Chapter 13
“The Rise of Mass
Democracy”
Politics for the People
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By the 1820s aristocracy was becoming a taint,
and democracy was becoming respectable.
Candidates oftentimes came from humble
beginnings, were from the west or were military
leaders.
Politicians now had to bend to appease and
appeal to the masses.
Western Indian fighters or militia commanders, like
Andrew Jackson, Davy Crockett, and William
Henry Harrison, were popular.
Jacksonian Democracy
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Whatever governing that was
to be done should be done
directly to the people.
Property qualifications for
voting were all but eliminated
and voting was based on
universal white manhood
suffrage.
Nominating conventions
replaced the caucus as a
method of choosing political
candidates
Voter turnout increased
Jacksonian Democracy v. Jeffersonian
Democracy
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Jeffersonian Democracy believed that capable well-educated
leaders should govern in the people’s interest
Jacksonian Democracy believed that the people should
manage government affairs
Jeffersonian Democracy reflected a chiefly agricultural society
Jacksonian Democracy reflected an agricultural and rising
industrial society
Jeffersonian Democracy limited democracy to chiefly its
political aspects
Jacksonian Democracy expanded democracy beyond political
aspects to include social and economic factors
Voting Requirements
in the Early 19c
Election of 1824
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Demo-Repub – Andrew
Jackson
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Demo-Repub – John Quincy
Adams
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Son of John Adams and
Secretary of State under
Monroe
Demo-Repub – William
Crawford
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War hero from Tennessee
From Georgia
Suffered a stroke before
election
Demo-Repub – Henry Clay
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Speaker of House from
Kentucky
Political rival of Jackson
Outcome of the Election
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All 4 candidates came from the Democratic-Republican Party
In the results, Jackson got the most popular votes and the
most electoral votes, but he failed to get the majority in the
Electoral College. Adams came in second in both, while
Crawford was fourth in the popular vote but third in the
electoral votes. Clay was 4th in the electoral vote.
According to the Constitution the top three Electoral vote
getters would be voted upon in the House of
Representatives.
The majority (over 50%) would be elected president.
Corrupt Bargain
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Clay was eliminated, but he
was the Speaker of the
House, and since and Clay
hated Jackson, he threw his
support behind John Q.
Adams, helping him become
president.
Clay was appointed
Secretary of the State,
thinking the office was a
stepping-stone to the
presidency.
Jackson supporters cried foul
play.
John Quincy Adams, left,
and Andrew Jackson
John Quincy Adams
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One of the most successful
secretaries of state yet one
of the least successful
presidents.
Minority president – fewer
than one-third of the voters
had voted for him.
Possessed almost none of
the arts of the politician
The tariff of abomination
became Adams’s biggest
headache.
Tariff of Abominations
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Congress had increased the tariff from 23% to 37% and then
finally to 45%.
Southerners were appalled by the high protective tariff because
it hurt them more.
South Carolina’s desperate situation:
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Crop yield was down because the land was worn out from
excessive cultivation, while at the same time the price for cotton
went down at the market because western states produced an
abundant amount.
Now with the tariff southerners had to pay more for manufactured
good.
They also feared the federal intervention on the tariff issue would
lead to federal intervention on the slave issue.
Denmark Vesey
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African-American leader. After
many years as a slave he won
(1800) $1,500 in a lottery and
purchased his freedom.
Intelligent and energetic, he
acquired considerable wealth
and influence in South Carolina.
Using church meetings as a
cover, he supposedly planned
(1822) a slave insurrection with
the intention of taking over
Charleston, killing whites, and,
if necessary, fleeing to Haiti.
Accused by informers, Vesey
was hanged along with 34
slaves.
Reemergence of the 2 Party System
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End of the Era of Good Feelings
National Republican
–
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Adams
Democrats
–
Jackson
Election of 1828
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National Republicans –
John Q. Adams
Democrats – Andrew
Jackson
Jackson had support from
the West and South, while
New England liked Adams.
The political center of
gravity was shifting west.
Victory for the common
man
“Revolution of 1828”
Andrew Jackson
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The common man’s president Andrew Jackson is depicted on
Rugged individualist
the U.S. $20 bill.
Westerner and Indian fighter
Had no formal education
First president from the west
Andrew Jackson battled
dysentery, malaria, tuberculosis,
and lead poisoning from two
bullets lodged in his body from
duels.
Jackson used the power of the
presidency on many occasions.
He ignored the Supreme Court
and used the veto 12 times,
compared to a combined 10
times by his predecessors.
Jackson’s Hatred of the British
Jackson’s Use of the Spoils System
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The practice of giving appointive offices to
loyal members of the party in power.
Jackson replaced incumbent officeholders
with members of his own party.
“To the victor go the spoils”
Jackson’s Cabinet
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Jackson had a mediocre
cabinet
Secretary of State Martin
Van Buren as an exception.
Rarely met with his formal
cabinet.
Met with an informal group
of advisors that were
dubbed the “Kitchen
Cabinet”
Peggy Eaton Affair
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Senator John Eaton, a close friend of Jackson,
had married the widowed daughter of a
Washington innkeeper, Margaret (Peggy)
O’Neill. The local rumor mill ground out gossip
that O’Neill and Eaton had had an affair prior to
her husband’s death. The Cabinet wives, led by
Mrs. John C. Calhoun, were scandalized and
refused to attend events when she was present.
Jackson was not pleased with this tempest,
remembering how deeply his late wife had been
hurt by scandal-mongering. He resented
Calhoun’s inability to control his wife and was
disappointed when Martin Van Buren alone
among the Cabinet officers defended the
Eatons. In 1831, Eaton and Van Buren resigned
their offices, putting pressure on the other
members to do likewise. These resignations
gave Jackson the opportunity to appoint
Cabinet officers who were loyal to him rather
than Calhoun.
Led to Calhoun’s resignation and his hatred of
Jackson.
Jackson’s Veto of the Maysville Road
Bill
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The Maysville Road bill provided for the federal government to
buy $150,000 in stock in a private company to fund a 60-mile
road connecting the towns of Maysville and Lexington, an
extension of the Cumberland and National Roads. The U.S.
Congress passed the bill, with a 102 to 86 vote in the House of
Representatives
Jackson vetoed the bill, arguing that federal subsidies for
internal improvements that were located wholly within a single
U.S. state were unconstitutional. Following this veto were six
additional vetoes of internal improvement projects, including
roads and canals.
This dealt a blow to the American System of Henry Clay.
The South Carolina Exposition
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The South Carolina "Exposition", drafted
secretly by Vice-President John C.
Calhoun, was presented to the state's
House of Representatives on December
19, 1828 by a special committee charged
with formulating a response to the
federal protective tariff passed earlier
that year.
Argued that states should be able to
nullify acts of Congress.
If passed the law would set South
Carolina up for nullification of a an
abolition law.
The "Exposition" made no direct impact
on national policy but the theory of
nullification was strongly asserted and
given conceptual coherence by
Calhoun's efforts.
John c. Calhoun
Senate Debate
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Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts
and Robert Y. Hayne of South Carolina
participated in this famous debate of January
19-27, 1830.
Robert Hayne
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Hayne blamed the Tariff of 1828 for
economic difficulties in South Carolina.
Southern politicians hoped to forge a
sectional alliance to repeal the tariff. If
westerners and southerners could agree to
vote for the Doctrine of Nullification and
cheap federal land, both regions would
benefit economically.
Daniel Webster
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Daniel Webster, for New England, insisted
that the people and not the states had
framed the Constitution, and decried
nullification.
He pleaded for the Union, ending with
“Liberty and Union, now and forever, one
and inseparable.”
Indirectly came out against the Doctrine of
Nullification.
Jefferson Day Dinner
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A dinner cleverly put together by southerners
hoping to influence Jackson into supporting
the Doctrine of Nullification.
Jefferson was a states rights supporter and
had used a form of the Doctrine of
Nullification with his Kentucky and Virginia
Resolutions that declared the Alien and
Sedition Acts null and void.
Jackson’s Toast
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“Our Union: It must be
preserved”
Came out against the
Doctrine of Nullification
Calhoun’s Response
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“The Union, next to our
liberty, most dear!”
Obviously upset with
Jackson’s response
“Nullies” in South Carolina
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South Carolina state legislatures declared
the existing tariff to be null and void within
South Carolina, called upon the state to take
military preparations, and warned of
secession.
President Jackson privately threatened to
hang the nullifiers.
Compromise Tariff of 1833
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Authored by “The Great Compromiser” Henry
Clay.
The bill gradually reduce the Tariff of 1832 by
about 10% over a period of eight years, so that by
1842 the rates would be down to 20% to 25%.
To save face, Congress passed the Force Bill that
authorized the president to use the army and
navy, if necessary, to collect tariffs.
South Carolina repealed the ordinance of
nullification but as a final defiant gesture it nullified
the unnecessary Force Bill.
This contemporary cartoon shows Calhoun reaching for
power over the dead bodies of the Constitution and the
Union. Jackson, at the far right, threatens to hang the
nullifiers.
The National Bank Issue
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Jackson and his followers distrusted
monopolistic banking and oversized
businesses.
In 1832, Henry Clay, in a strategy to
bring Jackson’s popularity down so
that he could defeat him for
presidency, rammed a bill for the
rechartering of the National Bank—
four years early.
Plan:
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Jackson would have to either
veto the bill or sign it. Either
was, Clay felt it was a no-win
situation for Jackson
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If he vetoed he would upset the
rich easterners
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If he signed it he would alienate
his western followers
Jackson’s Veto
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The recharter bill passed through
Congress, but Jackson killed the bill with a
scorching veto.
Attached a letter to the American people
explaining the veto and characterized the
bank as anti-Western and anti-American.
The veto amplified the power of the
president by ignoring the Supreme Court
and aligned the West against the East.
Election of 1832
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Democrats –
Andrew Jackson
National
Republicans –
Henry Clay
Rise of “Pet Banks”
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Hoping to kill the BUS and believing that he
had a mandate from the American people,
Jackson began to withdraw federal funds
from the bank, so as to drain it of its wealth.
Money was put into “pet banks” throughout
the country.
Led to competition among the banks which
resulted in cheap money and “land fever.”
Economy skyrocketed which eventually led
to uncontrolled inflation
Specie Circular
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With easy credit available,
sales of government lands
skyrocketed from $2.6
million in 1832 to $24.9
million in 1836.
required payment in gold or
silver for all purchases of
government lands.
The deflationary Circular
contracted the money supply
too rapidly, leading in part to
the panic of 1837.
Results of Specie Circular
$ Banknotes loose their value.
$ Land sales plummeted.
$ Credit not available.
$ Businesses began to fail.
$ Unemployment rose.
The Panic of 1837
Transplanting the Tribes
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Jackson’s Indian policy was to uproot them
and move them to the west.
Most Indian tribes resisted forced
assimilation programs but the Cherokee
were among the few that tried to adopt the
Americans ways, utilizing a system of
settled agriculture, devising an alphabet,
legislating legal code in 1808, and adopting
a written constitution in 1827.
The Cherokees, the Creeks, Choctaws,
Chickasaws, and the Seminoles were
known as the “Five Civilized Tribes.”
Five Civilized Tribes
Worcester v. Georgia
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An 1832 case in which the United States Supreme
Court held that Cherokee Indians were entitled to
federal protection from the actions of state
governments.
Overturned a Georgia state court ruling taking land
away from the Cherokee. Marshall’s ruling would
allow the Cherokee to keep land in Georgia.
reaction to this decision, President Andrew Jackson
has often been quoted as defying the Supreme
Court with the words: "John Marshall has made his
decision; now let him enforce it!"
Indian Removal Act
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Congress passed the
Indian Removal Act, in
which 100,000 Indians
were moved to Oklahoma.
Thousands of Indians
died on the “Trail of
Tears” after being
uprooted from their sacred
lands that had been theirs
for centuries.
The Bureau of Indian
Affairs was established in
1836 deal with Indians.
Indian Removal Act
Texas
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Mexico gained independence from Spain and
in 1823 concluded an arrangement for
granting a huge tract of land to Stephen
Austin, with the understanding that he would
bring into Texas 300 American families.
Texans had to become Mexican citizens,
speak Spanish, practice Roman Catholicism,
and give up their slaves.
Early Texas
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Texas, the sparsely settled
northeastern frontier of Mexico,
was inadequately mapped
when Stephen Austin visited
there in 1821-1822 to locate
and confirm a colonization grant
originally made to his father. As
a result of his travels, he
prepared a manuscript map
showing settlements in eastern
Texas, annotated to show
vegetation -- prairie land in
yellow and wood land in green - making it one of the earliest
examples of American thematic
mapping.
Early Texans
Davy Crockett
Stephen Austin
James Bowie inventor of
the Bowie knife
Texans Declare Independence in
1836
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Texans eventually
outnumber Mexicans
10:1
Mexican dictator
Santa Anna tried to
take away their
constitution
Texans led by
Commander-in-Chief
Sam Houston.
Battle of the Alamo
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In the Texas Revolution, San Antonio was taken
by Texas revolutionaries in Dec., 1835, and was
lightly garrisoned. When Mexican General
Santa Anna approached with an army of several
thousand in Feb., 1836, only some 150 men
held the Alamo, and confusion, indifference,
and bickering among insurgents throughout
Texas prevented help from joining them, except
for 32 volunteers from Gonzales who slipped
through the Mexican siege lines. Defying
surrender demands, the Texans in the fort
determined to fight. The siege, which began
Feb. 24, ended with hand-to-hand fighting within
the walls on Mar. 6. William B. Travis, James
Bowie, Davy Crockett, and some 180 other
defenders died, but the heroic resistance
roused fighting anger among Texans, who six
weeks later defeated the Mexicans at San
Jacinto, crying, “Remember the Alamo!” The
chapel-fort became a state preserve in 1883. Its
surroundings were added in 1905, and the
complex, restored in 1936–39, is now a major
tourist attraction.
San Antonio Today
The Alamo
CREDIT: Moran, Percy, artist. "Battle of the Alamo." Reproduction of an
original painting. Joliet, Illinois, Gerblach Barklow Co., copyright 1912.
Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.
Battle of San Jacinto
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The Battle of San Jacinto lasted
less than twenty minutes, but it
sealed the fate of three
republics. Mexico would never
regain the lost territory, in spite
of sporadic incursions during
the 1840s. The United States
would go on to acquire not only
the Republic of Texas in 1845
but Mexican lands to the west
after the Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo ended the Mexican
War in 1848.
630 Mexicans were killed and
730 taken prisoner. Texans lost
only 9 killed or mortally
wounded; thirty were less
seriously wounded. Among the
latter was General Houston,
whose ankle was shattered.
Surrender of Santa Anna, by William
H. Huddle
Texas: An International Derelict.
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Texans asked the
U.S. for statehood
in 1837
U.S. refused
because of the
slave balance issue
and fear of war with
Mexico
1 Mar 1836 - 10 Dec 1836
Adopted 24 Jan 1839
Whig Party

A new party
emerged called
the Whigs, a
group united only
by their opposition
to Jackson and, at
first, led by Clay
and John C.
Calhoun.
Election of 1836
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Democrats – Martin Van Buren
 Jackson’s hand picked
successor.
 Rode the coattails of
Jackson
Whigs – W. H. Harrison
Whig – Hugh White
Whig – Daniel Webster
Because of departing
Jackson’s immense popularity
the Whigs only hope was to get
the election thrown into the
house so Harrison would win.
Van Buren won election
Jackson’s Legacy
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Increased the power of the presidency with his veto
power
Increased the power of the west
Universal white manhood suffrage
Caucus was replaced with the nominating
convention
Common man had more access to land because of
the cheap money available from the pet banks
Abuse of the spoils system
Single-handedly threw the U.S. into a depression
with his fiscal policies
Martin Van Buren
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Van Buren was the first president to have been
born under the American flag.
Inherited Jackson-caused depression
The panic of 1837 was caused by the “wildcat
banks” loans, the over-speculation, the “Bank
War,” and the Specie Circular.
Van Buren proposed the “Divorce Bill” (separating
the bank from the government and storing money
in some of the vaults of the larger American cities,
thus keeping the money safe but also unavailable)
that advocated the independent treasury, and in
1840, it was passed.
Election of 1840
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Democrats – Van
Buren
Whigs – William
Henry Harrison
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“Tippecanoe and
Tyler Too.”
Harrison’s victory in
the election was a
protest against the
hard times of the