BEGINNINGS OF MODERN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY (1824-1844) THE ELECTION OF 1824 AND JOHN QUINCY ADAMS' PRESIDENCY turning point in presidential elections … majority of states now allowed voters to choose their presidential electors directly Democratic-Republican caucus chose William H. Crawford Others--among them John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, and Andrew Jackson--decided to challenge the nomination Of the four, Andrew Jackson received the greatest number of popular votes and electoral votes But none of the four had won a majority, so ……. the election was decided in the House of Representatives Clay threw his support to Adams, thereby handing Adams the victory … and Clay was named Secretary of State (importance of this ..) Opponents referred to Clay's appointment as the "corrupt bargain." THE JACKSON PRESIDENCY AND JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY 1828 ushered in the beginning of the modern political party system Jackson had been denied the presidency in 1824 despite winning a plurality of the vote He put together a support network coalition of state political organizations, newspaper publishers, and other community leaders That group became the present-day Democratic party Jackson accused Adams of being a corrupt career politician, while Adams accused Jackson of being a stupid and violent drunkard The modern political campaign was born He dismissed numerous government -officials and replaced them with political supporters Trading jobs for political favors came to be known as the "spoils system." Jacksonian democracy replaced Jeffersonian democracy Jefferson had conceived of a nation governed by middleand upper-class educated property holders, in which the government would be only as large as absolutely necessary Jacksonian democracy was based on universal manhood suffrage, meaning the extension of voting rights to all white males, even those who did not own property A strong presidency also characterized Jacksonian democracy Jacksonian democracy is not a coherent vision of how a government should function Strongest support came from the western frontier states Jackson accordingly pursued an aggressive Indian removal program The Supreme Court had protected Native American rights to their land in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia and Worcester v. Georgia Jackson forcibly evicted tribes Removal Act of 1830 set in motion the events that resulted in the Trail of Tears Jackson wanted to “downsize” the federal government. He saw to it that the Second Bank of the United States failed Deposited Federal funds in state banks Remember, Clay (the American System) had helped deny Jackson the presidency earlier Jackson put a halt to all programs associated with Clay's American System made extensive use of the presidential veto One of the major issues of Jackson's presidency focused on nullification Individual states have the right to disobey federal laws if they find them unconstitutional View expressed by Jefferson and Madison in the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions Tariff of 1828 also known as the Tariff of Abominations Became a national crisis during Jackson's administration Some states started to consider nullifying the tariff in 1830 1830 nullification movement failed Laid the groundwork for opposition to the Tariff of 1832, which South Carolina nullified Compromise Tariff (1833) agreed to reduce tariff gradually over time (1842) but gave president power to employ troops to collect from the states. Jackson threatened to call in troops crisis subsided with the compromise However …….. it would continue to be an issue until the War Between the States Jackson's economic policies demonstrated his distrust of both big government and Northeastern power brokers (He may not have wanted BIG government, but he did want POWERFUL Presidency.) suspicious of paper money Specie Circular ended the policy of selling government land on credit (buyers now had to pay "hard cash") … caused a money shortage, a sharp decrease in the treasury, and overall economic hardship Slavery controversial issue during Jackson's tenure South experienced several slave revolts Nat Turner's Rebellion Turner had a vision and took this vision as a sign from God that a black liberation movement would succeed rallied a gang that proceeded to kill and then mutilate the corpses of sixty whites In retaliation, 200 slaves were executed States passed a series of restrictive laws, known as black codes, prohibiting blacks from congregating and learning to read THE ELECTION OF 1836 AND THE RISE OF THE WHIGS Jackson's Democratic party could not represent the interests of all its constituencies Northern abolitionists, Southern plantation owners, Western pioneers 1834 Opposition party, the Whigs, was formed … loose coalition that shared opposition to one or more of the Democrats' policies Whigs believed in government activism -supported the temperance movement and enforcement of the Sabbath (Sunday Blue Laws) 1836, Jackson supported his second vice-president, democrat Martin Van Buren, who … had the misfortune to take over the presidency just as the country entered a major economic crisis (Panic of 1837) Van Buren made the situation worse by continuing Jackson's policy of favoring hard currency Downturn lasted through Van Buren's term 1841, former military hero William Henry Harrison became the first Whig president He died of pneumonia a month after taking office John Tyler, a former Democrat, assumed the presidency … began championing states' rights … much to his own party's chagrin He alienated Whig leadership … referred to as the "president without a party" his presidency lasted only one term ECONOMIC HISTORY, 1800-1860 BEGINNINGS OF A MARKET ECONOMY Market economy: people trade their labor or goods for cash, which they then use to buy other people's labor or goods From the time the first settlers arrived most people made their own clothing and built their own furniture and homes Developments in manufacturing and transportation changed all that. Made it possible to mass produce goods and transport them across country cheaply Market economies favor those who specialize Market economies grow more quickly and provide more services than subsistence economies They also make people more interdependent They are also much more prone to change (see panics of 1819 and 1837) Changes are referred to as boom-and-bust cycles War of 1812 and the events leading up to it forced the United States to become less dependent on imports The cotton gin, invented in 1793, revolutionized Southern agriculture Now easier and cheaper to use cotton Demand for cotton grew Spread of cotton as the region's chief crop also intensified the South's dependence on slave labor Whitney's second innovation was the use of interchangeable parts in manufacturing Interchangeable parts gave birth to the machine-tool industry Whitney's advances helped promote assembly line production THE NORTH AND THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY Machine technology, coupled with a U.S. embargo on British goods prior to and during the War of 1812 (England was then America's chief source of textiles), spurred the development of textile mills in New England mills produced thread and hired local women to spin the thread into cloth at home Invention of the first power loom in 1813 meant that textile manufacturers could produce both thread and finished fabric Women who had previously woven their own fabrics at home started to buy cloth Growth of the textile industry resulted in a shortage of labor in New England Manufacturers had to "sweeten the pot" to entice laborers almost all of whom were women from nearby farms The Lowell system also called the Waltham system Guaranteed employees housing in a respectable, chaperoned boardinghouse, cash wages, and participation in cultural and social events organized by the mill lasted until great waves of Irish immigration in the 1840s and 1850s made factory labor plentiful Working conditions started to deteriorate workers began to organize labor unions Early unions in the mid-1800s met with strong, frequently violent opposition Still, they succeeded in shortening the typical workday to ten hours They also got the courts to confirm their right to organize TRANSPORTATION: CANALS, RAILROADS, HIGHWAYS, AND STEAMSHIPS Prior to the 1820s, travel and shipping along east-west routes was difficult The construction of the National Road from Maryland to West Virginia (and ultimately to central Ohio) made east-west travel easier Big change came with the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 Linked the Great Lakes region to New York It became lucrative for a Midwestern merchant or farmer to sell his products to Eastern buyers, and as a result the Northeast soon established itself as the United States' center of commerce During the 1830s thousands of miles of canals were constructed Meanwhile, the railroads developed By 1850, the canal era had ended Steamships became important freight carriers and replaced sailing ships for long sea voyages By 1850 passengers could travel by steamship from New York to England in ten days America's first railroads were built during the 1830s but rail development proceeded slowly due to varying gauges (width between tracks) Government often paid the bill for conversion to common gauge By 1853, New York and Chicago were linked Southern rail development was much slower, and superior rails gave the North a huge advantage during the Civil War The invention of the telegraph allowed immediate longdistance communication Developments in transportation and communication during the first half of the nineteenth century revolutionized American commerce and culture. FARMING The most common profession throughout the first half of the nineteenth century Many machines came into common use during this time mechanical plow, sower, reaper, thresher, baler, and cotton gin Market economy changed farming. In 1820 about one-third of all the food grown in the U.S. went to market. Farming in the Northeast was becoming less profitable. Rocky, hilly terrain was unsuitable to many of the machines that were making farming on the plains easier and cheaper Some New England farmers quit cultivating grain and started raising livestock and growing fruits and vegetables. Others quit farming entirely and headed to the cities to take manufacturing jobs. Midwestern farms-much larger than New England farms-were also much more adaptable to the new technology that allowed farmers to nearly double production In the South, plantations focused primarily on cotton, especially in the Deep South; tobacco continued to be a major cash crop in the Upper South Majority of Southerners were small farmers who did not own slaves. (In 1860 approximately onequarter of white Southern families owned slaves.) ECONOMIC REASONS FOR REGIONAL DIFFERENCES Old South North, South, and West developed in very different directions -did not see eye to eye on many issues The North was becoming industrialized Advances in communications, transportation, industry, and banking were helping it become the nation's commercial center Slavery had been outlawed in many states (immigrants and unskilled labor) The South, meanwhile, remained almost entirely agrarian Tobacco and cotton, required vast acreage Southerners were constantly looking west for more land They also looked for new slave territories to include in the Union in order to strengthen their position in Congress Western economic interests were largely rooted in commercial farming, fur trapping, and real estate speculation Distrusted the North, which they regarded as the home of powerful banks that could take their land They had little more use for the South, whose rigidly hierarchical society was at odds with the egalitarianism Westerners wanted to avoid involvement in the slavery issueregarded as irrelevant SOCIAL HISTORY, 1800-1860 Southern Hierarchy Cotton gin altered Southern agriculture – needed more slaves … Commerce led to a larger middle class (esp. North) and industrialization resulted in bigger cities (and large groups of “impoverished” immigrants) … Westward migration created a new frontier culture … Each of these sets of circumstances influenced people's attitudes and ambitions Remember these generalizations about the different regions of the U.S., because by using them and some common sense, you can often answer specific AP questions If a question asks about support for a particular tariff, which area would almost certainly support and which oppose? It wouldn’t matter what tariff is asked about – the North would support it while the South opposed it! THE NORTH AND AMERICAN CITIES nation's industrial and commercial center Modern waste disposal, plumbing, sewers, and incineration were still a long way off … unhealthy environments Epidemics not only likely but inevitable, but cities meant jobs Northern farmers, unable to compete with cheaper produce carted in from the West and South (by steamship and rail), moved to cities to work in the new factories Cities offered more opportunities for social advancement Provided important services Labor unions began to form Americans in cities formed clubs and associations through which they could exert more influence on government wide variety of leisure-time options A very few (the aristocracy) controlled most of the personal wealth Middle class made up of tradesmen, brokers, and other professionals Women in their families could devote themselves to homemaking This was known as the Cult of domesticity Since labor was usually performed away from the home … the notion developed that men should work while women kept house and raised children Middle classes constituted much of the market for luxury goods such as housewares and fine furniture In working-class families, men often worked in factories or at low-paying crafts; women often worked at home Families lived just above the poverty level Were most often recent immigrants 1840s and 1850s: when the great immigration waves from Ireland and then Germany arrived Met with hostility, especially from the working classes, who feared competition for lowpaying jobs The Irish, in particular, were subject to widespread bias, directed in part at their Catholicism. 1830s and 1840s, religious, ethnic, and/or class strife could escalate to violence THE SOUTH AND RURAL LIFE Few major urban centers in the South (agricultural economy) 1860 the population density of Georgia was 18 people per square mile … (Massachusetts, the most populous state, had 153 people per square mile) Not enough people around to support organized cultural and leisure events While the North developed canals, railroads, and highways, the South did not South did not develop a strong market economy Wealthiest Southern citizens consisted mainly of plantation owners More than threequarters of white Southerners owned no slaves. Of the rest, half owned five or fewer slaves Southern Paternalism relied on the perception of blacks as childlike and unable to take care of themselves Slave owners almost always converted their slaves to Christianity, again convinced that they were serving the slaves' best interests. The Africans, in turn, adapted Christianity to their cultures and incorporated their own religions and traditions into their new faith most worked extremely long hours at difficult and tedious labor But remember …. Slaves were an investment (importing African slaves was banned in 1808, making it essential to keep one's slaves alive and reproducing) Majority of Southern planters farmed smaller tracts of land Yeomen owned no slaves and worked their small tracts of land with only their families. Most were of Scottish and Irish descent and farmed in the hills, which were unsuitable for plantation farming South was also home to more than 250,000 free blacks Black codes, prevented them from owning guns, drinking liquor, and assembling in groups of more than three Prejudice was a constant fact of life Some were mulattos, (mostly descendants of wealthy whites) and led lives of relative luxury and refinement in the Deep South, particularly in and around New Orleans RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS Impulse to improve the lives of others Early social reform movements grew out of the Second Great Awakening Second Great Awakening began in the Northeast in the 1790s Gave birth to numerous societies dedicated to saving humanity from its own worst impulses Movement spread to South and West … churches began to replace revivals Most active members of reform groups were women Temperance societies achieved nationwide prohibition in 1919 Popularized the notion that society is responsible for the welfare of its least fortunate Penitentiaries sought to rehabilitate criminals Other important movements of the period The Shakers, a utopian group that splintered from the Quakers … isolated themselves in communes where they shared work and its rewards Shakers practiced celibacy … their numbers, not surprisingly, diminished. Other Utopian groups included the Oneida community in New York, the New Harmony community in Indiana, and Brook Farm in Massachusetts Joseph Smith formed the Mormon Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1830 Strong opposition in the East and Midwest Mormons made the long, difficult trek to the Salt Lake Valley … came to dominate the Utah territory Women's rights movement was born in the midnineteenth century Seneca Falls Convention, held in 1848 Its leaders: Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton Stanton teamed up with Susan B. Anthony and founded the National Women's Suffrage Association in 1869 Horace Mann was instrumental in pushing for public education lengthened the school year used the first standardized books THE ABOLITION MOVEMENT Before the 1830s, few whites fought for the liberation of the slaves Most anti-slavery whites sought gradual abolition, coupled with a movement to return blacks to Africa Moderates wanted emancipation to take place slowly Immediatists, as their name implies, wanted emancipation at once Immediatist William Lloyd Garrison began publishing a popular abolitionist newspaper called the Liberator in 1831 In the 1840s, Frederick Douglass began publishing his influential newspaper The North Star Other prominent black abolitionists included Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth