Ms. Susan M. Pojer
Horace Greeley HS Chappaqua, NY
http://people.pppst.com/andrew-jackson.html
Essential Question:
Jackson is often referred to as the first
“modern” president. Explain why this is
the case.
Champion of
the
“Common Man”?
OR
“King”
Andrew?
Voting Requirements
in the Early 19c
Voter Turnout: 1820 - 1860
Why Increased Democratization?
3
3
3
3
White male suffrage (?) increased
Party nominating committees (Replaced caucus): Put
forth better “qualified” candidates
Voters chose their state’s slate of Presidential
electors: People felt they actually made a
difference
Spoils system: More incentive to help and be
involved
3
Popular campaigning (parades, rallies, floats, etc.)
3
Two-party system returned in the 1832 election:
 Dem-Reps  Natl. Reps.(1828)  Whigs
(1832)  Republicans (1854)
 Democrats (1828)
Democrats
• After the War of 1812, the party's chief
rival, the Federalist Party disbanded.
Democratic-Republicans split over
the choice of a successor to
President James Monroe, and the
party faction that supported many
of the old Jeffersonian principles,
led by Andrew Jackson and Martin
Van Buren, became the Democratic
Party
Democrats
• Dominated American politics during
the Second Party System, from 1832
to the mid-1850s, with such leaders
as presidents Andrew Jackson,
Martin Van Buren, James K. Polk,
and Senator Stephen Douglas, who
usually bested the opposition Whig
Party by narrow margins, as both
parties worked hard to build grassroots organizations and maximize the
turnout of voters.
The Donkey
• When Andrew Jackson ran for president in
1828, his opponents tried to label him a
"jackass" for his populist views and his slogan,
"Let the people rule." Jackson, however, picked
up on their name calling and turned it to his own
advantage by using the donkey on his
campaign posters. During his presidency, the
donkey was used to represent Jackson's
stubbornness when he vetoed re-chartering the
National Bank.
•
http://www.bearkatdemocrats.com/partyhistory.htm
• Thomas Nast will make it more widely know when he used the
donkey in a political cartoon (although it is doubtful he had
previous knowledge of the use of the donkey as a symbol of
the Democratic Party
Jackson’s First
Hermitage Residence
From backwoods of Carolinas: Was known to fight
and kill men in duels
Less wealthy and educated than previous
presidents: Opened White House for his
inauguration party- chairs thrown out of window
First Known Painting
of Jackson, 1815
General Jackson
-Gained attention in Battle of New Orleans
during the War of 1812
-Only President to serve in both American
Revolution and War of 1812
During the Seminole Wars
• The Seminole Wars, also known as the Florida
Wars, were three conflicts in Florida between the
Seminole — the collective name given to the
amalgamation of various groups of native Americans
and Black people who settled in Florida in the early
18th century — and the United States Army.
• The First Seminole War was from 1814 to 1819
(although sources differ), the Second Seminole War
from 1835 to 1842, and the Third Seminole War
from 1855 to 1858.
• The first conflict arose out of tensions relating to
General Jackson's attack and destruction of Fort
Gadsden (AKA: Negro Fort) in Florida in 1816.
Jackson also attacked the Spanish at Pensacola.
Ultimately, the Spanish Crown ceded the colony to
United States rule
The “Common Man’s”
Presidential Candidate
Nickname of “Old Hickory” because
of his toughness
Jackson’s Opponents in 1824
Henry Clay
[KY]
John Quincy Adams
[MA]
William H. Crawford
[GA]
John C. Calhoun
[SC]
The Corrupt Bargain
• Election of 1824 ended the “Era of Good
Feelings”
• There was no clear winner in the
electoral college, so the election went
to the House of Representatives
• Henry Clay threw his support towards
J.Q. Adams- not uncommon, but when
Adams made Clay his Sec. of State
Jackson and his supporters were up in
arms- this became known as the Corrupt
Bargain
http://bill.ballpaul.net/iaph/main.php?g2_itemId=426
Results of the 1824 Election
A
“Corrupt
Bargain?”
Election of 1828
• Possibly the “dirtiest” election
• Considered first National Election
• Moral Issues: Adams was said to have
arranged prostitutes for a Russian
Ambassadors / Jackson married his
wife before she was divorced
• Jackson: Common Man vs. Adams:
“Educated Elite”
1828 Election Results
Rachel Jackson
Final Divorce Decree
Jackson in Mourning for His Wife
SPOILS SYSTEM
• Introduced the “Spoils System”
• “To the victory belong the spoils”
• Gave friends and supporters jobs
in exchange for their help
• Ensured loyalty to President
• Increased party support = More
democratic participation
The “Peggy Eaton Affair”
•Petticoat Affair
•Eventually led to Jackson asking for and
receiving his Cabinet’s resignation
•Prior to the mass resignations, he would consult
other friends in what became known as
Jackson’s “Kitchen Cabinet”
•Led to the “promotion” of Martin Van
Buren
The Center of Population in the
Country Moves WEST
The New “Jackson Coalition”
3
The Planter Elite in the
South
3
People on the Frontier
3
State Politicians – Spoils
3
Immigrants in the cities.
system
Jackson’s Faith
in the “Common Man”
3
3
3
Intense distrust of Eastern
“establishment,” monopolies, &
special privilege.
His heart & soul was with the
“plain folk.”
Belief that the common man was
capable of uncommon
achievements.
The Reign of “King Mob”
Andrew Jackson as President
Indian Policy
• For many years, Jackson had protested the practice
of treating with Indian tribes as if they were foreign
nations. Jackson did not hate Indians as a race. He
was friendly with many individual Indians and had
taken home an Indian orphan from the Creek
campaign to raise in his household as a companion
to his adopted son. But Jackson did believe
that Indian civilization was lower than
that of whites, and that for their own
survival, tribes who were pressed by
white settlement must assimilate as
individuals or remove to the west out of
harm's way.
Indian Removal
3
3
Jackson’s Goal?
1830  Indian Removal Act: Controversial /
Supported in South / Wanted Cherokee land in GA
3
Cherokee Nation v. GA (1831)
3
Worcester v. GA (1832): The Supreme Court
* “domestic dependent nation”
upheld the tribes' independence from state authority.
3
3
Legal victories pointed out no practical course of
resistance for the tribe to take. Tacitly encouraged by
Jackson, Georgia ignored the rulings.
Jackson: John Marshall (Chief Justice) “has made
his decision, now let him enforce it!”
The Cherokee Nation After 1820
Indian Removal
Trail of Tears (1838-1839)
Name given to forced removal of
Indians from land East of
Mississippi to Oklahoma
Territory
Between 15,000 - 17,000 Indians
removed – 4,000 killed (Close to 25
%)
Jackson’s Professed “Love” for
Native Americans
The Webster-Hayne Debate
Sen. Daniel
Webster
[MA]
Sen. Robert
Hayne
[SC]
The Webster–Hayne debate was a famous debate in
the U.S. between Senator Daniel Webster of
Massachusetts and Senator Robert Y. Hayne of South
Carolina that took place on January 19-27, 1830
regarding protectionist tariffs.
1830
Webster:
Liberty and Union, now and
forever, one and inseparable.
Jackson:
Our Federal Union—it must be
preserved.
Calhoun:
The Union, next to our liberty,
most dear.
Nullification Crisis
• Jackson supports Tariff (Tax) in 1828: “Tariff of
Abomination” and 1832 that angered
Southerners:
• South Carolina passed a law “nullifying”
(ignoring tariff) and said law was invalid in
South Carolina
• Jackson issued a presidential proclamation to
S.C. and Congress passed tariff
• Caused rift between Jackson and V.P John C.
Calhoun and would foreshadow what was to
come- Calhoun will be first VP to resign
• In late February both a Force Bill, authorizing
the President to use military forces against
South Carolina, and a new negotiated tariff
satisfactory to South Carolina were passed
by Congress. The South Carolina
convention reconvened and repealed its
Nullification Ordinance on March 11, 1833.
Jackson’s Use of Federal Power
VETO
More than all Presidents
before him combined
1830  Maysville Road project
in KY [state of his
political rival, Henry
Clay]- He stated using
federal funds for a project
entirely in KY project (Lexington
to Ohio River) was
unconstitutional
The National Bank Debate
BANK
WAR
Nicholas
Biddle
President
Jackson
nd
Opposition to the 2 B.U.S.
“Soft”
(paper) $
3
3
State bankers felt
it restrained their
banks from issuing
bank notes freely.
Supported rapid
economic growth
& speculation.
“Hard”
(specie) $
3
3
3
Felt that coin was
the only safe
currency.
Didn’t like any bank
that issued bank
notes.
Suspicious of
expansion &
speculation.
The “Monster” Is Destroyed!
3
3
3
3
“Pet banks”?
1832  Jackson vetoed the
extension of the 2nd
National Bank of the
United States.
1836  The charter expired.
1841  The bank went
bankrupt!
The Downfall of “Mother Bank”
An 1832
Cartoon:
“King
Andrew”?:
Clay’s supporters
called him this
because of his
vetoes
1832 Election Results
Main
Issue?
WHIGS
• Considered integral to the Second Party System and
operating from 1833 to the mid-1850s,the party was
formed in opposition to the policies of President
Andrew Jackson and his Democratic Party. In
particular, the Whigs supported the supremacy of
Congress over the presidency and favored a program
of modernization and economic protectionism. This
name was chosen to echo the American Whigs of 1776,
who fought for independence and because "Whig" was
then a widely recognized label of choice for people who
identified as opposing tyranny. The Whig Party
counted among its members such national political
luminaries as Daniel Webster, William Henry
Harrison, and their preeminent leader, Henry Clay of
Kentucky. In addition to Harrison, the Whig Party also
nominated war heroes generals Zachary Taylor and
Winfield Scott. Abraham Lincoln was the chief Whig
leader in frontier Illinois.
The Specie Circular (1836)
3
“Wildcat banks”: Wildcat banking
refers to the unusual practices of banks
chartered under state law during the
periods of non-federally regulated state
banking between 1816 and 1863 in the
United States, also known as the Free
Banking Era.
3
Buy future federal
land only with gold or
silver.
3
Jackson’s goal?
Results of the Specie Circular
$ Banknotes loose their value.
$ Land sales plummeted.
$ Credit not available.
$ Businesses began to fail.
$ Unemployment rose.
The Panic of 1837!
The 1836 Election Results
Martin Van Buren
(Former Vice Pres.
& Sec. of State)
“Old Kinderhook”
[O. K.]
The Panic of 1837 Spreads Quickly!
Albany Regency
• Albany Regency, name given, after 1820, to
the leaders of the first political machine,
which was developed in New York state by
Martin Van Buren. The name derived from
the charge that Van Buren's principal
supporters, residing in Albany, managed the
machine for him while he served in the U.S.
Senate. During the Jacksonian period the
Regency controlled the Democratic party in
New York.
• It was one of the first effective political
machines, using the spoils system and
rigid party discipline to maintain its control
Andrew Jackson in Retirement
Photo of Andrew Jackson in 1844
(one year before his death)
1767 - 1845