“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 the 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
Chapter 13: The Rise of Mass Democracy 1824--1840
Democracy in the Early Republic
May 11, 1831- A twenty-six year old Frenchman (Alexis de Tocqueville)
stepped ashore in NY City. He visited the US for 9 months, visited cities
from Boston to Washington, floated down the Mississippi River to New
Orleans.
•Four years later wrote “Democracy in America”
•“Among the novel objects that attracted my attention during my stay in the
United States, nothing struck me more forcibly than the general equality of
condition among the people.”
•De Tocqueville noted the gross inequality of slavery, but considered it
unique to America.
By 1828 in America..
•Almost 1.2 million voters (50% of white adult male population in the US)
had voted in the election that year (in France—less than 200,000 could
vote, in England about 800,000 could vote.
•Politicians openly campaigned for office, parties appealed to voters
through speeches, banners, parades, barbeques, free drinks, baby kissing
and songs.
•By 1840, voter turnout reached 78%
The Election of 1824
Henry Clay John Quincy Adams John C. Calhoun
[KY]
[MA]
[SC]
William H. Crawford
[GA]
• Last of the old style elections!
• Called the “Battle of the Favorite Son’s”
• All four candidates claimed to be “Republicans”---well
organized parties had not emerged yet…
• Candidate confusion common---John C. Calhoun appeared
as VP candidate on Adams & Jackson tickets.
The Election Campaign
Andrew Jackson: had the most personal appeal—especially
in the West. He campaigned against the forces of corruption
& privilege there= received almost as many votes as his
next two rivals combined…but did not win majority of
electoral votes!!
John Quincy Adams (Mass.): finished with second most
electoral votes.
William H. Crawford (Ga.): had a paralytic stroke in 1823…he
The Election of 1824
•Even with Jackson
winning the popular
vote, he had to win the
electoral vote as well.
•There were 261 total
electoral votes and
Jackson needed 131 to
win the electoral vote
and the election.
•Jackson did not
receive a majority of
electoral votes to win
the election.
•The House of
Representatives had to
decide winner from
among top 3 vote
getters.
corrupt
Henry Clay (the 4th place finisher was eliminated---he went back to be Speaker
of the House of Representatives).
•Clay hated Jackson (Jackson was Clay’s rival for popularity & votes in the West
also).
•Clay had no formal friendship or relationship with John Quincy Adams but
both were NATIONALISTS and supporters of the American System.
•Clay met with Adams to tell him & assured Adams of his support; the House
voted ---giving John Q. Adams the Presidency!
•A few days later , Adams appointed Henry Clay as his Secretary of State
(pathway to the Presidency)….
*Jackson supporters complained of corruption and called this the
**“Corrupt
Bargain.”
The Corrupt Bargain
corrupt1
Suspicions of a “corrupt bargain” have been strengthened by entries in
the diary of John Q. Adams. On January 1, 1825, after a public dinner, he
wrote,
“He (Clay) told me (in a whisper) that he should be glad to
have with me soon some confidential conversation upon
public affairs. I said I should be happy to have it whenever it
might suit his convenience.”
In the diary entry for January 9, reads in part,
“Mr. Clay came at six and spent the evening with me in a
long conversation explanatory of the past and prospective of
the future.”
**There was no hard evidence of a corrupt bargain…Clay
was a natural choice for Sec. of State & Adams was an
honest man…deals like this had been made in the past
with few complaints anyway.
John Quincy
Adams1825-1829
H One of the ablest men, hardest
workers, and finest intellectuals
ever in the White House.
 Tried to promote not only
manufacturing and agriculture, but
also the arts, literature, and science.
H But he lacked the common touch
and refused to play the game of
politics.
 Most found him cold and tactless.
 Could not build any popular
support for his programs.
Presidential Priorities
1st Minority President ---only 30% voted for him!
His First Message to Congress set his priorities:
•Build roads and canals
•Build a national university
•Build an astronomical observatory
His Programs were unpopular with working class Americans
Who saw his programs as a waste of money.
Southerners: Why should the government pass high tariffs
Which hurt the south …then take on such frivolous debts?
If the federal government could interfere in a state power 9
Road building) could it one interfere with slavery?
Westerners: resented Adam’s attempts to slow land
Speculation
And his Indian friendly policies…
John Q. Adams Indian Policy
Whites in the state of GEORGIA threatened
to evict the Creek & Cherokee Indians from
their lands.
•Adams tried to deal fairly with Indians—
overturned a treaty signed by the Creek
nation which gave most of their land up in
Ga. in 1825 because he believed the Creek
had been tricked.
•Georgia Governor- angered by Adams
threatened to use military force.
Adam’s as President
 Refused to oust large numbers of
office holders (removed only 12)
 Adam is a Nationalist (Country First)
when the country was moving
towards sectionalism & state’s
rights
New Parties Emerge
Before the elevation of John Q. Adams as
president, the Democrat-Republican Party was the
only national party for over a decade but it began
to fracture.
After 1824…
•Factions developed in support of John Q. Adams
& Andrew Jackson & two new parties emerge:
1.The National Republicans: supporters of
Adams & former Federalists (like Daniel Webster).
2.The Democrat-Republicans or Democrats:
supporters of Jackson.
AFTER ELECTION OF 1824
JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY
Political world changed during the New Democracy. Two new
political parties emerge
NATIONAL REPUBLICANS
1. Adams, Clay and Webster
2. strong national govt.
3. Favored the BUS, tariffs,
internal improvements,
industry, public schools and
moral reforms such as
prohibition of liquor and
abolition of slavery.
4. Best/privileged run the govt.
DEMOCRATS
1. Jackson and Calhoun
2. Believed in state’s rights and
federal restraint in economic
and social affairs.
3. Favored the liberty of the
individual and were fiercely
on guard against the inroads
of privilege into the
government.
4. Protected the common man.
Andrew Jackson (1767-1845)
•Born of Scots-Irish parents on the border of North & South
Carolina
•Hero of the Battle of New Orleans
•Reputation as hot tempered; challenged three men to duel
before age 40…killed Charles Dickinson but carried
Dickinson’s bullet for the rest of his life.
•Called “Old Hickory” by supporters
•Depicted as a “frontiersman” who championed the
“common man” (actually lived in plantation & owned slaves)
•Campaigned against corruption and privilege of the elite
•Appealed to westerners and southerners mostly
•End corrupt Politics (with Reform)
•Jackson the “frontiersman” vs. J.Q.
Adams the “corrupt aristocrat”
•American System (esp. 2ND Bank of
US)
Election of 1828
Jackson and J. Q. Adams ran
against each other for the
presidency
One anti-Jackson newspaper declared,
“General Jackson’s mother was a common
prostitute, brought to this country by the
British soldiers! She, afterwards married a
mulatto man with whom she had several
children, of which one was Andrew Jackson.”
•Anti-Adams people accused
him of hiring a servant girl for
a visiting Russian
ambassador…
•Adams was accused of
gambling in the White House.
•One of the worst elections in US History for its “mudslinging.”
•As a result of this, Jackson’s wife Rachel, died of a heart attack just
before he became President…He blamed Adams and Clay and never
forgave them…..
Rachel Jackson
Final Divorce Decree
Jackson in Mourning for His Wife
Tomb of Jackson
and his wife.
The Election of 1828
•Why such a
difference between the
election of 1824 and
1828?
261 total
electoral votes
and 131
electoral votes
to win……
•Population shifts to
Western States and
South which gives the
Common Man more
political power
•More men voting in
1828----why?
•Property restrictions
and education
dropped.
•Jackson appealed to
common man because
he was one.
•Jackson’s Inaugural was a victory for the Common Man
•Thousands of commoners came to Washington, D.C. to
see Jackson inaugurated……
Inaugural
The Election of 1824
•Election
of 1824,
355,817
voted.
The Election of 1828
•Election
1828,
1,155,350
voted.
1790
WMA 21 yrs. old, educated
and property owner…….
voting
Several states would drop
property qualifications and
education…….
Andrew Jackson as President
jackson the man
•Born March 15, 1767, on North
Carolina/South Carolina border
•Father died when was baby.
•Read a copy of the DOI to the
townspeople who were illiterate.
•Hated the British and blamed them for
the death of his mother and brother.
•Orphaned at 13, self-educated and no
formal education
Jackson’s First
Hermitage Residence
Born in the Carolinas and moved to
Hermitage, Tennessee
Essential Question
Champion of OR
the “Common
Man”?
“King”
Andrew?
Jackson as President
• Saw himself as protector of the common
people against abuses of power by the rich.
• Frugal “Jeffersonian” who opposed
increasing federal spending & national debt.
• Vetoed more Congressional bills (12) than all
six previous presidents.
* Champion of state’s rights, slave owner
(stopped antislavery literature in US mail to
South; yet, did not believe south could
secede.
What were the
democratic
(Egalitarian) trends
between 1800 to
1830?
Democratic Reforms
1. Universal White male suffrage- voting
opened to all white men
2. The Nominating convention replaced
caucus (1832-Jackson first nominated)
3. New forms of politicking- banners,
badges, parades, baby-kissing
4. More people participating (1840
election = 78% voted).
1790 to 1828
Caucus---small group of individuals who
would choose a candidates to run for office
1828 to 1900
Nominating Convention---members
from the political parties nominate a
candidate. Eliminated, “King Caucus”
Current System Used
Direct Primary---allow registered voters to
participate in choosing a candidate
Which of these would be the most democratic way
to nominate a candidate for your party to run
against the opposition party for public office?
•Population shift and West becomes
politically powerful
•Jackson appealed to the Common Man
• attacked corruption & privilege by elites
Voter Turnout: 1820 - 1860
26.9
57.4
55.4
57.8
78
78.9
72.7
69.6
78.9
81.2
The Rise of a
Democratic Society
• European visitors to the U.S. in the 1830s
were amazed by the informal manners
and democratic attitudes of Americans
– Alex de Tocqueville
• The hero of the age was the “self-made
man”
The Spoils System
• Definition: *Rewarding political supporters with
public office
• Introduced in the federal government on a large
scale by Jackson
• “Every man is as good as his neighbor”
• Bring in new blood- everyone can learn to
govern
• *Important part of the new two party system=
cemented loyalty to party over economic or
geographic claims.
Problems with Spoils System
• Led to corruption, ineptitude & scandal (people
bought public office, incompetents hold office)
•Peggy (O’Neal) Eaton was the wife of
Jackson’s secretary of war (John Eaton) who
was the target of malicious gossip by other
cabinet wives
•Jackson became her “champion” and stood up
for her because of what happened to his late
wife, Rachel….
•Caused many of his cabinet members to resign
including VP John Calhoun a year later
VP Calhoun
resigns (1831)
and goes back to South
Carolina.
New VP- Martin Van Buren
Jackson creates the
“kitchen cabinet” which
were his trusted informal
advisers/friends.