Chapter 11 Summary
The Jackson Era - 1824 - 1845
Section One – Jacksonian Democracy
Elections of 1824
● In 1824, James Monroe decides to not run for a third term, following Washington’s two
term precedent
● Election of 1824 sees four candidates run for President
○ John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts – Son of John Adams
○ Andrew Jackson – Hero of War of 1812
○ William Crawford
○ Henry Clay
● Jackson wins popular votes, but no one got enough electoral votes to win.
● “Corrupt Bargain” - Election decided by the House of Reps. Adams gets Clay, the
Speaker of the House, to vote for him. Clay promoted to Secretary of State the next
day. Hmm. Nothing ever proven, but it doesn’t look good.
Adams’ Presidency
● People do not support him because of “Corrupt Bargain”
● Gets very little accomplished aside from a few road and canal projects
Election of 1828
● Republican Party splits into two groups
Democratic Republicans
National Republicans
Candidate
Andrew Jackson
John Quincy Adams
Supporters
West, workers in cities,
immigrants, South
Farmers, merchants and
wealthy
Goals
States’ rights, mistrust
federal government
Strong federal government,
road building, National Bank
●
Jackson, with John C. Calhoun as VP, wins in a landslide
Jackson as President
● Man of the People - Jackson viewed as an American success story – born in a log cabin
in the west, rose to be a war hero and now took the White House
● “Old Hickory” – Jackson was called Old Hickory because he was so tough
● Expanded Democracy – By 1820s, many areas took away land ownership as a voting
requirement.
● Inauguration Day – Lots of new voters came from ranks of poor and immigrants. Many
came to the White House to see Jackson’s Inauguration. The ensuing party trashed the
White House
Spoils System
● Democrats seek to open up government jobs to supporters, many of whom were
uneducated
● Jackson fires many federal workers and replaces them with people who helped him get
elected
● Spoils System – To the victor goes the spoils. Because Jackson was in charge, he
could pick whomever he wanted. The problem is that many selections were unqualified
(Postmaster General couldn’t read)
Tariff Debate
● Tariff – tax on imported goods. Bad for consumers (South and West) but good for
business (North)
● Jackson preserves high tariffs, angering VP John C. Calhoun, who quits
● Nullification Crisis (1832) – South Carolina (John C. Calhoun’s home state) argues that
states are more important than the federal government and refuses to pay tariffs. SC
threatens to secede (leave) the country.
● Compromise - Jackson backs down and lowers the high tariff but passes the Force Bill,
a law that allows the President to use military force to enforce acts of Congress. This
will play a role in the Civil War.
Section Two – Conflicts over Land
Moving Native Americans
● Many Native Americans are still living east of the Mississippi River
● Because the land west of the Mississippi is drier, whites wanted the Indians to be forced
to move west, allowing whites to take over their lands in the east.
● Indian Removal Act (1830) - President Jackson, a westerner, pushes Congress to pass
this law, which requires Indians to move west in exchange for money
● Indian Territory – currently Oklahoma, this land was set aside for Native Americans in
1834 by Congress largely because whites though it useless, dry land. The goal was to
move eastern Indians to this area.
Cherokee Nation Refuses to Leave
● Cherokee Nation - lived in Georgia and was recognized in 1790s treaties as a separate
nation. Cherokees were very intelligent, having a written language, a newspaper, and
the ability to read and speak English.
● The Cherokee refuses to leave their land in Georgia, instead suing in federal court.
● Worcester v. Georgia (1832) – Chief Justice John Marshall and the Supreme Court sides
with the Cherokee, stating Georgia has no right to interfere on their land
● President Jackson, in response to the case, says, “John Marshall has made his decision.
Now lets see him enforce it.” This is a violation of Jackson’s job and an impeachable
offense, but the whites of the country supported him.
Trail of Tears
● Treaty of Echota - The federal government gets a group of 500 Cherokee without
authorization to sign over land. 17,000 strong Cherokee Nation says this treaty was not
approved by the Nation
● Eviction – in 1838, 7000 federal troops began the forced removal of the 15,000
Cherokee. Cherokee homes were pillaged and burned and the land was offered to
whites via lottery.
● Trail of Tears – About 2000 died in camps waiting to begin (mostly elderly and very
young) with another 2000 dying along the way from starvation, brutal weather, and
disease. They were marched 800 miles at gunpoint to a place with a foreign climate.
Native American Resistance
● Black Hawk – a leader of the Sauk and Fox tribes, he led a group to reclaim lands
in Illinois. When met by 4500 soldiers, they tried to flee into Iowa but most were
slaughtered in 1832
● Seminole War - the Seminole of Florida were the only tribe to successfully resist
removal. They invited escaped slaves to live among them, and together attacked white
settlements
● By 1842, Most Native Americans had moved west and gave up 100 million acres for $68
million.
● 32 million acres were set aside as Indian Reservations in the west, most of which would
be taken away in time.
Section Three – Jackson and the Bank
War Against the Bank
● Bank of the United States – national bank that holds the federal government’s money
and controls the money supply
● Westerners (Jackson) do not like the Bank of U.S. because of tough lending policies
● Jackson hates the national bank and vetoes a renewal of the bank’s charter.
● Jackson’s goal is to “kill” the bank, which he does in 1836
Panic of 1837
● Martin Van Buren easily wins Presidential election in 1836 when Jackson decides not to
run for a third term (Washington’s precedent).
● Van Buren was supported by the popular Andrew Jackson.
● Depression – time of economic difficulty in which business and employment fall to a very
low level
● Panic of 1837 – land values dropped, banks failed, people stopped spending putting
businesses out of business and leading to unemployment. Cotton price drop to all-time
lows in South.
● Laissez-Faire - Van Buren does little to help, thinking government should stay out of the
business of business
Election of 1840
● Van Buren (Democrat) vs. William Henry Harrison (Whig) of Battle of Tippecanoe fame
● Harrison with VP candidate John Tyler with the motto, “Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too!”
● Harrison wins the election buts dies soon after of pneumonia (32 days – shortest
presidential term ever)
John Tyler’s Presidency
● Angered his own party and did nothing in his four year term.
● Loses reelection bid to James K. Polk