AP US
October 31 - November 1, 2011
With assistance from Ms. Susan M. Pojer

Champion of the
“Common Man”?
OR
“King”
Andrew?

The New Democracy was based on
Universal White Manhood
Suffrage

More people can vote AND more people are
“inspired” by politics



White male suffrage increased
Party nominating committees.

Voters chose their state’s slate of Presidential electors.


Spoils system.
Rise of Third Parties.

Popular campaigning (parades, rallies, floats, beer etc.)

The Missouri Compromise reawakened many
Americans to politics and got rid of the apathy and unorganized parties of the Era of Good Feelings


Jeffersonian Democracy: The people should be governed as little as possible

Jacksonian Democracy adds to this: The governing that is done should be done directly by the people


The existence of cheap and unsettled land in the West created a frontier society in America

This greatly shaped the American character by making it more democratic and egalitarian

It was wrong (we now know) but it influenced people’s idea of the West at the time.


Made people think that Jackson was a
“common man”

Important because the aristocratic were not cool during this time period - Davy
Crockett types were

FIRST KNOWN PAINTING
OF JACKSON - 1815
JACKSON DURING THE
SEMINOLE WARS


Remember - Jackson was the RESULT of the New Democracy, not the cause of it


Jackson known as
“Old Hickory”

Henry Clay
[KY]
John Quincy Adams
[MA]
John C. Calhoun
[SC]
William H. Crawford
[GA]


All four candidates were running on the generic “Republican” ticket

 Calhoun was VP for Jackson AND JQA
Jackson won, but of the 4 – not a majority -> goes to Congress
 Clay was 4 th and Speaker of the House
 Clay convinced the House of Reps to pick JQA
(2 nd place) as president
 Clay became Secretary of State


Short, bald, irritable, sarcastic, and tactless

Swam naked in the
Potomac

One of the best
Secretaries of State, one of the worst Presidents
Thought to be in league
 with Clay


Nationalistic
Anti-Spoils


Attempt by pro-Jacksonites to split New
England and Adams

Increased protective rates from Tariff of
1816

45% duty on some manufactured items
(hurt the South)

High tariff on raw materials like wool
(would hurt New England factories)


South suffered under tariff because they sold their cotton in an unprotected world but had to buy manufactured goods at tariff prices.

High tariff prices also cut consumption
FROM the United States.
 If America bought fewer English textiles,
England would buy less cotton.
 Hurt the South coming and going.


John C. Calhoun of South Carolina wrote the SC Exposition to promote nullification.

He believed that nullification would actually prevent problems like secession.


No other state joined in. Yet
Foreshadows the turning of the country
FROM Nationalism TO States Rights

 The Two-party system returned in the 1828 election:
 The Democratic - Republicans would become:
 National Republicans (1828) with JQA 
 Whigs (1836) 
 Republicans (1856)
 The other half of the Democratic- Republicans would be:
 Democratic - Republicans (1828) with
Jackson 
 Democrats (1832) with Jackson

Final Divorce Decree


Really – how many political revolutions are there??

Jackson won with support from the West and South

Political shift to the people
 “If Jefferson had been the hero of the gentleman farmer, Jackson was the hero of the dirt farmer”

1.
2.
3.
4.
The Planter Elite in the South
People on the Frontier
State Politicians – spoils system
Immigrants in the cities.


Intense distrust of Eastern
“establishment,” monopolies, & special privilege.

His heart & soul was with the
“plain folk.”

Belief that the common man was capable of uncommon achievements.


Anti-federalist and Anti-American
System (but federal government was ultimately supreme over the states)

Pro-Common Man Democracy and states rights

Anti-secession / Pro-union

Used veto more than all previous presidents combined



“Throw the rascals out and put our rascals in”
First real overhaul of federal offices
 Really only approximately 1/5 of the old civil servants were dismissed
 Still – merit and the ideal of public service were thrown out and replaced by party loyalty
 Lots of corruption: one known crook was awarded the position of the collector of customs at the port of NYC, left for England after 9 years with $1
 million.
Spoils system was here to stay for over 50 years.


Jackson believed in the ideal of "rotation in office" or "turn about is fair play"

Civil service had in some ways become corrupt and ineffective

Goal: Let as many citizens as possible hold office for at least a short time.

Sought to remove Adams-Clay appointees with loyal Jacksonians.


Martin van Buren (SOS) was the only legitimate cabinet member

Typical 6 person cabinet was supplemented by an extra-official cabinet of 13 ever changing members
 Dubbed the “Kitchen Cabinet” by Jackson’s enemies
 But never really officially met, influence has been exaggerated and was not unconstitutional


Regular cabinet had crisis in 1831 because of “Eaton malaria”

Calhoun quit as VP and returned to the
Senate for SC abandoning nationalism and defending southern sectionalism.
 Became known as “The Great Nullifier”

Peggy Eaton didn’t cause the Civil
War…


1829-1830: New England was freaking out about Western expansion because it was draining the eastern population and moving politics westward

In 1829, a New England senator introduced a resolution to curb the sale of public lands
 Sectionalism flared up as the South allied with the West (Supported by Hayne from SC who took Calhoun’s stance of nullification)
 Webster supported the New England side


A nine-day debate between the two sides took place in January of 1830.

Webster turned the debate against nullification as well saying that if each of the (then) 24 states were two go their own way in regard to every law, there wouldn’t be a union:
 “Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable”

Sen. Daniel
Webster
[MA]
Sen. Robert
Hayne
[SC]


There were no official judges and each side was happy with its champion

Webster’s arguments for the Union were
“seared in the mind” of countless
Northerners as his speech was published in 40,000 pamphlets
 Among the readers, a 21 year old Abraham
Lincoln and other schoolboys since the speech was published in school readers as well


Jackson was mainly silent on this issue and other politicians meant to smoke him out at a Jefferson day dinner by making toasts to Jefferson and eventually nullification. Against their expectations,
Jackson’s toast was: “Our Union: It must be preserved”
 and Calhoun responded: “The union, next to our liberty, most dear”

1767 - 1845