Who was Andrew Jackson?
The American President Movie
Clip
Book Work
• Read p. 333 and and the top of 334 to find
background information about Andrew
Jackson.
• Fill in some background info on Jackson on
the top of p.3 in your packet.
Like most of us, our seventh President
was full of contradictions
• He had virtually
no education. It
was said that the
President “never
spelled a word the
same way twice.”
• Yet he turned
himself into a
lawyer, a general,
a man of
considerable
wealth, and the
President of the
United States
He was Scots-Irish
• Which meant he was touchy and
fiercely protective of his honor
• He carried two bullets in his body
from duels he’d fought
• 1806-Jackson became involved in
a dispute over a horse. Dickinson
challenged Jackson to a duel.
Although Dickinson shot first,
sending a bullet into Jackson’s
chest, Jackson shot next and last killing Dickinson.
Jackson showed this sense of
honor when he was only twelve
• During the
American
Revolution, a
British officer
struck him in the
head with a saber
when Jackson
refused to shine
his boots
He led troops against Indians and, in
the War of 1812, crushed the British
at the Battle of New Orleans
• What no one knew at the time was treaty
that ended the War of 1812 had already
been signed!
His military skill made him a hero
End Lesson
Analyzing Trends
Previously Held Office
President A
Vice President
President B
Secretary of State
President C
Secretary of State
President D
Secretary of State
What trends emerge from this data?
Hypothetical Election
Qualifications
Candidate A
Secretary of State
Candidate B
Speaker of the House
Candidate C
Treasure
Candidate D
Military Hero
Who do you think is the most and least qualified to be
president?
Hypothetical Election Results
Candidate
Popular Votes
Electoral Votes
A
108,740
84
B
47,136
37
C
46,618
41
D
153,544
99
Who won this election?
Election of 1824
Candidates Revealed
Candidate
A
John Quincy Adams
B
Henry Clay
C
William Crawford
D
Andrew Jackson
Popular Votes
Electoral Votes
108,740
84
47,136
37
46,618
41
153,544
99
Who won this election?
Amendment 12, United States
Constitution (1804)
“if no person have such a majority [of
electoral votes], then from the persons
having the highest numbers not exceeding
three on the list of those voted for as
president, the House of Representatives
shall choose immediately, by ballot, the
President…”
Election of 1824
So who wins?
• No candidate received a MAJORITY (1/2 plus 1)
of the electoral votes. (261/2 = 130+1=131
electoral votes= winner)
• Amendment 12 says vote goes to the House of
Representatives.
• House elects John Quincy Adams
• 3 days later Adams appoints Clay (Who was
Speaker of the House) to become his secretary of
State.
• Jackson supporters claim it was a Corrupt Bargain.
Is it a corrupt bargain?
“There never was a corrupt
bargain in the election of
1824. Supporters of
Jackson invented this as a
campaign strategy to get
their candidate elected in
1828.”
“Adams and Clay clearly
entered into a corrupt
bargain in 1825 and, in the
process, cheated the
American people out of the
president they wanted.”
Historian A
Can we ever really know what happened?
Historian B
Corrupt Bargain Video Clip
End Lesson
Homework:
Page 3&4 in packet
Jackson was both tough and frail
• The men who fought for him called
him “Old Hickory”—after the wood
that is so incredibly hard that it made
great canes for gentlemen to carry (and
clobber each other with). Yet he was
over 6’ 1” and weighed about 130 lbs.
In 1835, a man attempted to shoot
the President
• But his palms were sweaty, so both his pistols
misfired.
• Jackson proceeded to nearly beat the poor man
to death with his cane. It took several people
to pry the old man off the would-be assassin.
Jackson saw himself as the
champion of the “Common Man”
• At his first Inauguration, the “Common Men”
at the White House reception nearly tore the
place apart during their celebration for “Old
Andy.”
• They were distracted only when a 300-lb.
cheese was wheeled out onto the White House
lawn.
• Which is where we get the term: “Big
Cheese”
Although he loved the “Common
Man,” this did not extend to people of
color
• Jackson’s wealth was based on The
Hermitage, his plantation, worked by
slave labor
• He hated Indians and probably would
have preferred to have seen them
exterminated
His political idol was
Thomas Jefferson
And his political philosophy
followed Jefferson’s
• He believed that farmers and workers were the backbone
of America
• He opposed a powerful national government; he felt that
political power should be at the state level, closer to the
people
• Both men hated the Bank of the United States—both felt it
gave the national government too much power
• Neither man trusted wealthy, city-dwelling easterners
Jackson’s Presidency
• Was one of the most controversial in American
history
• His power either made him a hero or a dictator,
depending on your point of view
•
The
Spoils
System
After taking office, Jackson fired many
government employees
– He dismissed more than 200 employees.
• Critics accused him of rewarding Democrats
instead of choosing qualified men
– Jackson felt that ordinary Americans could fill
government jobs, instead of just the wealthy
– Spoils System – practice of rewarding supporters with
government jobs
The “Kitchen
Cabinet”
• Jackson gave a number of his supporters Cabinet positions
– Most of these men were NOT qualified so he rarely met with them
• Instead, he relied on a group of unofficial advisors such as
Democratic leaders and newspaper editors
– Because he met with them in the White House kitchen they became
known as the “Kitchen Cabinet”
The Bank
War
• President Jackson disliked the Bank of the United
States
– He thought it was too powerful
• The bank had great power because it controlled
loans in the United States
– Example: If the bank directors thought state banks were
making too many loans, they limited the amount of
money those banks could lend
– This angered farmers and merchants who borrowed
money
Jackson’s Veto
•
Jackson vetoed the bank bill for two
reasons
1. He declared the bank unconstitutional
2. He believed the bank helped aristocrats at the
expense of the common people
Bank War Video
End of Lesson
Homework: P. 6 & 7 in packet
But the biggest crisis of Jackson’s
Presidency
• May have been the Nullification Crisis over the Tariff of
1828. In 1833, it nearly tore the Union apart.
• Jackson’s foe in the crisis was John C. Calhoun, whose wife
had insulted Peggy Eaton. Jackson intensely disliked
Calhoun.
• What was the crisis about? How did Jackson resolve it?
• It was one of the most important achievements of his
Presidency
THE ECONOMIES OF THE NORTH
AND SOUTH
• Economy of the North
– Fishing, shipbuilding industry and naval
supplies, trade and port cities
– Skilled craftsmen, shopkeepers,
manufacturing (textiles, tools,
metals, building materials, etc.)
• Economy of the South
– Large farms/plantations, cash crops
(tobacco, indigo, rice, cotton), wood
products, small farms
– Slavery
THE DEBATE OVER TARIFFS
• Tariffs are taxes that the government puts
on imported goods (Goods brought in from
other countries).
1828
• Congress passes a controversial high
protective tariff
• Who do you predict will support this new
law, and who will oppose this tariff?
The Debate over Tariffs
Pro: If you were a
craftsman or manufacturer
in the United States, you
would like tariffs because
your products would not
have that additional tax,
therefore your products are
cheaper than foreign
products. People will be
more likely to buy your
products.
Con: If your business is
agriculture, you need to sell
your food and raw
materials and buy
manufactured goods. You
may depend on foreign
nations to buy your goods
and in return you buy their
manufactured goods. You
are afraid that tariffs will
make foreign goods more
expensive. You worry that
if you don’t buy their
goods, then they won’t buy
your farm goods and your
economy will suffer.
JOHN C. CALHOUN
• Vice President under Andrew Jackson
• Believed the Tariff of 1828 was unconstitutional
since it favored the North
• Insisted that states had a right to refuse to follow a
law if the state felt it violated its rights
– States could declare a federal law null and void
– This is called nullification, a rejection of the law
– He and many other Southerners called the 1828 tariff a
“Tariff
of Abominations”
ANDREW JACKSON
• 7th President of the United States
• Believed in preserving the Union
and fought nullification
• Recommended to Congress to
reduce the Tariff of 1828, so they
passed a lower tariff in 1832
NULLIFICATION ORDINANCE
• South Carolina was not pleased with the new tariff
either. They said it was oppressive, so the state
passed the Nullification Ordinance in 1832.
• Declared the Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 null and void
• Stated they would secede if the federal government
used force to make them comply.
JACKSON’S RESPONSE
• Claimed secession would be considered treason.
• Defended the federal government’s power to impose
tariffs and chastised South Carolina for violating
federal law because a state had no right to declare
any national law null and void.
FORCE BILL
• Jackson asked Congress to grant him the ability to
use military force to compel South Carolina to
accept and follow the law -- The Force Bill
• Meanwhile Henry Clay proposed another tariff in
Congress that would reduce tariffs significantly over
the next ten years – Compromise Tariff
• Both of these passed in 1833, and South Carolina
repealed its ordinance.
Tariff of Abominations clip
End of lesson
Indian Removal Act
• President Jackson pushes Congress
to force Indians to move west of
the Mississippi
• Congress established Indian
Territory (now Oklahoma) as the
new Indian homeland
• US government creates Bureau of
Indian Affairs
Cherokee Sue For Land
• Cherokee sued the
government of Georgia
for taking their land
• Worcester vs. Georgia Supreme Court rules
Georgia’s actions are
illegal and that the
Cherokee can stay
President Andrew Jackson
“Chief Justice John Marshall has
made his decision. Now let him
enforce it.”
1) What is the job of the Supreme Court?
2) What is the job of the President?
3) What should happen if a government official
refuses to do his job?
Trail of Tears
• US troops move 18,000
Cherokee at gunpoint 800
miles from 1838-1839
• 25% of Cherokee died
(Over 4000) - most elderly
and children
• US troops steal things,
rape women, and beat
Cherokee’s that resist.
Trail of Tears Video Clip
Political Cartoons
• Here are some illustrations and cartoons
about Andrew Jackson
• What events do they show? What opinion
do they communicate?
Who is the
person in this
picture?
What are
some of the
symbols used
in this
cartoon?
What do you
think the artist
was trying to
say with this
cartoon?
End Lesson
Homework:
P. 9 & 10 in packet