1. Andrew Jackson 7 th President of the United States ANDREW JACKSON 7 TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

2. EARLY LIFE Andrew Jackson was born in a log cabin in the backwoods of the Carolinas in 1767. Jackson joined the Patriots during the American Revolution at the age of 13. At the age of twenty, Jackson moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he eventually becomes a wealthy attorney.

4. PUBLIC SERVICE Jackson became the first person from Tennessee to serve in the House of Representatives and he also served as Senator before becoming President in 1828. As a young general in the army, President James Monroe sent Jackson to protect the border of Florida against the Seminole and Creek Indians. After defeating the Creeks battle, they began to refer to Jackson as “Sharp Knife” after Jackson forced them to give up lands that had been guaranteed to them in earlier treaties with the U.S.

5. WAR HERO Jackson also gained fame for his military achievements during the War of 1812 leading American forces to victory over the British in the Battle of New Orleans. Jackson earned the nickname, “Old Hickory” after a soldier said that he was “tough as hickory.”

7. ELECTIONS While earning the most popular votes in the presidential election of 1824, Jackson did not receive enough electoral votes to secure the victory. Henry Clay used his influence as Speaker of the House of Representatives to convince the House of Representatives to choose John Quincy Adams. Jackson was furious and called this a “corrupt bargain”. Choosing from the top three vote getters, the House of Representatives selected John Quincy Adams to be the sixth president of the United States. However, Jackson easily defeated Adams in the election of 1828 to become the first President from a western state. Jackson split from the Democratic-Republican Party and formed the Democratic Party.

8. Election of 1824 Q: How many electoral votes were needed to win the election? A: 131 electoral votes were needed to win the election to establish a majority 261 total electoral votes +

10. JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY Jackson was extremely popular with the “common man”, which he considered to be farmers, factory workers and western frontiersmen. Jackson’s belief in shifting the political power from the wealthy and educated elite to the “common man” was part of what became known as Jacksonian democracy. Throughout his career, Jackson helped pass laws that opened voting to most white males by removing the requirement that they must own land. However, Jackson’s critics viewed his popularity as a danger sign that his presidency was coming to resemble that of a king. As a result, Jackson earned yet another nickname. His opponents called him “King Andrew”, fearing Jackson’s intentions of strengthening the powers of the presidency. Andrew Jackson also use the power of the veto as a weapon to assert his authority in government.

12. THE SPOILS SYSTEM Upon assuming the Presidency, Jackson fired over 200 government workers and replaced them with his own Democratic supporters. A supporter of Jackson’s replied to criticism of the president by stating, “To the victor belong the spoils.” Spoils system – practice of rewarding supporters with government jobs

14. Jackson appointed some of his most dedicated supporters with jobs within his Cabinet, although few of them were qualified for the job. Instead of relying on his Cabinet for advice, Jackson relied on a small group of unofficial advisors known as the “kitchen cabinet” since Jackson frequently met with them in the White House kitchen.

16. THE NULLIFICATION CRISIS High protective tariffs were passed which benefited the Northern industries, but hurt Southern farmers. In 1828 (under John Quincy Adams) an extremely high tariff (Tariff of 1828) was passed and considered so horrible that it was nicknamed the “Tariff of Abominations”. South Carolina argued that the tariffs could be nullified by the states because they were unfair, and threatened to secede from the United States. Andrew Jackson threatened to use military force in South Carolina to enforce the federal law. A compromise was made which included lowering the tax- but his Vice President (Henry C. Calhoun- South Carolina) resigned before the compromise was made.

18. THE BANK WAR Jackson believed that the Bank of the United States had too much power and served the needs of the rich over those of average Americans. For example, the Bank of the United States had the ability to limit the amount of money state banks were allowed to lend to small business owners such as farmers and merchants. Jackson felt particular anger towards the bank’s president, Nicolas Biddle.

19. NICHOLAS BIDDLE

20. Daniel Webster Henry Clay Nicholas Biddle Andrew Jackson

21. Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, political enemies of Jackson, devised a plan to exploit Jackson’s hatred of the Bank of the United States to help weaken him before the 1832 presidential election.

22. Henry ClayDaniel Webster Nicholas Biddle Well, first we need to get the president of the Bank of the United States, Nicholas Biddle in here. He’ll help us. He and Jackson hate each other! Hello, gentlemen. I came as quickly as I could! Okay, what have you got?

23. Clay and Webster convinced Nicholas Biddle to submit his application to renew the charter for the Bank of the United States earlier than required.

24. Henry ClayDaniel WebsterNicholas Biddle Yes, thank you for coming. Mr. Biddle, I would like you to submit an application to renew the charter for the Bank of the United States. What would that prove? Yeah, the current charter isn’t even set to expire soon!

25. Henry ClayDaniel WebsterNicholas Biddle Don’t be so short sighted! What do you think Jackson will do when you apply to renew the charter? I’m sure that’s exactly what he’ll do. I don’t know. Veto it?

26. Clay, Webster and Biddle predicted that Jackson would veto the charter application, angering so many Americans that he would eventually lose his bid for reelection in 1832.

27. Henry ClayDaniel WebsterNicholas Biddle Precisely! The American people will be furious with him. He’ll never win reelection in 1832! (By the way, did I mention that I’m going to run for president in 1832?) By golly, I think it’ll work!! Brilliant!!

28. It turns out that Clay, Webster and Biddle underestimated Jackson’s popularity. Jackson defeated Clay in the election of 1832 Jackson also succeeded in destroying the Bank of the United States by having it shut down in 1836. Jackson withdrew all federal money and put it in state banks run by his friends.

29. INDIAN REMOVAL ACT Native Americans occupied land that was rich in fertile soil and contained gold. Jackson attempted to buy land in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia from the Native American tribes, but many groups (Seminole and Cherokee) refused to sell. Cherokee petitioned the Supreme Court. Supreme Court ruled that the Cherokees could keep their land in Worcester v. Georgia. Andrew Jackson refused to obey the ruling and said “John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it.”

30. Native Americans were “given” land west of the Mississippi River in exchange for their land east of the Mississippi River Some tribes went peacefully, but some resisted. Cherokee nations were given 2 years to move or they would be forced out at the end of 2 years. At the end of the 2 years, soldiers came and removed them, while white settlers looted their homes. Their route to the west (Oklahoma) was long and thousands died from starvation, exposure, and disease.