Jacksonian America The Onset of Jacksonian Democracy,

The Common Man Votes In the years leading up to the Presidency of Andrew Jackson, more and more white male voters were added to the Electorate. Universal white suffrage was practically in effect by the late 1820s. Moreover, many of these poor white voters were moving into the West, meaning that power in the Electoral College was shifting to that region – which Andrew Jackson would benefit from.

PROPERTY REQUIREMENTS WERE DROPPED. No property requirements were required in many states. Not only that, though. The population of the United States was doubling approximately every twenty years, too.

The Spoils System The practice of granting government jobs to political supporters, campaign financers, and friends was known as the “Spoils System,” and President Andrew Jackson was one of its greatest practitioners.

The Tariff of Abominations The Tariff of Abominations – also known as the Tariff of 1828, placed a high tax on all imported goods. It was so hated by Southern States that South Carolina threatened to nullify the law and even secede from the Union if it was not repealed. The only influence of the Tariff of 1828, they believed, was to increase prices.

Nullification John C. Calhoun, looking back upon other “States Rights” theorists, insisted that the states could nullify laws of the federal government in He was so adamant that he actually resigned the Vice Presidency and went back to South Carolina to test the theory out!

Daniel Webster – Union Man. Daniel Webster attempted to intervene and promote a solution during the so-called Nullification Crisis. Along with Henry Clay, he attempted to talk South Carolina from the brink of catastrophe in 1832.

President Andrew Jackson:Vice President John C. Calhoun “Our Federal Union – It Must Be Preserved!” “The Union – Next to our Liberty – the Most Dear!

South Carolina passed the Nullification Act.

The Force Act of Jackson Like George Washington had during the Whiskey Rebellion, Andrew Jackson was willing to invade the state of South Carolina personally if that’s what it took to preserve the Union and coerce the states to respect federal law.

Congress passed a new tariff bill in 1833 – thanks to Clay and Webster.

The Indian Removal Act of 1830 forced all Native American tribes to relocate west of the Mississippi.

Examples of Cherokee Assimilation: Adoption of the Christian faith. American style clothing and style. Private property rights established. Written language. Public education systems, including an emphasis on the law. Many owned plantations. Some owned slaves.

Worcester V. Georgia In the case of Worcester V. Georgia, Chief Justice John Marshall sided with the Native American tribe – insisting that it was unconstitutional to remove the Cherokee from their own reservation – created by a treaty with the United States government. Andrew Jackson’s response: “Chief Justice Marshall has made his decision. Now, let him enforce it.” Jackson would not uphold the law.

THE TRAIL OF TEARS On the Trail of Tears, approximately one quarter of the 20,000 members of the Cherokee tribe forced to relocate would perish. Most of those who died were the elderly or the very young, and they died due to exposure, exhaustion, dehydration, starvation, and illness. Those who survived still lost much of their culture and all of their property.

Andrew Jackson and the BUS Andrew Jackson hated the Bank of the United States (BUS) because it tended to provide loans to the rich rather than to the common man. To Jackson, this was an attempt to form an aristocracy – granting power to the wealthiest individuals in the country. It allowed the rich to get richer while the poor struggled just to survive.

The Panic of 1837 – A Depression

William Henry Harrison’s was the shortest lived Presidency, for he caught pneumonia delivering a lengthy inaugural address in 1841 and passed away just 32 days after having been sworn into office. John Tyler assumed the Presidency thereafter – although at the time there was no official Presidential succession law, and many believed he should not have been allowed to take the position. Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too!