One of America’s most loved and hated Presidents

ANDREW JACKSON

WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW ABOUT JACKSON

• Homegrown man from TN

• Battle of New Orleans

• Takeover of Spanish Florida

• Crazy Duels, Gambling

• Protection of Women

• Loses Presidency in Corrupt Bargain of 1824

• Mixed classes• Ate together at hotels

• One-class travel

• Widespread belief in “equality”• White males

• “self-made”

• Feminists come later

RISE OF A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY 1830S

• Who dominated politics from 1790s-1820s?

• BIG CHANGES• Lower and middle class

participation

• State suffrage laws

• Political parties

• Campaign methods

• Improved education

• Newspaper circulation

CHANGE IN POLITICS

REVOLUTION OF 1828

John Quincy Adams Andrew Jackson

REVOLUTION OF 1828

• Adams seeks reelection• “Elitist, unpopular, not right for the common people”

• Jacksonians have new campaign method: MUDSLINGING• Smearing the President’s name, retaliating with negativity

• Jackson: “Adam’s wife was born out of wedlock!”

• Adams: “Jackson’s wife committed adultery!”

• 3x number of voters participated compared to 1824

• Jackson wins easily• Carries all western states; “war hero and a man of the western frontier”

JACKSON, A MAN OF THE PEOPLE

• Our first “self-made” president

• Famous self-trained general

• Symbol of the working class

• No college education

• Against the rich

• Frugal Jeffersonian; limited federal power, states rights

JACKSON, BY JOHN MARSZALEK

1. How does Marszalek describe Jackson? Why does he state that Jackson could never be elected during our time?

2. What happened to Rachel Jackson? How did it affect President Jackson?

3. Give 2 examples of Mudslinging.

4. What makes Jackson a nationalist? What about a defender of state’s rights?

5. What was the Petticoat Affair? How did it impact Jackson?

6. What was rotation in office and how was it used during Jackson’s Presidency?

• Universal Male Suffrage• No more property/religious

qualifications

• Party Nominating Conventions• Open to popular participation

• Popular Election of President• Voters choose a state’s slate of

presidential electors

• Two Party System Organized campaigns on a large scale basis

• Rise of 3rd parties

• More elected offices

• Popular campaigning

• Spoils System/Rotation of Offices• Dispensing government jobs

in return for party loyalty

POLITICAL REFORMS

THE NULLIFICATION CRISIS

• Supported states rights but not disunion

• Jackson continues policy of protective tariffs by supporting the 1828 Tariff of Abominations

• South Carolina is unhappy, declares tariff unconstitutional

• John C. Calhoun proposes nullification

• Originally a Presidential candidate; settled for Jackson’s VP

• Agreed with 1828 Tariff; changed opinion because it hurt the agrarian south

• Advocated for nullification instead of secession

• Joined with Clay later on with the Compromise Tariff

• Left VP position after Jackson’s first term

JOHN C. CALHOUN: AN INTRODUCTION

• 1832: SC holds special convention to nullify Tariff of 1828 and 1832

• Jackson: Force Bill • Military action is not taken;

Congress negotiates and lowers tariff; SC backs down

• Impact: Strong defense of federal authority

• Foreshadowing: anti-slavery alarm a growing concern

NULLIFICATION CRISIS

JACKSON VS. THE NATIONAL BANK

• Jackson hates the national bank-why?

• The National Bank helps keep the states in check

• Congress proposes renewing the bank for 20 years, the bill passes but Jackson vetoes the bill

• Jackson also destroys the bank (though its charter had not expired) and invests the money in state banks

• Called Pet Banks because Jackson rewarded his political allies

ANDREW JACKSON’S REAL ABOMINATION

• Sympathized with land-hungry Americans

• Most humane soluton: compel all American Indians to resettle west of the Mississippi

• Pushed Congress to approve the Indian Removal Act, funding the government’s forced relocation of American Indians

• 1836: Bureau of Indian Affairs created

JACKSON’S SPEECH TO CONGRESS

“It will separate the Indians from immediate contact with settlements of whites; free them from the power of the States; enable them to pursue happiness in their own way and under their own rude institutions; will retard the progress of decay, which is lessening their numbers, and perhaps cause them gradually, under the protection of the Government and through the influence of good counsels, to cast off their savage habits and become an interesting, civilized, and Christian community.”

INDIANS FIGHT BACK

• The Cherokee, one of the five civilized tribes, fought back in a very civilized way– suing the federal government

• Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 1831

• Worcester v. Georgia 1832

• Samuel Worcester; minister

• John Marshall (Chief Justice) and Supreme Court rule in favor of the Cherokee

• GA ignores ruling…

ANDREW JACKSON’S RESPONSE TO JOHN MARSHALL—

“MARSHALL HAS MADE HIS OPINION, NOW LET HIM ENFORCE IT.”

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? SIGNIFICANCE?

JACKSON AND AMERICAN INDIANS

• Essentially, Jackson ignores the Supreme Court and ignores the checks and balances that are supposed to limit his power

• Extreme racism at the time; many supported Jackson and he was never held accountable

• President Martin Van Buren enacts the Trail of Tears because of the Indian Removal Act

NEW POLITICAL PARTIES

• Jackson’s followers call themselves the Jacksonian Democrats, or just the Democrats

• American System

• Opposed immorality, vice and crime

• New Englanders, mid Atlantic/upper Middle-Western states, Protestants, middle class urban workers

• Local rule

• Limited government

• Free trade

• Equal economic opportunity

• Opposed monopolies, national bank, high tariffs, and high land prices

• Southerners, westerners, small farmers, urban workers

NEW POLITICAL PARTIES

Democrats Whigs

JACKSON: A COMMON MAN? DEBATE

Andrew Jackson claimed throughout his presidency to be a proponent of the “common man” but did he reflect that title? YOU DECIDE!

Using the information in you notes, readings, and textbook, argue your team’s stance on Jackson’s presidency. To what extent was Andrew Jackson truly a common man?

• Jackson’s background (home life, growing up, Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Indian battles)

• Universal male suffrage

• Indian removal

• National Bank Veto

• Pet banks

• Nullification Crisis

• Peggy Eaton Affair

• Spoil system

• Rotation of office holders

• Was he a reflection of the new democracy emerging in the country?

• How might he have influenced this new ideology himself?

• How do we measure Jacksonian Democracy in light of his treatment of groups such as Native Americans?

COMMON MAN DEBATEQuestions to Consider Events to Consider