherokees brought the state of Georgia to court.
Opinion of the United States Supreme Court
Delivered by Mr. Chief Justice Marshall in the case of
Samuel A. Worcester vs The State of Georgia, January, 1832
(excerpt)
· The Supreme Court decided in favor of the Cherokees in
the1832 case of Worcester v. Georgia.
• However, Pres. Andrew
Jackson allowed the state of
Georgia to continue to seize
Cherokee land - he
considered the Natives to be a
conquered people subject to
state laws
• Jackson stated, “John
Marshall (the Chief Justice)
has made his decision. Now
let him enforce it.”
• Does the Constitution
support a president acting in
this way?
· In 1838, forced at gunpoint by the U.S. Army, the Cherokees
marched from Georgia to a reservation in Oklahoma.
· Thousands
of Cherokees
died on the
journey,
which became
known as the
“Trail of
Tears”.
“I fought through the War Between the States and have
seen many men shot, but the Cherokee Removal was the
cruelest work I ever knew.”
- Georgia soldier who participated in the removal
Part 3: A Powerful President
By the 1830s, how
did the sections of
the U.S. differ in
their economic
needs?
NORTHEAST: high
tariffs, banking,
internal
improvements
WEST: cheap land,
internal
improvements
SOUTH: low tariffs,
less government
spending, extend
slavery
Trouble Over Tariffs
1828: Congress raised tariffs on imports
• Protect American manufacturing
• Supported by North and West
South opposed – called it Tariff of
Abominations
• Depended on foreign trade
• Lowered the value of southern cotton
A southerner
will not stand
for this!
Doctrine of Nullification
South Carolina economy hurt by tariffs
• Vice-President John C . Calhoun (SC)
proposed solution for states
• Nullification – states canceling a
federal law as unconstitutional
• Challenged supreme authority of
federal government over states
Debate Over States’ Rights
1830: Debate in Senate over Calhoun’s
nullification proposal:
Senator Daniel
Webster (MA)
Senator
Robert Hayne
(SC)
The Union is made up of its citizens,
not the states themselves – no right
to nullify federal law
Nullification gives states a way to
protect their rights from federal
government
Jackson agreed with Webster – now Calhoun (his VP!)
was a political enemy
“Our federal
Union – It must
be preserved”
“The Union –
next to our
liberty, the
most dear …”
Nullification Crisis
1832: Congress lowered the tariff, but
South Carolina still unhappy
• Nullified both tariffs – refused to
enforce them
• Threatened secession –
withdrawing from the Union
Jackson threatened military action –
used federal power to enforce laws
• SC backed down from secession
threat
• Congress compromised and lowered
tariff
“I’ll hang the first
man of them I
can get my hands
on from the first
tree I find!”
Foreshadowing the Future …
If both sides backed off, why was the Nullification Crisis
important?
The conflict between South
Carolina and the federal
government foreshadowed
(predicted) the conflicts that
would result in the South
seceding from the Union 30
years later, which caused the
Civil War
Jackson and the Banks
Review: 2nd Bank of United States chartered in 1816 – part of
Clay’s American System
1832: Bank president Nicholas Biddle asked Congress to reissue charter - Congress approved
Jackson opposed national bank as
unconstitutional (which leaders we’ve
studied agreed with him?)
• Held too much power over Congress
• Favored the wealthy over common
people
Jackson vetoed the new charter (which
principle of the Constitution did he use?)
Bank was main issue in 1832 presidential
election
• Democrats: Jackson fighting for the
people
• Jackson won easily – thought people
supported his policies
“Pet Banks”
Jackson used executive power to
destroy national bank
• Transferred money from 2nd
Bank to state banks – opponents
called them “pet banks”
• Forced national bank to close
Lending increased – economy
boomed
until …
Overlending paper money
caused Panic of 1837 – an
economic depression
After Jackson
Jackson’s opponents – Henry Clay,
Daniel Webster – formed Whig
Party
• Supported Northern business
• Jackson too powerful – called
him “King Andrew”
• Whigs won election in 1840
Jackson’s precedents:
• Powerful executive branch
• Appeal to common people in
elections – still used today