Jacksons America: Condensed Eaton Affair, Nullification Crisis, Indians, and BotUS When a protective tariff was passed in 1828, Calhoun suggested nullification as a way to protest it. Remember, nullification basically says if a state doesnt agree with federal law, it doesnt have to follow that law. Jackson, a man famed for his temper, was furious with Calhoun for a variety of reasons; nullification was only one of them. Nullification and Calhoun The Eaton Affair Calhoun and his wife, church-going people, had refused to entertain newly-married Secretary of War John Eaton and his new wife Peggy, a woman of questionable background Peggy Eaton had been married to a much older man, who subsequently died at sea on the USS Constitution The Eaton Affair She remarried too soon after her first husbands death There were also allegations of an extramarital affair while her husband was alive, and even rumors that he had committed suicide over it The Eaton Affair Jackson placed strong value on loyalty. Moreover, Jacksons own wife had once been called of questionable character during the 1828 election She had married Jackson before her divorce from her first husband was concluded When Calhoun refused to host the party, the relationship between Calhoun and Jackson was beyond repair The Transition to Van Buren Calhoun knew this was a big mistake for his political future Jackson had made political organizer Martin van Buren his Secretary of State in 1829 Van Buren, a real opportunist, offered to host the social event that Calhoun had refused Van Buren became the new Jackson favorite. Transitions and Tariffs Calhoun eventually resigned the Vice Presidency His official reason was anger over the tariff But Washington insiders knew it was the Eaton Affair as well Tariff Crisis South Carolinas Exposition and Protest (anonymous essay by Calhoun) It was a list of reasons why South Carolina would refuse to collect the tariff Advocated that states injured by the federal tariff simply refuse to collect it. Used language from VA and KY Resolutions Compromise Congressman Henry Clay of Kentucky proposed a compromise tariff which would gradually lower the 1828 high tariff. Jackson opposed the compromise, saying the real issue was whether one state could tell the country what to do. Jackson asked Congress for authority to use force, through the so-called Force Bill of 1833, to bring South Carolina back into obedience to federal law. Compromise Lowered tariff gradually over 10 years; Jackson signed it. But Congress also authorized Jackson to send troops into South Carolina if they refused to obey the compromise tariff. Thus, both sides could claim victory. The Union was temporarily saved, but the issue of nullification was still not settled JACKSON AND THE INDIANS By modern standards Jackson would easily be called a racist. He was himself a slave owner, and also hated Indians. He felt the nations land was the rightful property of its farmers, not of the savages who claimed the lands as their own. JACKSON AND THE INDIANS The Black Hawk Wars: the US Army launched a series of wars in the Northwest territory (present-day Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin) to force Indians there to vacate their land Jackson also encouraged legal efforts against westernized Indians living inside the States. JACKSON AND THE INDIANS Jacksons basic belief: Whites and Indians should not live side by side. The State of Georgia was sued by an agent representing the interests of several Indian tribes whose land had been confiscated by the state (Worcester v. Georgia.) The Supreme Court sided with the Indians Jackson refused to enforce the decision JACKSON AND THE INDIANS In 1830, Jackson urged Congress to pass the Indian Removal Act All Indians living in the United States were to move to lands west of the Mississippi River. JACKSON AND THE INDIANS Resulted in the infamous Trail of Tears Approximately 15,000-17,000 indigenous peoples (Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws) were forced to relocate from the Southeast United States to Indian Territory, as Oklahoma was then called At least 4,000 died along the way of disease, starvation and exposure BotUS: Bank of the US None of Jacksons actions is harder to explain or understand than his hatred of the Bank of the United States, which he called The Monster Bank. Jackson was not sophisticated in matters of finance. He did not understand the many good things the Bank of the United States had brought the country. BotUS: Bank of the US Nicholas Biddle, the Bank president, was one of the finest financial minds of his day, with sound ideas on currency, taxes, tariffs, and international trade In Jacksons mind, Biddle was The Enemy. Jackson set out early in his first term to get rid of The Bank. BotUS: Bank of the US The Bank had limited the amount of currency that states could print, and had allowed federal currency printed only in the amount of specie (gold or silver to back up currency) that was in the US Treasury. These are all sound fiscal practices, but they werent popular BotUS: Bank of the US In times when The Bank expanded money supply (that is, when they allowed more currency to be printed) wealthy people were afraid that the worth of their dollars would go down. These people tended to support hard money, a limited currency supply that raises the value of individual dollars. BotUS: Bank of the US On the other side were the soft money, or easy money advocates Believed that issuing a large number of paper dollars, even if there isnt the full amount of specie to support the worth of those dollars, would at least give people spending money and would help the economy. BotUS: Bank of the US The Charter of the First Bank of the United States had been allowed to expire in early 1811 In 1816 (under President Madison) the bank was re-chartered as the Second Bank of the United States In 1836 it would be once again up for renewal Jackson opposed re-chartering the Bank BotUS: Bank of the US Jackson campaigned for re-election on a platform of doing away with the Bank of the United States Jackson easily won a second term, with Martin Van Buren as Vice President Jackson began ordering Treasury deposits taken out of BotUS, and placed instead into State banks that he personally trusted. BotUS: Bank of the US Jacksons poor understanding of economics set the country up for a Depression It did not hit until he was out of office, during Van Burens term Van Buren was blamed for Jacksons mistakes BotUS: Bank of the US