The Age of Jackson

Mr. ClowesAPUSH

Bringing Politics to the People

• As American politics became more democratic during the early 1800’s, voter turnout and middle and lower class participation in politics experienced dramatic increases– Factors that democratized the US

• Universal male suffrage• Party conventions• Popular election of the president• Third parties• More elected offices• Popular campaigning

Bringing Politics to the People

• Universal Male Suffrage– As frontier states were admitted to the US they

adopted state constitutions that allowed for all white males to vote• This eliminated property qualifications that had

prevented lower and middle class males from voting• This also eliminated the property qualifications for

holding political offices, so now lower and middle class males could run for any public office

Bringing Politics to the People

• In the past the “King Caucus” chose a party’s candidate for elections– King Caucus – a party’s leaders would hold a

secret meeting to choose a candidate• Beginning in the 1820’s and 1830’s candidates

for political offices began to be chosen at state and local conventions by the party’s supporterns– This eliminated the secret meetings (King Caucus)

Bringing Politics to the People

• As the political parties began to change their process for choosing candidates, so did the presidential election process change– In the past, the electoral college (who has always determined

the election winner) was made up of delegates chosen by state legislatures

– This changed in the early 1820’s as states began to give their electoral votes to whichever presidential candidate won that states popular election

– By the election of 1832 the only state still using the old elector system was South Carolina, all other states were using the popular voting system

Bringing Politics to the People

• The two party system did alienate many people from politics who could not relate/identify with either party

• The development of third parties offered many of these people a chance to participate in government– The first successful third party was the Anti-Mason part

• The Anti-Masons attacked the secret meetings of political leaders and appealed strongly to the middle and lower classes

• It was also responsible for the party nominating convention

Bringing Politics to the People

• While most political offices had begun as appointments (the winner of an election would appoint people directly to the positions around him), during the early 1800’s many political offices came to be elected positions– This gave people more of a reason to participate in

government as they were now able to have a say in the decision of what political leaders would influence their daily lives

Bringing Politics to the People

• Now that the “common man” was having such a powerful influence on elections political leaders realized that they would have to take their cause to the ‘everyday’ people, not just the elite of society– This led to modern campaigning methods

• Parades and festivals• Public speeches for the masses

– These campaigning methods appealed to the people and led to much larger voter turnouts

The Election of 1824

• The election of 1824 is considered the last of the “old elections”

• Though there was only one party at the time, the Republican party, the “King Caucus” system could not pick a candidate so four men ran for president… John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and William Crawford

The Election of 1824

• Jackson, by now a national war hero, won the popular vote and the electoral vote… BUT the Constitution states that the presidential winner must have a majority of the electoral vote, which Jackson did not

• The election went to the House which Clay controlled

• Clay and Jackson were bitter rivals so Clay sided with JQ Adams and he gave him enough votes to win the election

The Election of 1824

• As JQ Adams was selecting his cabinet he appointed Clay as his Secretary of State, at the time one of the most prestigious positions in all of the US government– Jackson’s supporters cried foul, claiming that Clay

and Adams had made a dirty bargain during the election in the House

The Splitting of the Republicans

• While president Adams pressed for many bills that alienated true Republicans– He requested money for internal improvements,

aid for Northern manufacturing, and the infamous “Tariff of Abominations”

• Jackson’s supporters called many of JQ Adams other requests ‘wasteful’– Money for a national university, funds for a

national observatory (astronomy)

The Tariff…

• In 1824 Congress had already increased tariffs• In 1828 Jacksonians had hoped to make Adams look even

worse by pushing for even higher tariffs, a bill that would become the Tariff of Abominations– They had hoped that it would be so harmful that even

Northerners would strike it down, making even them dislike Adams

– Instead the Northerners made some small revisions and passed the bill… Southerners were appalled…

– The bill was labeled by Southerners as the “Tariff of Abominations” who now reversed their decisions and pushed for it to be repealed, but it was too late…

The Tariff…

• Cotton prices were falling because of overproduction• Southerners were now forced to sell their cotton at

lowered prices and then buy foreign manufactured goods at much higher prices (the tariffs were increasing the prices of all foreign goods because of the added taxes)– Many Southerners quit buying the foreign goods and

began buying Northern goods, thus the Tariff of Abominations hurt the Southern economy buy helped the Northern economy

The Election of 1828

• For Jacksonians, the election of 1828 began as soon as the election of 1824 had ended– They made appeals to the public

• They stated that the candidate whom the people had chosen in 1824 had been taken away from them due to a corrupt and secret bargain

– The idea of “Whole Hog for Jackson in 1828”• They created the moniker “Old Hickory” to make

Jackson seem like a commoner– In reality Jackson was a wealthy plantation owner from

the upper class

The Election of 1828

• The election became a contest of slander as both campaigns turned to insulting the other to win public support– The Jacksonians accused Adams of marrying a woman who had

been born out of wedlock– Adams was also accused of being a privileged man who freely

spent the people’s money… (he had purchased a billiards table and an expensive chess set for the White House

– The supporters of Adams accused Jackson of being an adulterer• He had married his wife Rachel before his last divorce had

been finalized• She died soon after the election and Jackson forever blamed

the Adams campaign committee for her death

The Election of 1828

• Jackson won the Southern and Western regions while Adams won New England

• Jackson won the popular vote by more than 150,000 votes, and the electoral 178 to 83

• The election showed the growing political power of the West as it played the deciding factor in the election

• Adams would still be an important politician for the next 20 years and his funeral was the largest ever in Washington DC up to its time

Old Hickory

• Jackson was a true folk hero to the masses– He had been an orphan but had made himself into

a successful politician, war hero, and wealthy plantation owner

• Jackson’s anger was legendary, but so was his loyalty and honesty

• Jackson believed in the common man and embraced democracy

Jackson’s Political Beliefs

• Jackson was a true Republican– He denounced Federalist ways, believing that they

were for the privileged and elitist– He did believe in the sacredness of the Union and

believed that the federal government should be the true power of the country

– He believed that the common man was as capable of achieving greatness as the wealthy was he embraced Western democracy

The Spoils System

• Jackson firmly believed in appointing individuals to government jobs and offices (i.e. postmaster generals, sheriffs, fire chiefs, etc.)– When he became president most government job and

office holders were fired and replaced with his loyal supporters this process became known as the Spoils System and became a part of American government

– Jackson defended this practice by stating that no man had any more of a claim for a government position than any other

The Spoils System

• The Spoils System also reinforced the two-party system as individuals were forced to choose a party for which to pledge loyalty (otherwise they would be left out of the rewards given to loyal followers by the victors)

• A major disadvantage of the Spoils System was the fact that many positions were filled with inexperienced and unqualified individuals who were not prepared for the job this led to many cases of inefficiently run government offices

Jefferson as President

• Jefferson fervently saw himself as a champion of the common man, thus he fought many government policies and bills that he felt would have given more wealth to the upper class– He opposed increased government spending (i.e. he

vetoed bills that would have given money for internal improvements)

– He vetoed the rechartering of the Second National Bank of America

– He removed what remained of Native Americans from the West in order to allow for more lands to be settled

Maysville Veto

• Jefferson did allow for some money to be allocated for improved transportation, but he only allowed federal money to be contributed to interstate projects

• He vetoed the construction of the Maysville Road, explaining that is was wholly within the state of Kentucky and would only benefit that one state– Many have argued he also did this to spite Henry Clay,

for Kentucky was his home state

The Peggy Eaton Affair

• Jackson did have an official Cabinet, but they were mainly weak politicians who Jackson rarely consulted– The exception was Martin Van Buren, the

Secretary of State, who was a very skill negotiator• Jackson’s main group of advisors were an

unofficial group known as the “Kitchen Cabinet”

The Peggy Eaton Affair

• Jackson’s Secretary of War, John Eaton, married Peggy O’Neale (now Peggy Eaton)

• She was the source of much scandal and gossip (much as Jackson’s now deceased Rachel had been during the election of 1828)

• Jackson came to her defense and much of his Cabinet resigned over the matter– His vice president, John C. Calhoun, even resigned over

the matter the two would become very bitter rivals over this situation and other later disputes

Removing the Last Natives…

• Jackson believed that the best lands were for the white settlers

• In 1830 he had the Indian Removal Act passed– He believed it to be the best situation for the

Native Americans– It moved the Natives to lands west of the

Mississippi River– By 1835 most of the native tribes had complied

Marshall and Old Hickory

• Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) – Marshall ruled that the Cherokees did not have the right of a foreign nation and therefore they could not sue in federal court

• Worcester v. Georgia (1832) – Marshall ruled that Georgia’s laws did not have jurisdiction on Cherokee lands, and therefore the Cherokees did not have to move west– Jackson would reply to Marshall’s decision, “He has

made his decision, now let him enforce it”

The Trail of Tears

• Six years after Worcester the Cherokees, despite the decision of the Supreme Court, were forced off of their lands and moved west by US soldiers

• Their trek west was known as the Trail of Tears– Of the 15,000 who were forced to move over

4,000 would die from the harsh conditions of the forced march

Nullification

• Nullification means the right of a state to determine the constitutionality of federal laws, and thus their right to decide whether to follow them

• States’ rights advocates were the strongest supporters of the policy of nullification– These were mainly found in the South and in the

West

Webster-Hayne Debate

• New England, afraid at the number of its people moving west (this drained their political power) proposed a bill in Congress that would make it more difficult to buy public lands

• Robert Hayne, a South Carolina congressman, led the protests of the South and West against New England and the North…– He stated that since the Constitution was ratified by the states that

they had the right to determine when the federal government was doing wrong… thus, the states could nullify federal laws

– He noted Northern disloyalties in his speech (Hartford Convention, the Tariff of Abominations, etc.)

Webster-Hayne Debate

• Daniel Webster, a senator from New Hampshire, defended the Northerners– He argued that the people had made a pact with the

federal government in forming the Constitution, not the states therefore, the states had no justification in their nullification efforts

– He ended with the now famous quote… “Liberty and union, now and forever, one and inseparable”

– His words would prove significant in terms of the Civil War, for from then on the North had something to focus on, unity and the Union…

Nullification Continues…

• Jackson and Webster would become the leaders of the arguments for union… Jackson’s own vice president, John Calhoun would become the leader for nullification (until he resigned)

• Another incident occurred at a White House toasting– Jackson: “Our federal Union… it must be preserved”– Calhoun: “The Union, next to our liberties, most dear!”

The South Carolina Exposition

• Calhoun, while still vice president, would secretly write The South Carolina Exposition– This document furthered the argument for

nullification – It stated that South Carolina had a right to nullify

The Tariff of Abomination (the Tariff of 1828) since it was not serving in the state’s best interest

Nullification Continues…

• In 1832 Congress passed the Tariff of 1832– It did away with the most harmful pieces of the Tariff

of 1828, but many tariffs still remained that Southern states felt were harmful

• In 1832 South Carolina called a special state convention where its representatives decided that no more tariffs would be collected within its borders, thereby nullifying the new tariffs– They also threatened with secession (breaking from

the Union)

Nullification Continues

• President Jackson responded quickly and forcefully…– Jackson had the Force Bill passed• It authorized military force to enforce the Tariff of 1832

(the military would take over the harbors and customs houses in order to enforce the tariffs)• The House was able to stall the Bill long enough for

their to be compromise…

The End of Nullification… For Now…

• Jackson did make one last effort to avoid conflict and he asked Congress to consider negotiating a new tariff

• the Tariff of 1833 was passed and it was enough to calm the situation

• Jackson called down the military invading South Carolina

• South Carolina rescinded its acts of nullification

Another Banking Crisis

• The director of the National Bank in the 1820’s and 1830’s was Nicholas Biddle– He was a very effective director, but he was very

arrogant– Jackson saw his arrogance as a sign that he was using

his powers to help the wealthy and oppress the common man

– Jackson made it very clear that he was not going to allow the bank to be rechartered• He planned to veto it on the grounds that it was

unconstitutional

The Bank Veto

• Clay saw an opportunity to discredit Jackson on the banking issue in hopes of hurting his chances for reelection– He convinced Congress to bring the bank’s charter

up for reapproval, which it received and which Jackson of course vetoed, calling it an unjust monopoly

– Instead of turning on him the public loved Jackson for “defending” the common man

A Financial Crisis

• In order to ‘kill’ the bank even before its charter was expired Jackson had all of the nation’s money pulled out of the National Bank and deposited into his “Pet Banks”

• Land speculation continued to run rampant in the western states and prices for land and manufactured goods became badly inflated– Large amounts of money made their way into circulation

because of the National Bank being no longer able to control currency this led to further inflation

A Financial Crisis

• Jackson attempted to fight this inflation by issuing an order that stated that all lands purchased from the government (western lands) would now have to be purchased in gold or silver (called Specie Circular)– This only worsened the situation by making paper currency worth

even less than its already decreasing value– Land sales plummeted and, as they had during the Financial Panic

of 1819, land speculators failed on their bank loans and caused many banks to go bankrupt, leading to many people to lose their savings

– This decrease in spending power led many industries/manufacturers to fail as well, leading to a nationwide financial crisis

The End of Jackson’s Tenure

• Since Jackson’s second term ended in 1836 and the financial crisis did not fully explode until 1837, blame for the financial downturn did not fall on his shoulders– The blame would fall on the next president,

Jackson’s protégé Martin Van Buren

The Election of 1836

• Jackson endorsed the man who had loyally supported him throughout his tenure as president, Van Buren– He had served Jackson as Secretary of State and as

Vice President, and had also supported him throughout all of Jackson’s controversies, the Peggy Eaton Affair, the Nullification Crisis, the Bank Veto, etc…

Another Political Party?

• Jackson’s severe demeanor led to the splitting of the Republican Party– Jackson’s supporters became known as Democrats– Clay’s supporters would form another political

party, the Whigs• The term Whig was a reference to both the British

political party that had supported liberty during the Revolution, and also to the founding political party of the Federalists

The Democrats

• Were very similar to the Jeffersonians• Favored limited government– Wanted equal political and economic opportunities

for all (that is, white males)– Opposed elitist, big government policies such as the

National Bank and high tariffs that protected Northern manufacturers anything seen as supporting the wealthy

• Most strong in the South and the West, also in the working classes of the North

The Whigs

• Were very similar to the Federalists• Pushed for policies that would lead to a powerful

and active federal government– Supported the policies of Clay’s American System– Opposed anything associated with “immigrants”

• Crime, immoral acts (drinking, gambling), radical government that empowered the lower classes

• Were strongest in the New England region and in the upper classes of all regions, also with pious Protestants

The Election of 1836

• Knowing that they would have a very difficult time in defeating Jackson’s hand-picked protégé, the Whigs tried a unique strategy of nominating three candidates in an attempt to keep Van Buren from gaining a majority of the electoral votes and thus sending the election into the House of Representatives

• The Whigs’ strategy failed horribly and Van Buren gained the necessary majority electoral vote

Van Buren as President

• Van Buren’s term as president (1836-1840) was an uneventful and unproductive term– His presidency was mired in the Financial Crisis of

1837, which he adopted from his mentor Jackson– The Whigs tried to pass many pieces of legislation

surrounding policies of the American System (higher tariffs, banking credit, internal improvements, etc.) but Van Buren continuously vetoed this bills as unnecessary

The Whigs Gain Power

• The Election of 1840– With his image hurt by the financial crisis that had

embraced the country, Van Buren faced an uphill battle for reelection as president in 1840

– The Whigs chose as their candidate the war hero William Henry Harrison (“Ol’ Tippecanoe”)• The Whigs stole a play from the Jackson handbook and

portrayed Harrison as a common man (they played on his being born in a log cabin and being raised on hard cider)

– Harrison swept the electoral vote and the Whigs won the election, bringing an end to the Age of Jackson…