Unit 4 Powerpoint 3: Unit 4 Powerpoint 3: Jackson Part 2Jackson Part 2

By Neil HammondMillbrook High School

South Carolina and South Carolina and NullificationNullification

• Tariff of 1816– Temporary– DR support

• 1824 & 1826 Congress raised tariffs AGAIN

South Carolina and South Carolina and NullificationNullification

• 1828 Some South Carolinian planters threatened secession if tariffs were not reduced

• Calhoun (Vice President) wrote the anonymous The South Carolina Exposition and Protest (1828).– each region had distinct interests– protective tariffs and other national

legislation that operated unequally on the various states lacked both fairness and legitimacy—in fact, they were unconstitutional.

– Calhoun referred to earlier writings by Madison and TJ, claiming that a state convention could nullify a federal law

South Carolina and South Carolina and NullificationNullification

• Things became tense in 1830• As a Jeffersonian, Jackson might have been expected

to side with Calhoun, but he hated Calhoun

South Carolina and South Carolina and NullificationNullification

• In 1832 tariffs were slightly reduced, but it was not enough for SC. – Nullification

• Jackson’s response:– Warship– Force Bill– Threat!

• Calhoun feared for his life!

South Carolina and South Carolina and NullificationNullification• Henry Clay’s (the Great

Compromiser) bill

• South Carolina and Jackson could both back down with honor…SC rescinded its nullification of the tariff…but nullified the Force Bill

• The issues had not really been solved

South Carolina and South Carolina and NullificationNullification

• Why did SC act this way?

– It’s economy was struggling– SC’s feared their black majority– England had abolished slavery in its empire…

would the US follow suit?– The Missouri Compromise was fresh in

everyone’s mind– Where did the power of the Federal

Government end?

The Bank WarThe Bank War• This occurred in the middle of the tariff dispute

• 2nd National Bank chartered in 1816. It was a PRIVATE institution. The national government owned about 20% of the stock.

• The bank's most important role was to stabilize the nation's money supply. Most American money consisted of notes and bills of credit—in effect, paper money—issued by state-chartered banks. The banks promised to redeem the notes on demand with “hard” money—that is, gold or silver coins (also known as specie). By collecting those notes and regularly demanding specie, the Second Bank kept the state banks from issuing too much paper money.

The Bank WarThe Bank War• This policy pleased northeast

businessmen, but ordinary Americans didn’t understand the role of the bank

• To many Americans the bank:

• 1) forced state banks to close• 2) Prevented western banks from

making many loans• 3) Was corrupt…Nicholas Biddle – the

president of the bank – spent money to influence businessmen and politicians

• The cartoon below helps us to understand the regional hatred of the B.U.S

The Bank WarThe Bank War• There shouldn’t have been an issue. The

bank’s charter was not up for renewal until 1832, but Jackson’s enemies saw the bank as a way to split the Democratic Party before the election of 1832

• Henry Clay and Daniel Webster pushed a bill through Congress to renew the bank’s charter 4 years early. Clay and Webster hoped to get Jackson to veto the bill…they hoped this would weaken the opposition

• Jackson vetoed the bill and delivered a memorable message to Congress

The Bank WarThe Bank War• Look at the cartoon and answer the

questions

The Bank WarThe Bank War

• Jackson’s veto ensured that the national bank became THE issue of the 1832 presidential campaign. Henry Clay headed the National Republican ticket. Jackson crushed him.

The Bank WarThe Bank War• Jackson and his running mate Martin

Van Buren crushed Clay. – Clear message to AJ

• Broad support…western farmers and workers cheered the attack on the bank

• Many prosperous middle class Americans also despised privileged corporations

The Bank WarThe Bank War• Nicholas Biddle, president of the bank,

made matters worse by recalling loans

• Depression– Didn’t have the effects Biddle hoped for

The Bank DestroyedThe Bank Destroyed• Jackson had Roger Taney (Secretary of

Treasury) withdraw the government’s gold and silver from the national banks and deposit them in state banks. He had to fire two ST’s to do this…

The Bank WarThe Bank War• The “bank war” escalated into an all-out

political battle. In March 1834, Jackson's opponents in the Senate passed a resolution written by Henry Clay that censured the president and warned of executive tyranny: “We are in the midst of a revolution, hitherto bloodless, but rapidly descending towards a total change of the pure republican character of the Government, and the concentration of all power in the hands of one man.” Jackson was not deterred by these charges or the widespread opposition in Congress to his policies. “The Bank is trying to kill me but I will kill it,” he vowed to Van Buren. And so he did. When the Second Bank's national charter expired in 1836, Jackson prevented its renewal.

The Bank WarThe Bank War• Jackson had destroyed both national banking—

the creation of Alexander Hamilton—and the American System of protective tariffs and internal improvements instituted by Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams. The result was a profound reduction in the economic activities and the creative energy of the national government. “All is gone,” observed a Washington newspaper correspondent. “All is gone, which the General Government was instituted to create and preserve.”

• Growth of Whig Party