Mr. Levin Spring 2012 American Political Thought POLS 5025
Jacksonian America
Readings (in order of discussion):
Henry Clay, Speech on the Tariff, 389 John Quincy Adams, First Annual Message to Congress, 392 Andrew Jackson, First Annual Message to Congress, 419; Veto of Maysville Road Bill, 424; Bank Veto Message, 427 Daniel Webster, Speech on Jackson’s Veto of the United States Bank Bill, 443 George Bancroft, “The Office of the People in Art, Government, and Religion,” 451 James Fennimore Cooper, The American Democrat, 465
Major Themes for Discussion:
The Jacksonian period is most notable for its great debates over the definition of American national state. Comparing the State of the Union addresses of J.Q. Adams and Andrew Jackson provides one with a sense of that debate, as does the contrast between Jackson’s “Bank Veto Message” and Daniel Webster’s speech in response to Jackson’s veto message, and the visions of George Bancroft and James Fennimore Cooper. All of these debates seemingly continue in the modern day and age, no matter that our circumstances as a nation have changed so greatly.
Questions for Readings:
Compare the State of the Union addresses of J.Q. Adams and Andrew Jackson. What kind of nation does each new president envision? In which ways are these visions opposed? What are the assumptions behind each president’s visions? Which is more closely connected to our modern understanding of American politics?
Andrew Jackson, in his Bank Veto Message and Daniel Webster, in his Speech on Jackson’s Veto of the United States Bank Bill, provide us with directly opposing views regarding the Bank. How much of the conflict is about the Bank itself, and how much is about differing visions for the United States? What are those visions?
George Bancroft, in his “The Office of the People in Art, Government, and Religion,” and James Fennimore Cooper, in his The American Democrat, present different visions of the meaning of equality. Is Bancroft’s lofty vision of the common people truly democratic, or does it ask them to aspire to be like the academic elite of which Bancroft was a member? Is Cooper’s vision aristocratic or is he the true Democrat in his insistence on letting people be as he finds them?