Louis Pisha
AP US History
Chapter 9: Politics for the Common Man
The New Democracy
The Celebration of the Common Man
Democratic Reforms
John Quincy Adams and National Republicanism
The Election of 1824
The Adams Administration
The Triumph of the Jacksonians
Jacksonian Democracy
The New President
The Jacksonian Philosophy
Internal Improvements and Public Lands
The Maysville Veto
Land Policy
Religious and Ethnic Minorities
Indian Removals
The Tariff and Nullification
Disaffection in South Carolina
Calhoun and State Interposition
The Nullification Crisis
The Bank War
Criticism of the Bank
Veto of the Bank Bill
Jackson Vindicated
The Bank Destroyed
Panic and Depression
Economic Crisis
The Independent Treasury
The Election of 1840
The Supreme Court under Taney
Tyler and Paralysis
The Whig Disaster
Foreign Affairs under Tyler
-1-
▪ After War of 1812, old party structure ended but new developed—in all sections
of nation, more popular
▪ National Republicans/Whigs vs. Democrats—though what they each claimed was
not always the truth, the wars between them did involve public policy
The New Democracy
The Celebration of the Common Man
▪ True that some found opportunities for material success, then political power and
social esteem—but common men had always risen up to elite, and
continued to do so
▪ Social fluidity not a big part of the Jacksonian era—increased influence of
common man while he remained common
Democratic Reforms
▪ Political reformers had been arguing for a while that democracy ok because
would not hurt the interests of the rich—yes, lots of people believed this
was very important—was said that everyone in the same class
▪ All the states adopted universal white manhood suffrage, and rarely involved
violence; however, most voters apathetic for a while, and had been in the
habit of leaving government to the rich
▪ But individual involvement in economy, Panic of 1819, two-party system, and
close contests all generated increased interest
▪ Politics became a cross between religious revivalism (in campaigns) and
corporations bidding for control of country
▪ No secret ballot so influenced by rich sometimes but issues important
▪ Also nominating conventions → caucuses, presidential electors elected by voters
not legislatures, more offices appointive
▪ Trained civil service repudiated so ordinary people could get in, and spoils
system
John Quincy Adams and National Republicanism
The Election of 1824
▪ Republican caucus nominated Crawford, but caucus disliked so John Quincy
Adams, Clay, and Jackson also ran—Jackson got plurality and Adams
next
▪ Since nobody majority, decided in House between these two—Adams got Clay to
swing the election in his favor, then appointed him to secretary of state in
corrupt bargain
The Adams Administration
▪ Marked by a bunch of disasters
▪ He championed national economic growth; loose interpretationist, including Am
sys and internal improvements; but assailed as tyrant and aristocrat, and
-2-
Congress didn’t do as much as he wanted (including Tariff of
Abominations, which they did)
▪ Repudiated fraudulent Indian treaty and ordered new one, but irritated people,
especially the people who wanted the land they would have taken away,
and Adams said would use force
The Triumph of the Jacksonians
▪ All kinds of anti-administration people gathered around Jackson, including
supporters of Crawford and Calhoun, against Am sys, everywhere except
New England
▪ Adams didn’t really electioneer or “actively seek a second presidential term,” but
his lieutenants no match for Jackson’s
▪ Some issues were tariff, internal improvements, banking, land, Indians,
bankruptcy, debtor-relief—but didn’t focus on issues too much because
didn’t want to divide the electorate
▪ Jackson said democracy vs. aristocracy, Adams corrupt and monarchist, corrupt
bargain
▪ Jackson got pretty good win
Jacksonian Democracy
The New President
▪ Didn’t get elected based on ideology, but popularity—most interpreted his
victory for common (white) man—had risen from poverty (but rich and
gentrified when elected)
▪ Yet closer to common man as any previous—also used veto heavily and didn’t
support power of Supreme Court
▪ Planned to reform the civil service by rotating civil servants, so democratized
spoils system, and he didn’t really do it that much, and later prezzes did it
more
▪ Depended on “kitchen cabinet” for advice
The Jacksonian Philosophy
▪ Jacksonian ideology was not uniform
▪ Believed in limited federal powers so a bit of states’ rights, no special treatment
for rich, laissez-faire, and agriculture of prime importance
▪ Some thought this meant Jeffersonianism, but that was out of date
Internal Improvements and Public Lands
▪ Now he had to hold together the various groups that elected him
The Maysville Veto
▪ Vetoed a bill to fund building of road within Kentucky—said internal
improvements must be national, not local—believed such appropriations
-3-
would lead to corruption, and better to distribute funds to states for own
use
▪ But he didn’t veto all such bills
Land Policy
▪ Supported graduation (reduction of minimum price of public lands to 50¢ an
acre) and preemption (permitted pre-selling settlers to buy the land for
low price) because wanted to get the W settled (by whites, not Indians)
▪ E manufacturers mad because W taking all their labor
▪ Clay suggested compromise with land sales profits given to all states, but Jackson
vetoed
Religious and Ethnic Minorities
▪ Showed little concern for rights of women, blacks, Indians—only Irish Catholics
a bit (who voted Democratic)
▪ Neither slaves nor free blacks voted; Jackson a large slaveholder, and not morally
against it like Jefferson—used racist tactics in S
Indian Removals
▪ Enforced a policy of removal of any E Indians W across Miss—said he believed
it was for their own good
▪ However, they were being treated very badly, and moved to bad areas
▪ Black Hawk War in Illinois was only a skirmish, but Seminoles under Osceola in
Florida rebelled for years
▪ Cherokees tried legal action, Supreme Court in favor of them, but Georgia
ignored decision
The Tariff and Nullification
Disaffection in South Carolina
▪ Promised rigid economy and reduction of public debt, but wavered on tariff—at
first wanted protective tariff, then just revenue, which angered N, but
when SC resorted to force reduction of duties, Jackson denounced and
alienated extreme states-rights-ers
▪ South came to believe tariff taxed their imports, which hurt them, and fed
government spent more money on N—most extreme in SC because fear
of federal destruction of slavery and slave rebellions
▪ South also in economic crisis due to Panic of 1819—low prices, farmers moving
W, caused political unrest, and made them believe tariff was to blame—
Calhoun had to revise his moderate views
Calhoun and State Interposition
▪ Calhoun wrote an essay proposing nullification or “interposition” instead of
secession—based on the theory that states had been sovereign before they
joined the Union and states ultimate authority
-4-
▪ People of a state could elect delegates to state convention, and if they decided law
unconstitutional, void within state’s boundaries—then fed government
would have to decide to repeal or constitutionally amend
▪ Said true democracy not numerical, because then what about rights of minority
▪ Had review in Senate between Hayne and Webster, and it was clear the North
would not hear of nullification
▪ Jackson had been states-rights, but thought this was going too far, so rift b/w him
and Calhoun (his VP)
The Nullification Crisis
▪ Congress passed a new protective tariff bill—Nullification-ers won control of SC
legislature, got convention, declared law nullified, forbade appeals to fed
courts, and said coercion would cause secession
▪ Other states in Deep South didn’t support this
▪ Jackson threatened to hang Calhoun, sent warship to SC, announced would fight
personally, said it was his duty to execute laws—SC said he’s wrong and
would repel force by force—Congress considered a force bill authorizing
army
▪ Clay came forward with compromise gradual reduction tariff, and passed along
with force bill (which SC nullified, but the crisis was over)
▪ Most praised Jackson’s nationalistic actions
The Bank War
Criticism of the Bank
▪ Whether to renew charter in 1836—Jackson had become almost obsessed with
destroying it—his critics liked the Bank but his supporters agreed with
him
▪ Bank had become conservative, prosperous, reasonably responsible, effective
regulator of US economy—government bonds, keep government funds,
credit, paper currency, forced specie reserves
▪ Politically vulnerable, responsible only to own investors, accused of corruption
▪ Antagonized both hard-money and soft-money supporters
Veto of the Bank Bill
▪ Jackson didn’t agree with Marshall’s opinion Bank constitutional
▪ Biddle asked for a new charter early in 1832, passed Congress, Jackson vetoed,
Webster denounced, and circulated to people in 1832 election but they
voted for him anyway
Jackson Vindicated
▪ Election of 1832 notable for 1st 3rd party (Anti-Masonic Party, ended up being
Anti-Jackson, nominated Wirt) and 1st national nominating conventions
-5-
▪ National republicans nominated Clay and Sargeant, Dems nominated Jackson and
Van Buren
▪ Jackson won easily, so it was clear to him that people wanted the Bank destroyed
The Bank Destroyed
▪ Jackson didn’t want to wait for charter to expire, so got Taney to remove federal
funds from Bank and putting new revenues in pet banks among states
▪ Biddle began calling in loans—people disgruntled—finally got him to relax
credit, but unpopular so no federal charter—state one for a time, then
ended
▪ Anti-Jacksonians fumed, nominated three presidential candidates (Webster,
White, and Harrison) but Van Buren nominated by Reps and won
Panic and Depression
Economic Crisis
▪ Van Buren was a self-made man, and held the same ideals as Van Buren, but not
as forceful or popular
▪ Two months after Jackson left, economy plunged into a depression, but during
Jackson economy good, including cotton, West, manufacturing, canal and
RR projects, etc.
▪ British investors had been investing in state banks, but not as controlled
▪ Pet banks contributed to problem because speculation, paper currency
▪ Specie Circular (under Jackson) said only gold and silver payment for public
lands
▪ Congress (under Jackson) stimulated states’ internal improvements, who
designed too-ambitious projects, while pet banks had to call in loans
▪ Inflation also caused by specie imports, less specie exports, and buying on credit
which did not require specie
▪ Britain hit hard times so pulled support from US—banks stopped paying in
specie—runs on banks
▪ Panic followed by brief recovery, then 1839 cotton collapsed and foreign
investments, so no recovery until mid-1840s
The Independent Treasury
▪ Government adopted policies that hurt more: internal improvements curtailed
along with federal spending, kept Specie Circular and other hard-money
policies
▪ Van Buren identified self with radical Locofocos—he kept pushing the idea to
deny all private banks federal deposits—Congress passed Independent
Treasury Act authorizing subtreasury system of keeping government
money in vaults
-6-
▪ Different states dealt with banking in different ways, like establishing reasonably
satisfactory state banks, or abolishing it altogether, or “free banking”
systems which allowed charter without act of legislature
The Election of 1840
▪ Country still depressed—Van Buren renominated, but without enthusiasm
▪ Whigs nominated Harrison (military hero) and Tyler (conservative states-rights
Whig), adopted no platform, and started a popularity contest
▪ Whigs portrayed Van Buren as ritzy and therefore corrupt, and Harrison as
homely and therefore with the common people
▪ Harrison won overwhelmingly in electoral college
The Supreme Court under Taney
▪ Jackson had appointed seven staunch Democrats, including Taney to replace
Marshall—though little of Marshall’s corpus was modified
▪ However, changes did included more power to states to regulate corporations
▪ Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge encouraged new entrepreneurs and
discouraged established monopoly
Tyler and Paralysis
The Whig Disaster
▪ Harrison died of pneumonia a month after taking office, so Tyler succeeded to
presidency, but sympathized with anti-Whig southern planters, so
Congress torn by factionalism and little accomplished
▪ Tyler had turned Dem → Whig because pro-nullification and anti-Locofoco
▪ No sympathy for Clay’s ideas, but Clay tried to put Am sys into operation
▪ Introduced bill to distribute $ from sale of public lands to states for internal
improvements—also included preemption—agreed that distribution
would stop if tariffs ↑
▪ Then tried to raise tariff without repealing distribution, prez veto so they gave up
distribution, Tyler reluctantly signed Tariff of 1842 (only real Whig
achievement)
▪ Tyler approved repeal of Independent Treasury Act but would not accept a new
system (Whigs tried “Fiscal Bank” and “Fiscal Corporation” but
vetoed)—this ended national banking as an issue for a while
▪ Tyler and his allies drifted back to Democrats
Foreign Affairs under Tyler
▪ Insurrection in E Canada, but British suppressed, but Ams along frontier gave
rebels help—when Am raids continued, Canadian officials crossed
border, killed a guy, and burned Caroline—Br ignored demand for
apology
-7-
▪ Meanwhile, Am and Canadian lumberjacks in Maine battled over possession of
some land—British requested patrols search Am ships for engaging in
slave trade—slaves on Creole mutinied and sailed to Br Bahamas where
freed
▪ Br sent Ashburton to Washington as envoy, who negotiated with Webster for
Webster-Ashburton Treaty, which gave 7/12 of disputed land to Am, Am
would monitor slave trade not Br, and exchanged conciliatory notes
about Caroline and Creole affairs
▪ Webster then resigned from Tyler’s cabinet, and Tyler looked futile
-8-