In 1828, Congress adopted an especially
high tariff. Southerners called it the Tariff of
Abominations.
Jackson’s Vice President, John C. Calhoun of
South Carolina, violently opposed the tariff.
Calhoun had been a strong nationalist. But
his opinion changed after the Missouri
controversy of 1819 and 1820.
This episode convinced him that the future of
slavery, which he supported, required a stronger
defense of states’ rights. Toward that end, he
began to champion the concept of nullification.
Nullification – Concept in which states
could nullify, or void, any federal law
they deemed unconstitutional.
In 1832, the South Carolina legislature nullified the protective
tariff and prohibited the collection of federal tariff duties in S.C.
Further, the state threatened to secede from the Union if the
federal government employed force against South Carolina.
Calhoun resigned the vice presidency and
instead became a senator.
In Congress, Daniel
Webster of Massachusetts
became the great
champion of nationalism.
In 1833, Webster led the
way in pushing for passage
of a Force Bill, giving
Jackson authority to use
troops to enforce federal
law in South Carolina.
Nullification
Andrew Jackson
John C. Calhoun
Opposed nullification
Supported nullification
Opposed most tariffs
Opposed all tariffs
Willing to use force to
maintain the Union
Willing to secede
With Jackson’s support,
Congress reduced the
tariff. This reduced South
Carolina’s militancy.
The crisis had passed.
Jackson and Webster
could declare victory.
Historical Significance: The difficult
question of nullification and secession,
however, had been postponed rather than
resolved.
Jacksonian
Democrats
suspected
that the new
economy
encouraged
corruption
and greed.
To Jackson and his followers, industry seemed
mainly to enrich wealthy people at the expense
of everyone else.
The Bank had many supporters in Congress. In
1832, they voted to renew the Bank’s charter.
Jackson however vetoed the renewal.
The Bank’s supporters
denounced Jackson as a
power-hungry tyrant trampling
on the rights of Congress.
The veto shocked them because the previous
Presidents had so rarely used that power – only
nine times in forty-two years.
Reasons for Chartering the Bank
~To establish a national paper currency
~Manage Government finances
~Regulate private banks
Bank Supporters
~The Bank supplied a stable
currency, which helped economic
growth.
Bank Opponents
( Jackson)
~Bank favors rich investors
~Important to regulate state banks.
~Control of the banking is too far
removed from the public.
~Imposes restraint on issuing credit.
~Restrains private bankers.
Answers:
•
Jackson wears a king’s
clothing, including a
cloak, crown, scepter.
•
That Jackson is trampling
U.S. law; that Jackson is
above the law.
The Whig Led by Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, in 1832
the Bank’s friends formed a new political party
Party Forms
known as the Whigs.
The Whigs were nationalists who wanted a strong federal
government to manage the economy.
Relying on a broad interpretation of the Constitution, they
favored the American System of protective tariffs, internal
improvements, and a national bank.
Historical Significance:
The emergence of the Whigs renewed
two-party politics in the United States.
Whigs challenged Jackson’s Democrats
in local, state, and national elections.
Jackson was able to undermine the Bank,
but the destruction weakened the economy.
Relieved from federal regulation, state banks
expanded, inflating
prices with a flood of paper
bank notes.
The inflation hurt the common people that
Jackson had professed to help.
The face of value of bank notes exploded from:
$10 million in 1833
to
$149 million in 1837.
Economic troubles were plaguing the country
when Martin Van Buren took office in 1837,
the economy suffered a severe panic.
A key trigger was Jackson’s decision, taken
months earlier, to stop accepting paper
money for the purchase of federal land.
Results:
• Hundreds of banks & businesses that had
invested in land went bankrupt.
• Thousands of planters and farmers lost their land.
• 1 out of 3 urban workers lost their jobs.
• Those who kept their jobs saw their wages drop
by 30%.
• The Panic of 1837 was the worst depression
suffered by Americans to that date.
N
The depression in 1837 revived the Whigs.
In 1840, they ran William Henry Harrison for
President and John Tyler for Vice President.
The Whigs ran a campaign that was light on
ideas but heavy on the sort of theatrics that
would become common in American politics.
Turning the political tables, the Whigs
persuaded voters that Van Buren was
ineffective, corrupt, and an aristocrat who
threatened the republic.
Harrison won the Presidency, and the
Whigs succeeded in capturing Congress.
A month after assuming office, Harrison died
of pneumonia. Vice President John Tyler of
Virginia became the President.
Tyler surprised and
horrified the Whigs by
rejecting their policies.
The Whigs would have
to wait for a future
election to exercise full
control of the
government.