Era of Good Feelings and Andrew Jackson

Themes

• Missouri Comprise • Monroe Doctrine • Rise of Andrew Jackson

Era of Good Feelings (1817-1825)

• Name given to the era of James Monroe’s Presidency

• James Monroe presidential years (1817-1825)• Era did not involve fighting between rival

political parties but over representation• The majority of Americans supported

Monroe’s electoral victory

Missouri Crisis

• In 1819, Missouri applied for statehood as a slave state

• The balance between the 11 free states and 11 slave states would be broken

• Proposal: Gradually emancipate slaves in Missouri

• North states: agreed • South states: disagreed

The Missouri Compromise (1820-1821)

Spain and Florida

• General Andrew Jackson led U.S. forces into Florida

• He occupied two Spanish forts and had two British citizens hanged

• Led to the Adams/Onis Treaty 1819- Spain ceded Florida to United States- Americans renounced claims to Texas- Spain gave up claims to Oregon

North vs. South

• A compromise was needed to resolve the crisis

• Who: Henry Clay (Speakers of the House of Representatives)

The Missouri Compromise (1820-1821)

• Missouri entered the Union as a slave states• Maine entered the Union as a free state• In future, slavery was prohibited in the Louisiana Purchase

Territory north of 36,30• The Mason-Dixon line was now separating the free and

slave states in the Union- Surveyed in 1763 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon

which led to form the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia

• The Line would later be used as a border between slave and free states during the Civil War

The Missouri Compromise (Results)

• Many believed South “won” this conflict• There was agreement, however, that Congress

had the power to limit slavery in some territories

• Importance: Foreshadowed future conflicts between North and South

John Q. Adams(Secretary of State)

• John Q. Adams served as Monroe’s Secretary of State

- Oregon Territory • British and Americans both claimed territory • Each agreed to joint occupation of the region- Monroe Doctrine

Spanish Independence

• Spanish colonies gained independence in early 19th Century

• Will foreign countries recognize them or try to conquer them? France, English, Russia

• British proposed a joint declaration: Each would oppose interference with new nations and agree not to establish new colonies in the Americas

*This proposal would halt American expansion in the west*

Years of Independence

Monroe Doctrine of 1823

• Has James Monroe’s name but was written by John Q. Adams

1. European powers cannot interfere with independent nations in the western hemisphere

2. New European colonization in western hemisphere was prohibited

3. In return, the United States pledged to stay out of European affairs

*Protecting newly created Spanish nations and stopping Russian influence in Oregon*

Significance of Monroe Doctrine

• This was the foundation of U.S. foreign policy• European powers were no longer welcomed in

North America

Presidential Election of 1824 (Candidates)

• Andrew Jackson (Tennessee): Hero of New Orleans

• John Q. Adams (Massachusetts): Secretary of State

• William Crawford (Georgia): Treasury Secretary

• Henry Clay (Kentucky): Speaker of the House of Representatives

Presidential Election of 1824

• Election of 1824 – 131 to win • Popular Vote:- Andrew Jackson – 43.1%- John Q. Adams – 30.5 %- William Crawford – 13.1%- Henry Clay – 13.2%• Electoral Vote:- Andrew Jackson – 99- John Q. Adams – 84- William Crawford – 41- Henry Clay - 37

Presidential Election of 1824

• If no candidate wins the majority of electoral votes – The House of Representatives chooses the next President among the top three finishers

• Finalists – Andrew Jackson & John Adams • Clay (still Speaker of the House) helped Adams

win presidency• Adams picked Clay to be Secretary of State• Corruption

John Q. Adams Presidency(1825-1829)

• Rumors of corruption hurt Adams • Experience: Diplomat, Senator, Secretary of

State• Proposals for internal improvement (Ex. 2nd

Bank of America); funding for the arts met fierce opposition

• Like his father, John Q. Adams was destined to serve only one term

Election of 1828

• Jackson and his supporters were called Democrats (Southern Jefferson supporters)

• Accusation:- Adams = gambler and promoted prostitution- Jackson = illiterate and married an adulterer• Andrew Jackson won the presidency; ending

the “Era of Good Feelings”

Jackson and Democracy

• Elimination of property qualifications to vote • Jackson Heroism: Was a hero during the Battle of

New Orleans and had a well known hatred for Native Americans

• Jackson supported the will of the American people to govern:

- voters should directly elect President and Senators *We still have electoral college today, but we NOW directly elect our Senators*

Tariff of Abominations

• Congress passed a protective tariff in 1828• It was very unpopular in the South:- Raised the cost of manufactured items- Other nations established tariffs hurting

American exports• This hurt the South because they exported

many of their goods to Europe

South Carolina Exposition and Protest (1828)

• Response to Tariff of Abominations:- Tariff violated the Constitution - States had the right to nullify such laws • The author: Andrew Jackson’s Vice President,

John C. Calhoun

*This ideology was directly based off of the Virginia and Kentucky Resolution in 1789

Nullification Crisis

• President Jackson did not approve of the tariffs but rejected the concept of nullification

• Jackson and Calhoun are now torn apart on major issues

• Calhoun resigned as Vice President *A compromise was needed*

Compromise Solution

• A new tariff (passed in 1833) gradually lowered tariff rates

• Force Bill: Allowed President to use force to collect tariff revenues

• Henry Clay – Great Compromiser

Bank Crisis

• Jackson distrusted and had a hatred for the Bank of the United States

• He, and others, believed its policies had influenced the Panic of 1819

• Jackson vetoed the bank’s renewal in 1832:-It was unconstitutional- It was harmful to the nation- Bank only served the interest of wealthy

elites

Bank Crisis

• Andrew Jackson defeated Henry Clay and was re-elected in 1832

• Federal money was withdrawn from Bank of the United States and placed into “pet banks” in the states

• Would lead to the “death” of the Bank of the United States in 1836

Jackson’s Opponents

• Whigs: Name given to political party opposed to Jackson

• Labeled Andrew Jackson – King Andrew I• Second American party system evolved

- Democratic Party - Whigs

Limits to Jacksonian Democracy

• Jackson was a slave holder• There were over 100 slaves on his plantation

in Tennessee • While Andrew Jackson repeatedly stated

supported rights for all. All meaning “whites” males

• He did not support equality for women• Indian Removal Act of 1830

Indian Removal

• The Cherokee were told to assimilate into U.S. society

- They adopted a written constitution that they wrote• However, once gold was found on their land in

Georgia, the state government forced their power on them

Indian Removal (Supreme Court)

• Chief Justice John Marshall - Cherokee should not be forced to move

• Jackson ignored the ruling; enforced the Indian Removal Act

• Minor Cherokee leaders agreed to give up land for money

Cherokee Trail of Tears (1838)

• 15,000- 18,000 were forced to move

• 25% died along the way

Martin Van Buren

• Won the election of 1836• Van Buren, Jackson’s Vice President, was seen

as Jackson’s puppet • Took office in 1837 and was greeted by the

Panic of 1837

Panic of 1837

• Resulted from:- Bad harvests in Europe caused English

Banks to call in loans it had given to the U.S. - Cotton prices went down- Everyone rushed to the banks to

withdraw all their money before it was too late• Whigs accuse Jackson’s anti-bank policies for

the fall of the economy

Panic of 1839

• After the Panic of 1837 was resolved another took place in 1839

• Banks again were failing along with the economy and businesses

• This would eventually lead to the lose of Van Buren’s second term and the end of the Age of Jackson

Election of 1840

• Whig leader William Henry Harrison would beat Martin Van Buren for the presidency

• Harrison’s inauguration speech took hours and hours to finish in the rain

• Because of this Harrison developed pneumonia and died soon after

• 1st President of U.S. to die in office • John Tyler, Harrison’s Vice President, will now

serve as president from 1841-1845

Review

• Missouri Crisis and Monroe Doctrine were important events during this era

• Describe the accomplishments and limitations of Andrew Jackson’s Presidency. Overall, how would you evaluate his years in office?