Andrew Jackson in the White House Andrews Jackson's Presidency (Continued)

The Bank of the United States had a lot of power. It was able to print/coin money, back loans, sell bonds and regulate loans between state banks. When state banks were making too many loans, the bank directors restricted the amount of loans these banks could lend. This really hurt farmers and merchants who borrowed the money. 1.

2. Though many supported the national bank, Jackson and other Democrats saw the bank as undemocratic. Although Congress created the bank, it was run by private bankers. These men grew rich and powerful with public funds. Jackson especially disliked Nicholas Biddle who had been president of the bank since 1823.

3. Biddle and his senator friends, Henry Clay and Daniel Webster (Whigs) decided to save the bank and get rid of Jackson at the same time. They persuaded Biddle to bring up the bank's renewal early. Most Americans supported the bank; if Jackson vetoed its renewal, they were sure it would anger the voters enough to not re-elect Jackson.

4. Jackson DID veto the bank. He gave two reasons for his veto: a. He thought the bank was unconstitutional b. He thought the bank only helped rich aristocrats The Whigs chose Henry Clay as their candidate against Jackson. The common people supported Jackson and rejected the bank.

5. Without a new charter, the bank would close in Jackson didn't want to wait. He ordered Roger Taney (Secretary of the Treasury) to deposit all of the federal money into state banks, known as pet banks because Taney and his friends controlled many of them.

6. In 1828, Congress passed the highest tariff in the nation's history called the Tariff of Abominations (by Southerners). An abomination is something that is hated. As a reminder, a tariff is a tax on an imported good. Northerners favored this policy, but Southerners who sold raw materials to Europe did not agree.

7. Leading the tariff protest was Jackson's vice- president, John C. Calhoun. He argued that states had the right to nullify, or cancel, a federal law that it felt was unconstitutional. Southerners believed that states' rights outweighed the federal government's authority because they created the national government.

8. Many expected Jackson to agree with the Southerners and Calhoun. His opinion became clear when he stood and gave the toast, "Our Federal Union - it must be preserved!" To Calhoun, though, liberty was more important than the Union. Soon, Calhoun resigned from the office of Vice-President. The debate was far from over!

9. Even though the Congress lowered the tariff, South Carolina was not satisfied. It passed the Nullification Act that declared the new tariff illegal. It also threatened to secede, or withdraw from the Union. Jackson took a firm stand, and passed the Force bill, which let him use the army, if necessary, to enforce the tariff. With Henry Clay's compromise tariff, South Carolina repealed the Nullification Act.

10. Jackson took a firm stance on another key issue. It affected Native Americans. Since colonial times, white settlers had forced Native Americans off of their lands. Leaders like Pontiac and Tecumseh had been unsuccessful at stopping these invasions. Tribes in the Southeast were being forced off of their land because white settlers wanted it for growing cotton. The Cherokee nation, who had fought beside President Jackson during the War of 1812, tried to adopt white cultures and customs in an attempt to keep their land.

Rev. Wocester Chief John Ross

10. They used the court system instead of military resistance to try to do this. In the Supreme Court case of Worcester V. Georgia, Chief Justice John Marshall ruled in favor of the Cherokee. President Jackson refused to enforce the Court's decision. In 1830, Congress passed and Jackson signed into law the Indian Removal Act. This forced Native Americans to move west of the Mississippi.

10. The Cherokee were forced from their land in 1838 by the US Army. They marched from Alabama and Georgia all the way to Oklahoma. About one fourth of the 15,000 Cherokee died on or as a result of this trip. It is remembered as the Trail of Tears.