The Age of Jackson

Champion of the Common Man? Or King Andrew?

Voting requirements: early 19century

Why increased Democratization? White male suffrage increased Party nomination committees Voters choose their states Presidential electors Spoils system Rise of third parties Popular campaigning

Jackson’s First Run

1824 Election John Quincy Adams v Andrew Jackson Jackson won popular vote No majority in electoral vote Decision made by House of Reps. Henry Clay & Adams make a deal Adams elected president Clay appointed Secretary of State

Election of 1824: A corrupt bargain? Jacksonians claim: political corruption Withdraw from Republican Party Form Democratic- Republican Party Today’s Democrats

1828 Election Smear Campaign Focused on personal lives & character flaws not political issues Jackson appealed to common citizen Issues: Hero of New Orleans Revolution Veteran Conqueror of Florida Won by a landslide

1828 Election

1828 Inauguration "Ladies fainted, men were seen with bloody noses and such a scene of confusion took place as is impossible to describe."

Spoils System To give common people the chance to participate in government Federal jobs serve 4 yr. term maximum Turnover would avoid corruption Jobs given to friends & family Fired 10% of Adams appointments and gave jobs to loyal Jacksonians His friends became political advisors “Kitchen Cabinet”

Jackson’s Native American Policy Some Southern tribes adopted European culture The Five Civilized Tribes Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole,Creek & Chickasaw Cherokee: took English names & formed a government modeled after America’s Jackson did not believe that assimilation could work Believed the only solution was to move Natives west

Indian Removal Act Federal gov’t. would provide money to negotiate treaties & move tribes west Any tribe living east of Mississippi 90 treaties signed Jackson believed Natives could maintain their way of life Supposed to voluntary & peaceful

Trail of Tears Cherokee Nation forced to give up lands east of Mississippi Migrate from Georgia to present day Oklahoma Faced hunger, disease & exhaustion 4,000 out of 15,000 died

Indian Removal

Political Cartoon- What does it mean??

Tariff & States’ Rights Congress passed a tariff in 1828 in order to protect American industries Vice-president John C. Calhoun called it the “Tariff of Abominations” reduced the cotton Britain bought from the South Forced the South to buy more expensive Northern manufactured goods

Calhoun’s home state of South Carolina nullified the Tariff citing that states have the right to do so Jackson disagreed with South Carolina and ordered that they pay the tariff by force, if necessary Henry Clay urged compromise and war was avoided (for now)

Renewing the First National Bank Charter Waged a personal war against the Bank of the United States Charter supposed to come up in 1836 Daniel Webster & Henry Clay hoped Jackson would veto & lose popularity

National Bank Debate

Charter Jackson view banks as an agent of the wealthy and a threat to democracy Federal tax dollars were deposited there BUS stockholders earned interest not American taxpayers Nicholas Biddle (president) extended low interest loans to congressmen

Pet Banks Jackson forced all federal deposits transferred from BUS to certain state banks “pet banks” because of loyalty to Democratic Party lost charter and 5 years later closed

Jackson’s Consequences After collapse of “pet banks” New York banks picked up pieces and became financial capital Former supporters called Jackson “King Andrew the First” 1834: Henry Clay and Daniel Webster formed the Whig Party Whigs: tried to avoid excessive power

1832 Cartoon: “King Andrew”

1836: Election Martin Van Buren

Inherited Jackson’s bank war & problems Many pet banks became wildcat banks- printed more bank notes than gold & silver Doomed to fail

Specie Circular Required payment of public land be made in gold or silver only Prevented working-class Americans from purchasing western lands Did not want to accept paper currency- was not worth enough

Panic of 1837 Economic crisis caused by Jackson’s attack on the BUS New York banks stopped accepting paper currency Other banks followed banks began closing Credit system collapsed People lost jobs & went bankrupt 1/3 population out of work

Panic of 1837

Homework 1. How was the nullification theory an expression of state’s rights? 2. What the reasons Jackson opposed the BUS? 3. Why was the Whig Party formed? 4. Why did Van Buren win the Election of 1836 so easily? 5. What is the Specie Circular? What did it lead to?