Chapter 13 The Rise of Jacksonian Democracy 1824 – 1830
1. Election of 1824 & the "corrupt bargain"
a. nature of term ‘republican’ --was a very vague term – parties were NOT well organized – 4 candidates—all 4 claimed to be Republicans
b. Candidates –John Quincy Adams (Mass) Henry Clay (KY) William Crawford (GA) Andrew Jackson (TN)
c. Electoral outcome and resulting "bargain" in the house
Total = 261 need 131 to win
John Quincy Adams
84
Henry Clay
37
William Crawford
41
Andrew Jackson
99
no majority winner – House must choose from top 2 (12th Amendment- separated voting for pres/VP)–Clay was eliminated, but was
Speaker of the House (presided over selection process) he hated Jackson, Crawford was ill, so he supported JQ Adams.
Adams was elected and immediately appointed Clay as Secretary of State.
They were accused of a “corrupt bargain” -- this was never proved, both men denied it but doubts lingered
2. Yankee Misfit
a. J Q Adams as pres. 1st “minority” president (<1/3 of popular vote)
b. Adams’s character very puritanical—respected, but not real popular very cold & reserved, not very likeable
VERY nationalistic (put America 1st) there was a trend AWAY from thispost-1812 nationalism was dying out & sectionalism was growing
c. Political ineptitude didn’t appoint supporters to key positions—refused to dismiss current officeholders (even the bad ones) – alienated
many supporters
d. policies & problems favored federal funding for: roads/canals, a national university, national astronomical observatory
generally unpopular (esp. in South)—most saw it as federal “meddling” were concerned about possible future ‘meddling’ with slavery
3. Election of 1828 the campaign for Andrew Jackson literally began the day Adams was selected by the House
a. Republican split Adams- ran as a National Republican (Oak) Jackson- ran as a Democratic-Republican (Hickory)
b. Nature of the campaign
Adams was almost too honest, but his supporters accused Jackson’s mother of being an adulterer & a prostitute
Jackson’s campaign accused Adams of being a corrupt aristocrat (corrupt bargain)
Jackson was a war hero—he claimed to favor the “rule of the people” - he ran as a “regular guy” (was actually a wealthy planter)
c. voting results (incl. regions)
Adams
Jackson
Popular vote 508,064 (mostly from N.Eng)
647,286 (more from West/South)
Electoral83
178
significance – shows a shift in political influence AWAY from the eastern seaboard
John C. Calhoun was his VP
4. Andrew Jackson as president
1st from the west 2nd w/o college education
last US President to be a Revolutionary War vet – joined army @ age 13 as a messenger boy
a. Jackson's qualities and political philosophy
portrayed as the champion of the common man… average people identified with him
in reality he owned many slaves (>100), lived in a huge mansion (the Hermitage)on a plantation (1000+ acres)
he was born average, but didn’t stay that way—he was FROM the masses but clearly not one of them
5. Spoils system evolves under the Democrats
awarded his supporters with public office –
he argued it was healthy to bring in new blood –
had many illiterates & incompetents;
many bought their appointments with contributions
6. Tariff issue, 1824-1828
a. Tariff of 1824
Congress had raised it to 35% -- many wool merchants wanted it even higher
many southerners opposed it – cotton was NOT protected, only wool – called it the “Yankee tariff”(it hurt them)
Jackson’s supporters pushed the wool merchants idea of a higher tariff, expecting it to fail, but thinking the failure would hurt
Adams with the wool merchants
Their plan backfired -- it actually passed right at the end of Adams’ term (1828) & Jackson inherited it
b. Tariff of 1828 "Tariff of Abominations"
raised it to 45%
1. motivations-- wool & textiles were becoming big industries & wanted protection from England’s competition
2. impact – South is hurt severely – main source of income was cotton – NOT protected – also made other goods cost more
c. Dynamics of the tariff issue and its impact on the southern political perspective and economy. (very important!)
generated fear of northern meddling with slavery – pressure from abolitionists is growing more vocal
– there had been a planned slave rebellion, led by Denmark Vesey, that had narrowly been prevented
South Carolina- still had close ties with British West Indies
– wanted to take a stand against ALL federal encroachment on states’ rights (slavery or otherwise)
leads to the S. Carolina Exposition
d. The "South Carolina Exposition" and Calhoun
similar to the Kent/Va Resolutions, but more extreme – secretly written by John Calhoun (current VP)—
called the 1828 Tariff UNconstitutional – said states had a right to & should nullify the tariff
leads to the Nullification Crisis
7. Nullification crisis (1832-1833)
a. Tariff of 1832 new tariff is passed – lowers the tariff to 35%
BUT- still protected wool & not cotton, and the wording made it sound permanent – south still objected
b. South Carolina state elections (1832) and the resulting victory of the "nullies"
in the STATE elections of 1832—in South Carolina, the opposing sides were the Unifiers & the Nullies
the Nullies gained a 2/3 majority in the state legislature (veto proof)
c. Nullification convention in Columbia
South Carolina declared the tariff null & void – threatened to secede from the Union if the tariff was collected by force
d. Jackson's reaction
privately – wanted to round them all up and hang them
publicly—
sent naval & military forces on the way to SC and began to prepare the main army
issued a proclamation declaring Nullification unlawful (SC issued a counter-proclamation – “yes, it was”)
e. Compromise Tariff of 1833 and Force Bill
Henry Clay- negotiated/supported a bill that reduced the tariff by 10% over 8 years (from 35% back down to 25%)
the bill passed – barely- heavily opposed by New England merchants
Force Bill- authorized the President to use the military when necessary to collect federal tariffs
f. South Carolina repeals nullification – got themselves out of a dangerous situation – they couldn’t really afford to secede, especially alone,
and NO ONE else supported them (GA & VA considered it)
many of the pro-Unionists were preparing to fight but wanted to avoid an internal, civil war
Henry Clay emerged as a hero
**Biggest Problem – No one really won – the issue of the federal govt’s ability to enforce its will & laws STILL not settled
Civil War is coming (will ultimately settle the issue)
8. Jackson's removal of the Southeastern tribes
a. Jackson's motivations he was a strong supporter of western expansion
the Cherokee had tried to assimilate – become like the white people- but still forced off their land
1828- GA outlawed the Cherokee legislature
they appealed to the Supreme Court (3 times) and won (3 times) – President Jackson ignored the court ruling
b. "Trail of Tears" (note map on page 266) refers to the forcible relocation of the Southeastern Indians
1830- Indian Removal Act – all tribes EAST of the Miss River
– must leave & relocate west of it to Indian Territory – mostly to Oklahoma area
many suffered from disease and starvation while en route, and many died, including 4,000 of the 15,000 relocated Cherokee
there was some (minimal) resistance – Black Hawk led an uprising of the Sauk Indians; Chief Osceola led some Seminoles
in the army fighting them – Lt. Jefferson Davis & Captain Abraham Lincoln
9. Jackson's war against the bank
a. Jackson's opinion of the bank (political/ economic and constitutional)
thought it was a financial monopoly (was largely privately owned & made a small circle very rich, esp. Bank Chairman Nicholas Biddle)
didn’t have an opinion on its constitutionality, he just thought it wasn’t a good idea
b. Jackson's veto (1832)
Clay proposed an early renewal of the Bank’s Charter – he HOPED Jackson would veto it & lose the support of the wealthy elite
Jackson did veto it – FIRST veto in history NOT on constitutional grounds—he called it harmful to the nation
c. Assessment of the bank and impact of veto
Clay had badly miscalculated – the elite were now a small minority & their support didn’t matter much
the veto was wildly popular with the masses, BUT it will make loans harder to get for a while
10. Election of 1832
a. Candidates/marketed "personalities"
D-Rs – Andrew Jackson (Calhoun out as VP – Martin Van Buren) N-Rs- Henry Clay
1st time – 3rd party candidate –the Anti-Masonic Party(William Wirt)—sort of liked Jackson, but he was a Mason, & they didn’t trust them
Jackson – appealed to the masses Clay -- had the support of & $$ from the elite
b. Issues
essentially a referendum (yes or no vote) on the BUS – yes = Clay no = Jackson
Clay (& Biddle) spent lots of $$ on flyers & pamphlets
Jackson went to the people himself & campaigned on his personality
c. Outcome
Clay
Jackson
Popular vote 530,189
687,502
Electoral49
219
11. Jackson's removal of federal funds from the Bank of the United States
after the election, Jackson decides to "bleed it dry" & withdraws fed. govt funds from BUS
a. "pet banks" arise- Jackson sent the funds to state banks
b. "Biddle's Panic" Biddle called in the loans that the BUS had out -- caused many smaller banks to fail, especially in the West
c. "wildcat" currency's impact
smaller western banks began printing lots of their own paper $$ (wildcat currency)-- resulted in the Specie Circular
d. Specie Circular- (Executive Order issued by Jackson) -- it stated:
all future purchases of public land MUST be made in gold/silver
when he removed fed funds, most banks printed more paper $$, causing the value to drop
he hoped to end speculation of public lands based on risky loans and keep the value of the dollar up
-- all he really did was to make credit less available, helping to cause the Panic of 1837(but he's out of office & retired by then)
12. Birth of the Whig party
a. ideas & attitudes **special note – main source of (Whig) party unity ?
form out of the ashes of the deceased Federalist party
#1 idea -- anti-Jackson (otherwise very diverse & disorganized)
-- disliked Jackson-- called him King Andrew
chose the name to be reminiscent of the British who had opposed King George III
13. Election of 1836
a. Candidates
Dem (dropped the Republican part) -- Martin Van Buren (Jackson VP)
Whig- William Henry Harrison -- and several others**
** had a hard time choosing a candidate - idea was to "flood" the ballot w/ many candidates
maybe no electoral majority-- send the election to the House, and who knows what could happen ? maybe would have a chance
b. Outcome - the ‘Little Magician’ (assessment)
Van Buren won - nicknamed the "little magician"
one term candidate-- nowhere near as popular as Jackson -- mostly a victim of bad timing
**1st US President "born in the USA" in 1782 -- after independence
14. Panic of 1837
a. Causes
land speculation on borrowed $$
too much paper $$
crop failure
Jackson's policies (Specie Circular & BUS funds)
also-- financial problems in Europe - hurt foreign trade
b. Independent treasury bill
put fed funds in the vaults of large cities (for protection)-- kept it safe, but not available to other banks for loans
- less $$ available - economy declines further (DUMB)
c. Divorce bill
designed to separate the govt from banking altogether-- set up an Independent Treasury completely unconnected to any private banks-Failed to pass
15. Gone to Texas -- SFA- Mexico allowed him to settle in TX to "civilize" it (gain control by populating it)
- got settlers there, but they had to pledge loyalty to Mexico
a. Friction between Texans and Mexico
over several issues-- immigration, local rights, slavery -- ESPECIALLY slavery -Mexico had emancipated its slaves & prohibited more being brought in -- Americans brought them anyway
b. Texas Revolution and resulting independence (1836)
1835- Santa Anna took away all local rights & raised an army & invaded -- famous battles
AlamoGoliadSan JacintoTX won (with help from the US)
c. Issue of Texas and slavery
US recognized TX as independent -- they were supposed to stay neutral, but TX wanted annexation --opposed by abolitionists -- saw
another slave state as a "southern conspiracy" -- outcry too loud - won't happen for 9 more years
16. Election of 1840 - Log Cabins & Hard Cider
both symbols of a "regular guy" log cabin = born humble hard cider - cheap liquor
a. Candidates
Van Buren - Dem. (incumbent)
Wm. Henry Harrison (almost 68 yrs old)- Whig (this time they settled on ONE- learned from 1836)
b. Issues/"log cabin" politics
Whigs called Van Buren "Martin Van Ruin" Harrison's slogan was "Tippecanoe & Tyler, too" (Tyler was the VP candidate)
both portrayed themselves a "common man" but BOTH were from the wealthy elite
Harrison was from the VA elite - was one of the First Families of Virginia (an exclusive, and snooty organization)
c. Outcome
Harrison won(with John Tyler as VP) - relatively close popular vote, but 234-60 in electoral college
17. Politics for the People
a. changes since ‘Era of Good Feelings’
democratic style was now populist -- appealing to the masses
aristocratic elite are looked down on
now necessary to be of "humble origins" (or convince people you were)
-- the common man took center stage politically
18. Two-party system now reaffirmed with a Whig victory
no longer will a party 'fade away' after a few election cycles-- they will regroup (sometime re-form) & return after a loss
Harrison - will become the first president to die in office--- gave an extended inauguration speech in freezing rain-- contracted pneumonia & died
30 days after taking office