The Jacksonian Era 1824-1845

The Election of 1824 From 1816 to 1824 there was only one political party- the Jeffersonian Republicans. Four Republicans ran in the election of 1824: William Crawford Henry Clay Andrew Jackson John Quincy Adams Andrew Jackson won the most popular votes, but no one won a majority. The House of Representatives had to decide the election. Henry Clay convinced the House to vote for John Quincy Adams in exchange for him becoming Adams’s new Secretary of State. Jackson said Adams stole the election in a “corrupt bargain.” Adams was not able to accomplish anything because his enemies controlled both the House and the Senate. 2

The Election of 1828 In the election of 1828 there were two political parties. Democratic-Republicans: Andrew Jackson (states’ right & farmers) National-Republicans: John Quincy Adams (federal government & national bank) Several new elements were introduced in the election of 1828: Mudslinging Buttons Slogans Rallies Andrew Jackson won the election in a landslide. He chose John C. Calhoun as his vice-president. 3

The Common Man Andrew Jackson was considered to be a “common man.” He was everything people admired: Patriot Self-made man War hero He was born in a log cabin in South Carolina. His parents died before he was fourteen. Jackson fought in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. His troops called him “Old Hickory” because he was so tough. 4

Jacksonian Democracy: government for ALL people Andrew Jackson promised equal protection and benefits for all white men (before Jackson, people had to own land to vote). Democrats wanted government jobs to go to people from all walks of life. Jackson fired government workers and replaced them with his supporters. One supporter said, “To the victor belong the spoils.” Replacing people with your supporters became known as the spoils system. Andrew Jackson was nominated again in 1832 and easily won re-election. 5

Sectional Disagreements Most people disagreed over tariffs. In 1828 Congress passed a high tariff on manufactured goods from Europe. Northerners liked the tariff. Southerners hated it because it made goods more expensive. They called it the Tariff of Abominations. The South said they had the right to nullify any law that went against state interests. Some threatened to secede. John C. Calhoun argued that the federal government was a creation of the states. Therefore the states should have final authority over the constitutionality of a law. In the Webster-Hayne debate, Daniel Webster argued against nullification. Calhoun argued for states’ rights. No one knew where Jackson stood on the issue. Finally Jackson stated “our federal Union must be preserved.” Calhoun was so disappointed, he resigned. Southern anger grew, and South Carolina passed the Nullification Act, stating they would not pay the “illegal” tariffs of 1828. They threatened to secede. Jackson passed the Force Bill stating the military could enforce acts of Congress. Jackson won.

There’s Gold in Them Parts While many Native Americans moved west, there were still many in the Southeast. The Five Civilized Tribes were: Cherokee Creek Chickasaw Seminole Choctaw Many white settlers wanted the government to relocate Native Americans, especially once gold was discovered on Native American land in Georgia. In 1830 Congress passes the Indian Removal Act which allowed the federal government to pay Native Americans to move west. Most accepted the money and moved to Indian Territory in Oklahoma.

The Trail of Tears The Cherokee refused to move west. Through treaties, they had established their own nation with their own laws. They even had a Constitution. They sued the government and took their case to the Supreme Court. They won their case, Worcester v. Georgia, in 1832. Andrew Jackson disagreed and said, “John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it.” Jackson sent General Winfield Scott and 7,000 troops to forcefully remove the Cherokee from their homes. Along the Trail of Tears, which was over 1,000 miles long, approximately 4,000 Cherokee died.

Native Americans Fight Back In 1832, a Sauk chieftain, Black Hawk led his people back to Illinois to recapture their homeland. They were met by federal troops and slaughtered as they tried to flee. The Seminole of Florida were the only people who successfully resisted the American government. Osceola, their leader, decided to go to war with the United States. He used guerilla tactics and killed roughly 1,500 American soldiers. The American government gave up & allowed them to stay. Native Americans had given up nearly 100 million acres. They received $68 million dollars and 32 million acres of land west of the Mississippi River. Oklahoma was established as Indian Territory.

Jackson and the Bank Jackson had another big battle during his presidency. He attacked the Bank of the United States as being an organization for the wealthy, run by private bankers. The president of the bank, Nicholas Biddle, was everything Jackson despised: wealthy, had a good education, and had a high social standing. Jackson took the opportunity to close the bank in 1832 saying it was unconstitutional. When Jackson was re-elected in 1832, he withdrew all government money from the bank.

The Panic of 1837 Martin van Buren was elected president in 1836. Shortly after he was elected the nation went into a depression (a period of low economic activity and widespread unemployment). The depression began with the Panic of 1837. Land values dropped, investments declined, banks failed, and people lost confidence in the economy. Within a few weeks, thousands of businesses closed and hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs. Martin van Buren believed in a policy of laissez-faire (the government should not interfere in the nation’s economy). This policy caused van Buren to lose his bid for re-election.

The Whigs Take & Lose Control In 1840 the Whig Party came to power. William Henry Harrison & John Tyler ran as Whigs. Their campaign slogan was “Tippecanoe & Tyler, too.” In order to win, they needed Jackson’s farmers & laborers. They used a log cabin as their symbol to show Harrison was a man of the people. Harrison won the election of 1840 but died less than a month after taking office from pneumonia. John Tyler became the first vice-president to become president because a president died in office. Tyler was more of a Democrat than a Whig. He was soon expelled from the Whig party. Whigs began voting along sectional lines instead of party lines. Because of this, the party divided and they lost power. In 1844 James K. Polk was elected president.