Mr. Dwyer’s DC-ITV US History
Early Jacksonian Politics
The “Corrupt Bargain”
Until 1820 the two parties in Congress nominated their presidential candidates. This
practice, known as “King Caucus,” stopped in 1824.
Republicans, at this time the vast majority party in Congress, nominated William
Crawford of GA. There were other candidates who had support from across the
nation, including John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, and Andrew Jackson.
Jackson, the least known of the four, received more popular and electoral votes than any
other candidate, but he did not get a majority. The 12th Amendment requires the
House to choose from among the three candidates with the most electoral votes.
Clay finished fourth, in electoral votes, but he had many popular votes to give to
another candidate. He threw those votes behind Adams b/c both Jackson and
Clay were from the west.
Adams won, and Jackson’s supporters were upset.
Jackson’s supporters were further enraged when Adams named Clay to be the Secretary
of State, a position that was frequently a stepping stone to the presidency.
Jackson’s supporters shot down everything JQA tried, even if they agreed with it. JQA’s
presidency was doomed from/by its start.
Jackson is Triumphant
In 1828, we get the beginning of another two party system. Supporters of JQA were the
National Republicans and supporters of AJ were Democratic Republicans.
Adams attracted former Federalists, Jackson attracted the West
Jackson’s supps painted JQA as cold, wasteful and extravagant.
Adams suppos paint AJ was a murderer and a bigamist
Adams swept New England and the Middle Atlantic, Jackson swept the south and the
west.
Jackson takes Power
March 4, 1829, thousands of Americans gather at the US Capitol to watch the
inauguration of Andrew Jackson. The crowd flows into the White House, which
is quickly trashed. Starts the reign of King Mob.
Some felt this was the triumph of the common man, others believed it was mob rule.
How did this happen? All White Males were given the right to vote. Also, older states
were losing population to the west, so they began to allow more voters. In 1828,
58 percent of adult white males voted. Democracy? No women and no slaves, so
no, not really.
Anti-Jackson forces were coming together and calling themselves Whigs. Jackson’s
supporters call themselves Democrats. The Democrats are today’s oldest political
party and this is the beginning of the Second Party System.
Jackson said government should offer equal protection and equal benefits for all its white
male citizens. This sounds good to poor white men in the West. Jackson was, in
effect, launching an attack against eastern aristocracy.
His first target: entrenched officeholders in the federal gov’t. Offices belong to the
people, and Jackson wanted to give jobs to his own supporters. “To the victors
belong the spoils,” and thus the spoil system was embraced.
His people are great at PR: They stage the first national convention to renominate him.
They believed this would give the people more power.