Essential Question:
Champion of
the
“Common Man”?
OR
“King”
Andrew?
Voting Requirements
in the Early 19c
The Center of Population in the
Country Moves WEST
Voter Turnout: 1820 - 1860
Campaigning “on the Stump”
Why Increased Democratization?
 White male suffrage increased.
 Party nominating committees.
 Voters chose their state’s slate of Presidential
electors.
 Spoils system/patronage.
 Rise of Third Parties.
 Popular campaigning (parades, rallies, floats,
etc.)political machines.
 Two-party system returned in the 1832
election:
Dem-Reps  Natl. Reps.(1828)  Whigs
(1832) ( Republicans (1854))
Democrats (1828)
Jackson and the British
Jackson
War of 1812
Seminole Wars
The “Common Man’s”
Presidential Candidate
Jackson’s Opponents in 1824
Henry Clay
[KY]
John Quincy Adams
[MA]
William H. Crawford
[GA]
John C. Calhoun
[SC]
Candidate Profiles
John Quincy Adams
•
•
•
•
•
Son of J. Adams
From Massachusetts
Secretary of State
A wolf (Fed) in Sheep’s (Rep)
clothing
His family name, his national
recognition, and his
Massachusetts origin gave him
the New England votes
Henry Clay
•
•
•
•
Dynamic speaker
Rep. From Kentucky
Supporter and promoter of the
American System
Popular out west; Criticized in
the South
Candidate Profiles
William Crawford
•
•
•
•
From Georgia & spoke for the
South
One of the last Jeffersonians who
feared the consolidation of political
power in Washington and the rise
of an elitist dominance.
Strongly opposed the American
System and it’s nationalistic
implications
Suffered a stroke while
campaigning
John C.
Calhoun
•From South
Carolina
•Withdrew
(couldn’t compete
with Crawford) &
Supported A.J.
Andrew Jackson
• American Hero –
Battle of New Orleans
• A self-made man
• Benefited from a wave
of patriotism
• Viewed as an average
guy
• WON THE MOST
ELECTORAL VOTES
Results of the 1824 Election
•No clear majority
•Election thrown to
the House of Reps
•Political elites in
Congress worried
about Jackson
•Clay actively
campaigned for
Adams
•Adams won, Clay
becomes Secretary
of State . . .
Corrupt Bargain??
Opposition to John Quincy Adams


Some believed he allowed too much political
control to be held by elites.
Some objected to his support of national
economic development on constitutional grounds.
Adams believed a strong, active central
government was necessary.
 A national university.
 An astronomical observatory.
 A naval academy.
 Many Americans saw Adams’ vision of a mighty
nation led by a strong president as a threat to
individual liberties.
* Became unpopular by treating the Indians fairly and the
so-called “Tariff of Abominations.” (Raw materials,
textiles, iron goods)
The 1828 Election
 Jackson’s campaign was engineered by
Senator Martin Van Buren of NY
He wanted to recreate the old
Jeffersonian coalition of:
 Northern farmers and artisans.
 Southern slave owners.
 Farmers with small land holdings.
He created the Democratic Party from
the remains of Jefferson’s old party:
 Created a national committee that
oversaw local and state party units.
 Mass meetings, parades, picnics.
A lot of political mudslinging on both sides.
Rachel Jackson
Final Divorce Decree
Jackson in Mourning for His Wife
1828 Election Results
Jackson as Satan Dangles the
Spoils of Victory over his
Supporters
Jackson’s Faith
in the “Common Man”

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.
The Reign of “King Mob”
Andrew Jackson as
President
Political Philosophy
• Used patronage & the spoils system to create a
loyal & disciplined national party.
• Strongly believed in the rotation of office
• Believed it was his job to become “the voice of the
people”
• “Kitchen Cabinet”
Roger Taney – Attorney Gen., Sec of
Treasury, Chief Justice of S.C.
Martin Van Buren – Secretary of State
“Others . . .”
• Attack the centralized American System
– Veto of Maysville Road project (1830) – dislike of rival
Henry Clay
The Issue of Nullification
• Farmers & Plantation owners from S.C believed
that the national government was sectionalist.
a) tariff
b) slavery????
•
1832 a new & higher tariff was passed
(despite southern warning)
• S.C. called a convention and adopted the Ordinance of
Nullification which declared the tariffs of 1828 & 1832 “null
& void.”
• The S.C Nullification rested on the Constitutional claims
that the tariffs were an unequal act that lacked fairness
and legitimacy—also looked to KT & VA Resolutions.
• S.C. stated that if the tariff was not repealed they would
secede.
Jackson’s Response
• The Constitution gave the federal government the authority to
establish tariffs and as President he would enforce this power.
Convinced Congress to pass the Force Bill of 1833 (ships
sent to Charleston Harbor!) . . . And he agreed to lower the
tariff rate..
• Declared nullification violated the Constitution and was
destructive to the Union.
• Jackson warned: “disunion by armed force is
treason”
• Compromise worked—SC rescinded nullification declaration.
The
Bank
War
The National Bank Debate
Nicholas
Biddle
[an arrogant
aristocrat from
Philadelphia]
President
Jackson
The History & Purpose of the
National Bank
• The bank was a privately owned institution that had
a 20 year charter. (Pres. Nicholas Biddle)
• The federal government owned 20% while the
remaining 80% were owned by investors – rich
(Backed by “hard currency,” or “specie”
• The primary role of the bank was to stabilize the
nation’s money supply.
• In the 1820’s the national bank stabilized the
government by closing reckless banks, creating a
tight money policy and putting less money in
circulation.
Banks & Politics
• 1832 Henry Clay asked Congress to renew the charter on the
Second Bank early (due to expire in 1836), knowing full well
Jackson would veto it and thus making it an election issue.
• The hope was to divide the Democrats and open the doors to
a Republican return to the White House.
• Jackson turned the tables; he vetoed it and then delivered a
patriotic, constitutional message declaring that Congress had
no constitutional authority to charter a national bank, saying
that it violated states rights.
THE BANK
WAR
Jackson’s opinion of the National Bank was:
“dangerous to the liberties of the people”
“a nest of special privilege and monopoly power”
“promoted the advancement of the few at the
expense of…farmers, mechanics, & laborers”
1832 Election Results
Re-Election & the Message Delivered:
Destroy the Bank
• Jackson was reelected in 1832, thus
Henry Clay’s plan failed.
• Jackson seeks revenge!!!
• Jackson instructed Roger Taney (Sec. of
Treasury) to seize control of the national bank
and withdraw the governments gold & silver
“Pet Banks.”
• How? Constitutional? – “the decision of the
people against the bank” gave him the
mandate/allowed him to act independently of
Congress.
Bank + Politics = WAR!!!
Henry Clay
1834 resolution to censure
Jackson
“We are in the midst of a
revolution, hitherto
bloodless, but rapidly
descending towards a total
change of the pure
republican character of the
government and the
concentration of all power in
the hands of one man”
The Bank—and essentially
the American System—was
destroyed
Andrew Jackson
“The Bank is trying to kill me,
but I will kill it”
The Cherokee Nation After
1820
Indian Removal—the Background
•
The South, Midwest, & East were calling for Indians to be moved
westward—even those sympathetic to the Native Americans.
•
The Indians did not want to leave their native lands.
•
The Five Civilized Tribes:
Cherokees
Creeks
Chickasaws
Choctaws
Seminoles
•
Many Native American, especially Cherokee “mixed-bloods” had
adopted American ways.
•
Nonetheless, 1802 Georgia agreed to give up it’s western claims in
exchange for a federal promise to extinguish Indian claims in the
state.
•
Jackson was prepared to fufill the promisewithdrew federal
troops that protected the Indians in AL, GA, & MISS.
Indian Removal Act 1830
• Gave $ & land to N.A. in Oklahoma & Kansas
in exchange for giving up tribal land.
• Government insisted that they could live on
new lands:
“they and all their children, as long as
grass grows and water runs”.
• Chief Black Hawk (Illinois) refusedJackson
sent in troops.
• Black Hawk was pushed into Wisconsin &
the Bad Axe Massacre killed 850 of Black
Hawks warriors.
Indian Removal
Cherokee Resistance:
Cherokee’s claims the status
of a foreign nation
Cherokee Nation vs. Georgia
Decision:
• Chief Justice Marshall denied
the Indian claim of
independence declaring the
Indian peoples were “domestic
dependent nations”
Worcester v. Georgia
Decision:
•
HOWEVER, Marshall sided
with the Cherokees against
Georgia claiming that the
Indian nations were “distinct
political communities,
having territorial
boundaries… guaranteed
by the U.S.”
Trail of Tears (1838-1839)
•Jackson essentially ignored the decision of the court . . .
4,000 of the 15,000 Native Americans who left Georgia died
before they reached OK Territory.
The Impact of Andrew Jackson
• Destroyed National Banking
• Destroyed the American System of internal
improvements & Tariffs
• Returned Democracy to the People???
• permanently expanded the potential authority of
the chief executive by identifying the POTUS as
“the voice of the people”
• Enhanced the strength of the national gov’t?
• Forever damaged U.S.—Indian relations
An 1832
Cartoon:
“King
Andrew”?
The 1836 Election
Results
Martin Van Buren
“Old Kinderhook”
[O. K.]
The Specie Circular (1836)
 Speculators created “wildcat
banks” that fueled the
runaway inflation.
 So, buy future federal land
only with gold or silver.
 This move shocked the system.
 Jackson’s goal -- to curb
the land speculation.
Results of the Specie Circular
$ Banknotes lose their value.
$ Land sales plummeted.
$ Credit not available.
$ Businesses began to fail.
$ Unemployment rose.
The Panic of 1837!
The Panic of 1837 Hits
Everyone!
The Panic of 1837 Spreads
Quickly!
Andrew Jackson in
Retirement
Photo of Andrew Jackson in
1844
(one year before his death)
1767 - 1845
Martin VS. William Henry
Harrison
Van Buren
DEMOCRAT
WHIGS
“Tippecanoe, and Tyler,
Too!”
“Log Cabin & Cider” Campaign
William Henry Harrison
Campaign Song
“Tip and Ty”
(Words and Music by "A member of the Fifth Ward Club“, published 1840)
What has caus'd this great com-mo-tion,
mo-tion, mot-ion our coun-try through,
It is the ball that's rol-ling on,
For Tip-pi-ca-noe, and Ty-ler too,
For Tip-pi-ca-noe, and Ty-ler too,
And with them we'll beat lit-tle Van, Van,
Van is a us'd up man,
And with them we'll beat lit-tle Van.
1840 Election Results