1. Chapter 11
The Jackson Era

2. The Election of 1824 John Quincy Adams was elected president
William Crawford, Andrew Jackson, and Henry Clay were the other Republican candidates
No one received a majority; House of Reps selected the president
Clay and Adams struck a deal
Clay agreed to use his influence as speaker of the house to defeat Jackson, hoping to gain the secretary of state pose in return
Adams named Clay secretary of state
Jackson’s followers accused the two of making a corrupt bargain and stealing the election

3. During the Adams presidency, his policies ran against popular opinion
Wanted a stronger navy, scientific expeditions supported by government by government funds, and direct federal involvement in economic growth
Congress turned down many of his proposals
Some members of Congress wanted a more limited role for the federal government

5. The Election of 1828 Election was vicious
Party split into two
Democratic-Republicans nominated Jackson
Favored states’ rights
National Republicans nominated Adams
New elements became permanent part of elections
Mudslinging – attempts to ruin the opponent with insults
Election slogans, rallies, buttons, and campaign events

6. Jackson won in landslide
Received most votes of the new frontier states and many votes in the South
John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, who had served as Adams’ vice president, switched parties to run with Jackson

8. Jackson as President American success story
Member of poor farm family to war hero to president
“Old Hickory”
Democracy broadened under Jackson
Promised “equal protection and equal benefits” for all Americans (at least white American men)
Instituted spoils system
Replaced gov’t employees with his supporters
Jackson felt that a new group of employees would be good for democracy
“To the victors belong the spoils”

9. Electoral Changes Abandoned the caucus system
Major political candidates were chosen by committees made up of members of Congress
Replaced by nominating conventions
Delegates from the states selected the party’s presidential candidate
1st held for the Democrats in Baltimore, Maryland in 1832
Jackson was nominated

10. The Tariff Debate
1828: Congress passed a very high tariff on goods imported from Europe
Made European goods more expensive
Manufacturers in the U.S. were happy; thought Americans would buy American-made products
Southerners hated the tariff
Protested because they traded their cotton with Europe for manufactured goods
Some Southerners called for the Southern states to secede (break away and form their own gov’t)

11. Vice President John C. Calhoun argued for nullification
States’ rights advocate; canceling a federal law it considered unconstitutional
Said that states should be able to have the last word on decisions affecting them

13. Webster-Hayne Debate January 1830
Senator Daniel Webster from Massachusetts challenged a speech given by Senator Robert Hayne from South Carolina who defended the right of the states to nullify acts of the federal gov’t
Defended the Constitution and the Union arguing that nullification would cause the end of the Union

15. Jackson Takes a Stand
Jackson defended the Union, saying it must be preserved
VP John C. Calhoun was shocked
Won election to the Senate in December 1832, he resigned as vice president

16. Nullification Crisis Threat of the Union splitting apart intensified
1832: Congress passed a new, lower tariff, hoping that the Southern protest would die down
Did not
South Carolina’s state legislature passed the Nullification Act
Said that it would not pay the “illegal” tariffs of 1828 and 1832
Threatened to secede if the federal gov’t interfered

17. Jackson supported a compromise bill by Henry Clay, lowering the tariff
Made sure that the South would accept it
Persuaded Congress to pass the Force Bill
Allowed the President to use the U.S. military to enforce acts of Congress
South Carolina accepted the compromise tariff
Leaders voted to put aside the Nullification Act

18. Section 2 Conflicts over Land
Moving Native Americans
President Jackson supported relocating Native Americans to lands west of the Mississippi River
Congress passed the Indian Removal Act in 1830
Federal gov’t paid Native Americans to move west
Jackson also sent officials to negotiate treaties with the southeastern Native Americans
1834: Congress created Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma)

19. Cherokee Nation refused to give up its land in Georgia
Treaties of the 1790s recognized the Cherokee people as a separate nation with their own laws
Georgia did not recognize Cherokee laws
1832: Cherokee sued the state
Worcester v. Georgia
Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that Georgia had no right to interfere with the Cherokee
The Court stated that only the federal gov’t had authority over matters involving the Cherokee
President Jackson disagreed and supported Georgia’s efforts to remove the Cherokee

20. 1832: a few Cherokee signed a treaty giving up their lands
Most of the 17,000 Cherokee refused to honor it
Wrote a protest letter to the gov’t of the U.S.
General Winfield Scott and an army of 7,000 federal troops came to remove the Cherokee
Threatened force if they did not leave
Long Cherokee march west began and became known as the Trail of Tears
Over 4,000 out of 15,000 of the Cherokees died

22. Native American Resistance
1832: Sauk Chief Black Hawk lead a group of Sauk and Fox people back to Illinois
Recapture land given up in treaty
State and federal troops used force to chase them into the Mississippi River and slaughtered most of them as they tried to flee westward into present-day Iowa
Troops killed hundreds

23. Seminoles of Florida successfully resisted removal
Went to war instead
1835: the Seminole and a group of African Americans who escaped slavery attacked white settlements along the Florida coast
Used guerilla tactics
By 1842, more than 1,500 American soldiers had died
Federal gov’t gave up and let some of the Seminole remain in Florida
Many died in war, many were captured and forced to move west

24. Section 3 Jackson and the Bank
President Jackson challenged the Bank of the United States
Attacked it for being an organization of wealthy in which the people had no control
Private bankers ran the Bank even though it was given a gov’t permit to operate by the federal gov’t
1832: Nicolas Biddle, the Bank’s president, applied early for a new charter even though the charter was good until 1836
Senators Clay and Webster, friends of Biddle, used the Bank as a ploy to try to defeat Jackson and allow Clay to become president in 1832
Figured that Jackson would veto the charter and lose support
Jackson did veto the bill and denounced the Bank for not caring about the poor, only the wealthy

25. Jackson decided on a plan to “kill” the Bank
Election of 1832
Many people supported Jackson’s veto of the Bank charter
He was reelected with Martin Van Buren as vice president
Jackson decided on a plan to “kill” the Bank
Ordered the withdrawal of all government deposits from the Bank and placed them in smaller state banks
1836: Biddle refused to sign a new charter for the Bank, and it closed

26. Jackson did not run for a third term
Democrats selected Martin Van Buren
Opposition from new political party, the Whigs
Included former National Republicans and other opposed to Jackson
Van Buren easily won

28. Panic of 1837
Economic depression – period in which business and employment fall to a very low level
Land values dropped, investments suddenly fell off, banks failed
Thousands of businesses closed and hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs
Prices rose so high that people could hardly afford their basic needs
Van Buren believed in laissez-faire
Principle that the gov’t should not involve itself in the nation’s economy
Did little to help the economic problems

29. Whigs Come to Power Democrats had been in office for 12 years
1840 election: Whigs nominate William Henry Harrison, a War of 1812 hero
John Tyler was Harrison’s running mate
Democrats nominate Van Buren
Whigs needed the support of laborers and farmers
A log cabin was their symbol to show that Harrison was a “man of the people”
Campaign slogan was “Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too”

31. Election of 1840
William Henry Harrison became the first Whig president
Died in office four weeks later of pneumonia when he caught a cold at his inauguration
John Tyler became the president
Strong supporter of states’ rights and vetoed some bills sponsored by the Whigs
Many members of his cabinet resigned
Whigs expelled him from the party due to his disloyalty

33. Election of 1844 Whigs could not agree on party goals Whig Henry Clay
Democrat James Polk
Won