O Named After Andrew Jackson

Jackson Era

 Introduction o Named after Andrew Jackson o Jackson ‘shaped the times’, was opportunistic/seized the moment, symbol of the era o “Age of the Common Man” . Departure of wealthy dominating class  Jacksonian Democracy o Rise of Democratic Society . Began before Jackson became president . Politics were changing . Hard to distinguish between American social classes . Quality of Opportunity  Emphasized by era . Slavery was still present  Discrimination was still active . Equality of opportunities – usually applied to white men  Self-made men were heroes o Politics of the Common Man . Between 1824 and 1840, there were many major shifts in politics . Went into the hands of the common man  White males in lower and middle classes were able to vote o 1824 – popular vote was 350,000 people total o 1840 – popular vote was 2.4 million . Political parties, campaign methods changed . Newspapers and educational opportunities helped people to be involved in politics . Factors  Universal Male Suffrage o Began in west – all white males could vote and hold office o Eastern states began to pass laws – expansion of electorate  Nominating Conventions o Met in a large hall and delegates from all over went in and nominated the candidate o First party to do this – the Anti-Mason Party  Stronger Two-Party System o System will become more reachable to more people  More Positions were Elected o More state and local officials were elected rather than appointed  Rise of Third Parties o Only large parties would hope to win o However, smaller parties would emerge . Free-Masons, the Anti-Masons, Working Men’s Party o Good to shake things up, bring up new issues  Spoils System o “To the victor goes the spoils” o Jackson believed in this . Felt like he could reform Spoils System  a new round of people for each term  said this was a democratic reform  Jackson v. Adams o o 1824 Election . Split the republican party and ended the Era of Good Feelings . Jackson won more popular and electoral votes and still lost . Republicans nominated 4 candidates  Adams  Jackson  Crawford  Clay . Jackson won greatest number of votes, but it was still not the majority  Went to House  Henry Clay persuaded House to vote for Adams, who later made Clay secretary of state  “Corrupt Bargain” o JQA Presidency . John Quincy Adams became president  Was a very controversial president  Alienated Jackson and his followers  Asked for money for internal improvements . National Observatory . National University . Wanted to give government aid to manufacturing o Jacksonian followers did not agree with this  1828 o Congress enacted High protected tariff o Helped northern industries grow o South called it the “Tariff of Abominations” . South traded often with Europe  Adams was more of a Whig than a Republican o Old Federalist Program and ideas o Revolution of 1828 . Adams ran against Jackson and Adams lost . Was a dirty election – Adams spread rumors against Jackson’s wife  Accused Jackson’s wife, Rachel, of adultery . Number of voters had increased and Jackson won all states west of Appalachian  He was a war hero, self-made man  People admired him . Was a different president  Had different ideas about government  Believed legislation began with the president  Vetoed more bills than any of the former presidents combined  Did not have a college education  Drew support from all groups  Wanted to change role of presidency o Wanted to protect common man against abuses of rich o Opposed federal spending and debt o Interpreted Constitution narrowly  Vetoed the Maysville Road Bill o Going to use federal money entirely in state of KY – pushed by Henry Clay  Jackson’s Advisors o Informal advisors – Kitchen Cabinet o Official Cabinet had less influence on affairs and policies than his friends  President Andrew Jackson o P.E. Affair . Peggy O’ Neil Eaton, Wife of Secretary of War – targeted by politicians wives; gossiped about her  She had been raised at a boarding house and people said she was a prostitute . Jackson felt strongly because he believed that this was why his wife died earlier in his presidency . He tried to make other wives hang out with her  Cabinet members and his Vice President, Calhoun, all resigned o Indian Removal . Jackson’s concept of democracy did not extend to Native Americans . Felt like it would only be humane to sent the NAs out west . 1830 – Indian Removal Act  Forced the resettlement of thousands of Native Americans  Predecessor to ‘Trail of Tears’ . Created Bureau of Indian Affairs to assist tribes in resettlement . Cherokee Nation v Georgia  S.C said Cherokee nation was not foreign nation within the US . Worcester v. Georgia  Georgia has no force in the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation . 1838 – Army forced 15,000 Cherokees along Trail of Tears where 4,000 died along the way o Nullification Crisis . Jackson favored States’ Rights  If it didn’t interfere with the union . 1828 – South Carolina declared Tariff of Abominations unconstitutional  Testing KY and VA Resolutions that state could declare federal law null and void  This caused a big problem . 1830 – Daniel Webster debated Robert Haney whether or not states could do this . Jackson stated “Our Federal Union, it must be preserved.”  Calhoun “Our liberties, next to the Union, are more dear” . 1832 – a new tariff was passed  Jackson responded with force  Encouraged Congress to pass a law, the Force Bill, that would allow him to take military action against SC  Jackson also issued proclamation to people of SC that basically said that they were guilty of treason . But Jackson finally got Congress to lower the tariff – Compromise . Jackson was seen as a strong defender of federal minority . He was alarmed that antislavery movement in North was going to pick up . Prevented anti-slavery literature from going through mail . Bank  Run by federal government  Kept economy more stable  President – Nicholas Biddle  Jackson disagreed with bank and tried to kill it o  Two-Party System o Characteristics . Democrats  Favored local rule, limited government, free trade (no tariffs), equal opportunities  Against monopolies, national bank, tariffs, high land prices  Usually middle working-class people . Whigs  Liked the American System o Tariffs o Bank o Internal improvements  Didn’t like immorality, crime, and vice o Blamed immigrants for those problems  Typically from NE, wealthier people o Jackson’s Second Term . Reelected in 1832 . Had to deal with consequences of killing the Bank of the United States  Took all federal funds out of the bank and deposited them into smaller banks, or pet banks o Secretary of Treasury – Robert Taney  This caused problems o Land prices became inflated because national bank could no longer control economy  Government then required that all purchases of federal land be made in gold in silver o Showed that government didn’t have confidence in paper money o Sales of land plummeted  Panic of 1837 o 1836 Election . Jackson stepped down . Party nominated Martin Van Buren who would continue Jackson’s policies . Whigs nominated 3 candidates from 3 different regions so Van Buren couldn’t get majority  Plan didn’t work and Martin Van Buren won 58% of electoral vote o Van Buren and Panic of 1837 . One bank after another started to close and they were failing because they could not collect money from the people o “Log Cabin and Hard Cider” Campaign 1840 . Whigs were in a good position to win; economy was main issue  Were better organized  Wanted to counter the symbol of the democrats – Jackson  Whigs nominated their own war hero – William Henry Harrison who was very similar to Jackson o Used Log cabin to symbolize William Henry Harrison’s humble origins o Put down Van Buren – ‘Van Ruin’ . 78% of all voters turned out  Popular vote was evenly divided among Van Buren and Harrison  Harrison swept most states in electoral votes – “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too’ . Harrison was 67, died within a month of inauguration  Gave a long inaugural address in the rain, caught pneumonia and died . Whig Party was est. as a true national Party . Tyler took over