1824-1849
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Son of the second president
Brilliant man who was fluent in many
languages.
Very qualified – former Secretary of State,
negotiated the end of the War of 1812 and
wrote the Monroe Doctrine.
People described him as self righteous and
arrogant, “a chip off the old iceberg.”
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Four men ran for president that year
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William Crawford
John Quincy Adams
Andrew Jackson
Henry Clay
Jackson won both the popular vote and the majority of
electoral votes, but he did not have a big enough
majority to win. The race had to be decided in the
House of Representatives. By law, the top three
would have a run off decided by members of the
House of Representatives.
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Henry Clay came in fourth, but he was Speaker
of the House. Crawford had a stroke so the
race came down to Adams vs. Jackson.
There was a meeting between Adams and
Henry Clay
1829 - 1837
First Known Painting
of Jackson, 1815
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“Old Hickory”
“Conqueror of Florida”
Short tempered, one either loved him or hated
him or loved to hate him, wanted to be called
“General,” loved to dual.
Dirtiest election of all times
 Both candidates resorted to “mudslinging”
mudslinging is trying to ruin the opponents
reputation by saying bad things about them.
Attacked Jackson’s wife, Rachel. Said she was a
polygamist. She was actually married to another
man that had left her. She did not know he was
still alive. He showed up again after she married
Andrew Jackson and then got divorced.
Rachel, was very stressed with this situation, she died
before Jackson was inaugurated.
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But he never got over the death of his wife.
He blamed Henry Clay and said that he had
convinced a newspaper to run the stories about
his wife.
Henry Clay denied the allegations.
Jackson said he could forgive the mudslinging
against him, but would never forgive those that
attacked his dear Rachel.
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Suffrage (right to vote) – states began to loosen
rules on property ownership being a voting
requirement. In other words, Jackson gave
more people the right to vote.
Voting Requirements
in the Early 19c
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Spoils system – Jackson fired government
workers who were his enemies and hired his
friends – system still in place.
Nullification Crisis – Southerners were very
upset over high tariffs. Vice President Calhoun
from SC threatened to “nullify” (cancel)
federal laws on tariffs – even threatening to
succeed (break away). Jackson said union must
be preserved. Calhoun resigned.
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Indian Removal Act of 1830 – forced removal of
the Native Americans east of the Mississippi.
Cherokee tribe fought this Act in court. It went all
the way to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Cherokee.
Cherokee had Constitutional rights to the land.
Jackson ordered them to leave anyway.
General Winfield Scott and seven thousand
soldiers forced the Indians to move west of the
Mississippi.
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The forced journey caused thousands of
Indians leave their homes and move mostly to
Oklahoma.
Thousands of Indians died on the trip and so it
is referred to as the Trail of Tears.
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One Indian died every four miles
4,ooo Cherokee lost their lives on the trip
It ended in March 26, 1839
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Jackson despised the National Bank.
Henry Clay, Nicolas Biddle and Daniel
Webster thought most people were for the
bank.
They tried to get it renewed early to force
Jackson to veto the bill, because they thought
that if he vetoed it, it would be bad for Jackson
politically.
Jackson not only vetoed the bill, then “killed”
the bank
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Good friend of Jackson
Organized Democratic Party
Had a reputation as an aristocrat
wanna be
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Panic of 1837 and 1839 – too much cotton
production caused prices to fall
The whole economy then collapsed
Van Buren had no plan to help the economy
and Jackson had killed the National Bank
which may have helped.
Lost the next election due to the poor economy
War hero and Indian fighter, wanted
re-charter the bank
He was older and smart and had studied
medicine.
He wanted to show how smart he was
and gave the longest inaugural address ever
(2hrs). It was a cold and miserable day.
Ironically, Harrison caught pneumonia and
died. He was the first president to die in office.
John Tyler was Harrison’s VP and
became president on Harrison’s
death. People called him “His
Accidency.”
Refused to pick a VP
People said he was stubborn and
aloof and aristocratic.
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Went completely against what Harrison and
the Whig Party had wanted and vetoed the
National Bank.
Tyler was then thrown out of the Whig party
Sign a treaty with Texas.
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Very strong supporter of Jackson
and his policies.
Some even described him as, “
more Jackson than Jackson,”
and said he made very decision
thinking, “What would Jackson do?”
Manifest Destiny defined
 Term first coined by John L. O’Sullivan in
Democratic Review, July 1845
".... the right of our manifest destiny to over
spread and to possess the whole of the
continent which Providence has given us for
the development of the great experiment of
liberty and federaltive development of self
government entrusted to us. It is right such as
that of the tree to the space of air and the earth
suitable for the full expansion of its principle
and destiny of growth.”
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Ideological basis for belief:
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Sincere belief in democracy and republicanism
Idealized view of U.S. as model for others
Religious Beliefs
The belief that Christians must convert the
Indian “heathens.”
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Americans tempted by “free” land
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Develop trade with Far East
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U.S. stopped at Mississippi
Knew of California and Oregon
Pacific Coast to Far East – need base
Jealous of Mexico’s success
Fear of Foreign Invasion
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British Claims to Oregon; Mexico in south
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Mexican anger over annexation of Texas
Dispute over Texas/Mexican border
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Instability of Mexican government
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Nueces River or Rio Grande
19 governments in 25 years
Polk Administration’s drive to expand U.S.
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Polk saw his mandate as creating a coast-tocoast nation
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1845 Polk sends Zachary Taylor to Corpus
Christi. Encamped on Nueces River
Sends John Slidell to negotiate. He offers:
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$5 million for New Mexico west of Rio Grande
$25 million for California
Strong anti-U.S. sentiment meant that
Mexico would not accept offer
March 1846 Taylor crossed Nueces and war
begins
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After luring Mexico into the war, Polk had a
three part strategy.
1. Drive the Mexicans out of disputed border region
 2. Seize New Mexico and California
 3. Take Mexico City (capital of Mexico)
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All those goals were achieved and in February 1848, a
peace treaty was signed (The Treaty of Guadalupe
Hildago)
Mexico ceded Texas, NM, and CA and agreed to the
Rio Grande as being the border between countries
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Over 1700 were killed in the war.
11,000 die of disease
Millions of dollars were spent on the war effort
The Mexican war was the training ground for
Civil War generals.