The Rise of Jacksonian
Democracy
In the full enjoyment of the gifts of Heaven and the fruits of superior industry, economy,
and virtue, every man is equally entitled to protection by law; but when the laws
undertake to add to those natural and just advantages artificial distinctions…and
exclusive privileges…the humble members of society-the farmers, mechanics, and
laborers…have a right to complain of the injustice of their government.
Andrew Jackson, 1832
Politics for the People
• Democracy in its pure form (universal
manhood suffrage) was not highly
regarded by the Founding Fathers nor
the “aristocracy.”
• They believed in a “Republican form
of Government” by which the people
would vote for “representatives” to
make laws. They did not believe that
the people as a whole could
adequately make laws.
• By the 1820’s, the aristocracy was
becoming less privileged and
“democracy (universal manhood
suffrage and rule by the people as a
whole), was a becoming respectable.
• Many immigrants and land
seekers were pouring into the
western lands west of the
Appalachian Mountains. As a
result, the western lands were
gaining voting strength as well
as more members in the House
of Representatives.
• It was now an advantage for a
politician to boast of being born in a
log cabin (the influence of the
western states was now becoming
Politicians were now forced to
unbend and favor the voting
masses which were growing in the
western lands.
• a political power).
• In the West, the belief was
spreading that a man was well
qualified for high office if he was a
superior militia commander or a
victorious Indian fighter, like
Andrew Jackson, or an outstanding
hunter like Davy Crockett.
• Wealthy politicians now had to
forsake all social pretensions and
cultivate the common touch if they
hoped to win elections.
• Jeffersonian democracy had
proclaimed that the people
should be governed as little as
possible; Jacksonian
democracy now added that
whatever governing was to be
done should be done directly by
the people. The common man
was at last moving to the center
of the national political stage.
• Instead of the old divine right of
kings, America was now bowing
to the divine right of the people.
• The New Democracy was based on
universal white manhood suffrage
rather than the old property
qualifications.
• The frontier state of Vermont (1791)
was the first to place the ballot in the
hands of all adult white males. This
trend continued, notably in the West,
where land was so easily obtained
that property qualifications were
meaningless.
• Property tests for office holding were
also widely abolished, and even
judges were now being popularly
elected by the people.
• Many of those within the
“upper class” looked down
upon the Westerners. They
called them “coonskin
congressmen” and “bipeds of
the forest.” To them, the
tyranny of King Numbers was
as offensive as King George.
• The masses continued to
move forward politically in
gaining control over the
Republic’s political affairs.
Nourishing the New Democracy
• What caused this outgrowth of
political democracy?
– In part it was the logical outgrowth
of the egalitarian ideas
(advocating political and social
equality for all) that had taken root
in colonial days and was nurtured
during the Revolutionary era.
– The steady growth of the market
economy (business operations)
led increasing numbers of people
to understand how banks, tariffs,
and internal improvements
affected the quality of their lives.
– The panic of 1819 and the
Missouri Compromise of 1820
was also a major development in
establishing political democracy.
• The panic of 1819 was blamed
by many workers and farmers
on banking irregularities (no
bank controls) and
speculation (carelessly making
western loans). Resentment
grew at the governmentgranted privileges of the
banks. Farmers unable to pay
their debts usually lost their
farms. Paper money became
worthless as banks could not
redeem them with coin money.
• People wanted to restore the
republican ideals of Jefferson which
made many interested in American
politics, especially the followers of
Andrew Jackson. They sought
control of the government in order
to:
– Break its control of the bank
– Substitute hard money for bank
notes
– Abolish banks altogether
• Those who opposed the
Jacksonians were those people
who:
– Favored the current banking
system
– Believed that the federal
government had a legitimate role
to play in promoting America’s
economic growth.
• The Missouri Compromise also
awakened many Americans,
especially white southerners, to
the importance of politics. There
were fears of further federal
aggression against states’ rights’
especially the right to perpetuate
(continue to grow) slavery.
• Southerners’ prime goal was to
control the federal government in
order to prevent the abolishing of
slavery.
• Economic distress in the west
and slavery in the south raised
the interest in politics in the
1820’s, ushering n a whole new
chapter in the history of
American politics.
• Political effects of this heightened
role in politics:
– Voter turn out rose
dramatically
– A new style of politicking
emerged, as candidates made
use of banners, badges,
parades, barbecues, free
drinks in order to “get out the
vote.”
– The old suspicion of political
parties as being disrupters of
society was now looked upon
as being accepted in
promoting national unity.
– Vigorous political conflict
came to be celebrated as
necessary for the health of
democracy.
– Members of the electoral
college (voters chosen by
state legislatures to vote for a
presidential candidate) were
being chosen directly by the
people.
– Congressional caucuses (secret
congressional groups who nominated
presidential candidates) was not
being accepted. The idea of checks
and balances among the three
federal branches were thought to be
weakened when the president was
indirectly indebted to Congress.
– New and more democratic
methods of nominating presidential
candidates were devised. In 1824,
the voters were crying, “The People
Must Be Heard” and “Down with King
Caucus.” The candidate Crawford
had been denounced for being
nominated by the Congressional
Caucus.
– Some presidential candidates were
being nominated by state
legislatures. However, this did not
seem democratic either. In 1831, the
first national nominating conventions
was held by the short-lived but
significant Anti-Masonic party.
The Adams-Clay “Corrupt” Bargaining
• Four candidates ran in the election
of 1824-they were all Republicans
Democratic-Republicans):
– Andrew Jackson of Tennessee
(“Old Hero” of New Orleans-War of
1812)
– Henry Clay of Kentucky- “Harry of
the West”
– William H. Crawford of Georgiaailing in health
– John Quincy Adams Massachusetts-highly intelligent,
experienced without “people skills.”
• Jackson campaigned to save
“republicanism” from the corruption
of “King Caucus.”
• Jackson won the popular votes but
did not win a majority of the
electoral votes (Jackson, Adams,
Crawford, Clay in order of electoral
votes
• According to the Constitution (12th
Amendment), if no one wins a
majority (51% or higher) of the
electoral votes, the vote will then go
to the House of Representatives to
choose among the top three
candidates.
• Since Clay received the least
Electoral votes he was dropped from
the list of candidates. Clay was the
Speaker of the House of
Representatives and could sway the
votes. Crawford suffered a stroke
and Clay did not like Jackson, so he
swayed the House to vote for
Adams. Both Clay and Adams were
strong nationalists and advocates
of the American System.
• Adams was elected president and
appointed Clay as Secretary of
State.
• Jackson and his followers cried a
“corrupt bargain.”
A Yankee Misfit in the White House
• Adams had received less than 1/3
of the popular votes. In the time of
his father, Adams might have won
based upon his abilities, however,
in an age where the vote was
based upon popular vote, his
ability to win popular votes were
slim. He was not a politician.
• Adams did not recognize the
“spoils system” (rewarding political
supporters with government jobs).
His popularity declined among his
own party.
• The trend was favoring states
rights and sectionalism versus the
“post-Ghent” nationalism. Adams
urged Congress to construct roads
and canals; a national university;
and astronomical observatory.
• The South did not like these national
projects since it would have to keep
tariffs high in order to pay for them.
If the national government could
build roads and universities, then it
might try to get rid of the “peculiar
institution” of black slavery.
• Adams attempted to curb the
speculation of western lands
(unregulated loans for western
lands).
• White Georgians wanted the
Cherokees out of Georgia while
Adams tried to deal fairly with them.
The Georgia governor threatened to
use force in order to resist efforts of
national government to use federal
authority on behalf of the
Cherokees. Again, the South looked
at this as being government
interference within states.
• This was another example of
nullification of the national will.
The Tricky “Tariff of Abominations”
• Jacksonites in congress drew
up a tariff bill designed to make
Adams look bad. Congress
drafted an extremely high tariff
bill (45%) on imports especially
wool. Though the New
Englanders wanted higher
tariffs, they also needed wool
to manufacture in their
factories. Thinking that New
England would blame Adams
for this unusual high tariff, they
went ahead and accepted it
since it was protecting
American industries. The plan
backfired on the Jacksonians
who actually were against
tariffs.
• Southerners call the tariff the “Tariff of
Abominations” why?:
– The South relied on imported
manufactured goods.
– The southerners were also
concerned that further congressional
action could limit slavery.
– The South was the least flourishing of
all the sections economically. The
Northeast was experiencing a boom
in manufacturing. The West was
prospering from rising property
values and a multiplying population
was making the west politically
strong. The Southern land, being
overcropped was not producing well
and the South west was expanding
into the cotton lands.
– The South, feeling vulnerable, used
the Tariff of 1828 as a “scapegoat”
(something used upon which to put
the blame) for all its weaknesses.
The Tariff Yoke in the South
• Though the Southerners saw the tariff
as “discriminating” against them, the
tariff actually protected the New
England manufacturers, thus allowing
them to buy Southern goods.
• South Carolina published “The South
Carolina Exposition” written secretly
by Vice President John C. Calhoun.
Going beyond the nullification of the
Kentucky and Virginia resolutions of
1798, it bluntly and explicitly proposed
that the states should nullify the tariffthat is, they should declare it null and
void within their borders.
• Calhoun was both a Unionist and
a nationalist, but he was also a
southern sectionalist. He wanted
to protect the minority in the
South from the “tyranny of the
majority” in the North and West.
By embracing nullification, he
tried to preserve the Union and
prevent secession.
• Though no other state joined
South Carolina the theory of
nullification was further publicized
and the more dangerous doctrine
of secession was foreshadowed.
• The election of Andrew Jackson
(the “Old Hero”) was viewed as
one to bring sympathy to the
plight of the South.
Going “Whole Hog” for Jackson in
1828
• The election of 1828 was very
controversial. “Shall the
people rule?” was the chief
issue of the Jacksonians. They
felt that the will of the voters
had been thwarted in 1824 by
the backstairs “bargain” of
Adams and Clay. “Jackson
and Reform” was the slogan.
Jacksonites planted hickory
poles for the hickory-tough
hero; “Adamsites” adopted the
oak as the symbol of the
oakenly independent
candidate Adams.
• Hickory brooms were brandished
as tokens of a forthcoming “clean
sweep.”
• Mudslinging (insulting remarks
against a candidate) reached a
disgraceful level.
•
•
Adams’ men described Jackson’s
mother as a prostitute; they printed
black-bordered handbills, shaped
like coffins, recounting his numerous
duel and brawls. He was also
branded an adulterer. His wife
Rachel died before Jackson took
office.
Jackson insulted Adams by
insinuating that he was a gambler
since he had paid for a billiard table
and a set of chessmen to be brought
into the White House.
The Jacksonian “Revolution of 1828”
• Jackson overwhelmingly won the
election of 1828. Support for Jackson
came mainly from the South and West
and from the sweat-stained laborers of
the eastern seaboard the “common
people.”
• The election of 1828 has often been
called the “Revolution of 1828.” The
reasons:
– Increased turnout of voters proved that
the common people, especially in the
universal-white-manhood-suffrage
states, now had the vote and the will to
use it for their benefit.
– The results of the election showed
that the political center of gravity
was continuing to shift away from
the conservative eastern seaboard
toward the emerging states across
the mountains.
– It was a peaceful revolution much like
that of 1800 (from East coast to West
coast; from wealthy to commoner).
• America had been ruled by an
elite of brains and wealth,
whether aristocratic Federalist
shippers or aristocratic
Jeffersonian planters. Jackson’s
victory accelerated the transfer
of national power from the wellto-do to the commoner; from the
East to the West. As Jefferson
had been the hero of the
gentleman farmer, Jackson was
the hero of the dirt farmer.
• Adams went on to accept
election to the house of
Representatives from
Massachusetts. Known as “Old
Man Eloquent,” he fought for free
government, free speech free
soil, and free people.
The Advent of “Old Hickory” Jackson
• Jackson reflected the new
West. He reflected its
individualism its jack-of-all
trades versatility, its
opportunism, its energy, its
directness, and also its
prejudices. He was a genuine
folk hero -an uncommon
common man.
• Jackson was:
– The first president from the West
– the first nominated at a formal
party convention (in 1832) and
not a congressional caucus
– The first without a college
education (except Washington)
– A frontier aristocrat who owned
many slaves
– Lived in one of the finest
mansions in America-the
Hermitage, near Nashville,
Tennessee.
– Suspicious of the federal
government and wanted to
reduce its power
– Hostile to the active federal
economic role envisioned by
Henry Clay’s American
System.
– Favored the democracy
building up in the states
– Economic activism concerning
state government
– He would disappoint some of
the southern states’ rights
supporters in the South by
his insistence on the
sacredness of the Union and
the ultimate supremacy of
federal power over that of the
states.
• Jackson strengthened the role of
the President by:
– Ignoring the Supreme Court on
several occasions
– Vetoed congressional laws
more than any president up to
that time. He was sometimes
called “King Andrew the First.”
– During Jackson’s inauguration,
many western commoners
mingled in the White House with
elites. The mob about destroyed
the White House and Jackson
had to be ushered out.
– Many traditionalists feared for
the country
Jackson Nationalizes the Spoils
System
• Jackson utilized the spoils
system (rewarding political
supporters with public office)
into the federal government on
a large scale.
• The phrase came from Senator
William Marcy’s classic remark
in 1832, “To the victor belong
the spoils of the enemy.”
• It was actually time to “clean
house.” Some of the old guard
from Washington were still in
office-now in their 80’s.
• .
• Jackson believed in the New
Democracy that “every man is as
good as his neighbor”-perhaps
“equally better.”
• Jackson felt that any office was
thought to be simple enough for
any upstanding American to learn
quickly. So why encourage the
development of an aristocratic,
bureaucratic, office holding class?
Experience, had some value. But
alertness and new blood were the
main call of the Jacksonians.
• The New democracy also
trumpeted the ideal of “rotation in
office”-or “a turn about is fair play.”
It was good for citizens to
experience public office since it
was a valuable training for
citizenship
More Victors Than Spoils
• As a reformer, Jackson believed that
the best road to reform was to
sweep out the Adams-Clay gang
and bring n his own trusted men. In
actuality Jackson dismissed 2,000
public officials out of the original
11,000.
• Scandal accompanied the new
system. Men bought their posts by
campaign contributions were
appointed to high office. Illiterates
and plain crooks were given
positions of public trust.
• The spoils system eventually
became a powerful and entrenched
system. It would be more than half a
century before its grip could be
loosened.
Cabinet Crises and Nationalistic Setbacks
• Jackson’s cabinet was not one of
major importance. Martin Van
Buren of New York was a
noteworthy secretary of state. He
was know to this enemies as the
“Little Magician” and to Jackson
as “Matty.”
• The official cabinet of six was
privately supplemented by an
extra unofficial cabinet of about
thirteen members. It grew out of
Jackson’s informal meetings with
his advisers, some of whom were
newspaper people who kept him
in touch with public opinion.
• Jackson’s enemies branded these
outsiders as “the Kitchen Cabinet.”
The Kitchen Cabinet never actually
met officially. It was not
unconstitutional and grossly
exaggerated. Presidents are free to
consult with such unofficial advisers
as they desire.
• Jackson’s regular was ruined in 1831
with the Eaton scandal.
• Secretary of War John H. Eaton had
married the daughter of a
Washington boardinghouse keeper,
Peggy O’Neale. She was probably
unfairly scandalously linked with the
male boarders. She was
consequently snubbed by the ladies
of Jackson’s cabinet, especially by
Vice President Calhoun’s wife.
Jackson, whose own wife had been
victimized by scandalmongers, stood
up in behalf of Peggy Eaton’s
chastity. Jackson eventually lost the
“Petticoat War.”
• The Eaton scandal played into the
hands of Secretary Van Buren.
Jackson, turned against Calhoun
causing him to resign as vice
president. Jackson further purged the
cabinet of Calhoun’s South Carolina
followers. Calhoun entered the Senate
as a champion of South Carolina.
• Calhoun had been a strong nationalist,
despite his secret writings of
nullification in “The South Carolina
Exposition” of 1828. As vice president,
Calhoun thought himself as next in
line to the presidency. Now this lost,
he gradually abandoned his
nationalistic position and became an
inflexible defender of southern
sectionalism. In trying to protect the
states and preserve the Union by “The
South Carolina Exposition” of 1828,
the “Great Nullifier” contributed to the
almost fatal illness of the Union.
• Jackson himself dealt nationalism
a blow by is hostility to localized
roads and canals. He did not like
using federal money to build roads
that were not linked to an interstate
network. Jackson vetoed a bill for
improving the Maysville Road,
which was within Henry Clay’s
Kentucky. This brought a sharp
setback at internal improvements
and the American System so
ardently championed by Clay, the
“corrupt bargainer” whom Jackson
never forgave (election of 1824).
The Webster-Hayne Forensic Duel
• Sectional jealousies was
heightened in the Senate during
1829-1830. New England,
resenting the expansion of the
West, tried to call a halt to western
expansion. The west was draining
off eastern population and
upsetting the political balance
congress. In 1829, a New England
senator introduced a resolution
designed to curb the sale of public
lands in the west.
• The South, wanting sectional allies
against the Northeast, sided with
the West. Robert Y. Hayne, of
South Carolina, condemned the
disloyalty of New England during
the War of 1812 as well as its
“Tariff of Abominations” (1828).
• Hayne promoted Calhoun’s
dangerous doctrine of nullification as
the only means of safeguarding the
minority interests of his section. He
did not advocate a breakup of the
Union; only to protect southern rights
within the Union.
• Daniel Webster who had spoken
many times in Chief Justice
Marshall’s Supreme Court defended
New England. Webster, an exFederalist, turned the attention to the
larger issue of the Union. He insisted
that the people and not the states had
framed the Constitution. He
denounced the doctrine of
nullification. If each of the twenty-four
states were free to go its separate
way in obeying or rejecting federal
statues, there would be no union but
only a “rope of sand.” Webster
concluded, “Liberty and Union, now
and forever, one and inseparable.”
Websterian Cement for the Union
• Though no one won the debate,
about forty thousand copies were
printed of Webster’s defense of the
Union. The phrase, “Liberty and
Union, now and forever, one and
inseparable” lad embedded in the
minds of the Northerners as well
as in the mind of a young Abraham
Lincoln, just 21 and moving from
Indiana to the Illinois frontier.
• Webster had a large hand in
winning the Civil War in instilling
the northerners to fight for the ideal
of Union.