Rise of Mass Democracy

Corrupt Bargain of 1824

• James Monroe completing his 2nd term• 4 candidates emerge

• John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, William H. Crawford, and Andrew Jackson

• Election was deadlocked• 12th Amendment says House of Reps must choose among top 3

candidates• Henry Clay eliminated (he was speaker of House)

• House elects John Quincy Adams as president and then Clay appointed Secretary of State • Jackson’s supporters start to spread the rumor of corruption

Adams in Office

• One of most successful Secretaries of State

• “Minority” President

• Very nationalistic thinker • Most states at this time turning towards states’ rights and

sectionalism • Wanted approval of roads/canals, national university, etc.

Jackson in 1828?

• Andrew Jackson immediately starts campaigning the day Adams was elected by the House

• Republican party split into 2• National Republicans (John Quincy Adams)• Democratic-Republicans (Andrew Jackson)

• Politics reach a low point with personal attacks• Adams’ supporters claimed Jackson’s mother was prostitute, his wife

was an adulteress, and reminded the public of the people he killed in duels and hangings

• Jackson’s supporters claim Adams is a gambler and serving as a pimp for the Tsar of Russia

What’s up, “Old Hickory”?

• On election day voting split mainly on sectional lines• West and South supported Jackson• Middle states and Old Northwest were divided • Northeast and New England supported Adams

• Jackson defeats Adams by electoral vote of 178 – 83

• Born in the Carolinas and orphaned as a child

• Became member of Congress and first President from the West

• Did not have a college education

• Slave owner

The Spoils System

• Rewarding political supporters with public office positions

• “To the victor belongs the spoils of the enemy”

• The question now being asked of each appointee is not “What can he do for his country” but “What has he done for the party?” or “Is he loyal to Jackson?”• Began to allow unqualified people to hold positions of power

Tariff of Abominations

• Protected American industry from foreign competition

• Also drove up prices and invited retaliatory tariffs on America

• Supported by the North and middle states

• In 1828 tariffs were increased to an all-time high • Southerners label it as “Back Tariff”, “Yankee Tariff”, or “Tariff of

Abominations”

• Everywhere but the “Old” South was benefiting in their own way• They were selling their products in a market unprotected by tariffs and

forced to buy American goods in a market heavily protected • S.C. begins the protesting of the tariff in the South and begin to encourage

all states to nullify the tariff

Da Nullies

• Supporters for nullification of the Tariff• Tried to get 2/3 vote

• Congress passes Tariff of 1832• Got rid of worst “abominations”

• Gained enough support and S.C. declares the existing tariff as null and void• Threatened secession from the Union if fed. gov’t tried to collect the

money by force

• Jackson threatens to invade the state and hang the supporters

• Henry Clay comes up with resolution -> decrease bill by 10% over 8 year period (Compromise of 1833)

• Also passed the Force Bill which allowed the President to use the army to collect tariff money if necessary

Trail of Tears

• Jackson’s supporters committed to western expansion • Had to deal with current inhabitants (Native Americans)

• Effort put into assimilation of Indians • Some resisted with violence, other did not

• Cherokee Indians in Georgia developed constitution and gov’t branches • 1828 Georgia legislature declared this illegal and asserted jurisdiction over

Indian affairs and lands • Appealed to Supreme Court which upheld Indian rights on 3 different occasions

• Ignored by Jackson

• Indian Removal Act -> forced migration of all tribes East of Miss. Rvr using the Trail of Tears

• Sauk and Fox tribes resisted (led by Black Hawk) unsuccessfully in the Black Hawk War

Bank War

• Jackson did not like the Bank of the United States because he felt it was monopolistic • National gov’t minted gold and silver coins but private banks issued paper

money (gave private bankers control over economy)

• Nicholas Biddle (president of bank) had too much power over nation’s financial affairs

• Daniel Webster and Henry Clay present Congress with a bill to renew the Bank of U.S. charter• If Jackson signed it he would alienate his Western followers• If he vetoed it he would lose the presidency by alienating the wealthy and

Eastern followers

• Jackson vetoes the re-charter, declares the bank unconstitutional (McCulloch v. Maryland?)

“Old Hickory” and Clay in 1832

• For the first time a 3rd party entered the election• Anti-masonic party (anti-Jackson)• Gain support of religious groups seeking to expand its role in gov’t

• First time national nominating conventions were held to name the candidates • Began to use platforms to take positions on

• Jackson defeats Clay with an electoral count 219-49

Burying the Bank

• Bank of the U.S. due to expire in 1836• Jackson fearful Biddle would try to force its re-charter • Decided to remove federal deposits

• Did not receive support from his cabinet members (found new ones)

• Federal fund surplus placed into state institutions (pet banks)• Flooded the country with paper money (inflation)• Specie Circular -> required all public lands to be purchased with “hard”

money

The Whigs

• Anti-Jackson supporters develop the Whig party• Derived from a group that opposed Britain’s monarchy • Attracted groups alienated by Jackson

• Henry Clay, Webster, Calhoun some of its members• Passed motion to censure Jackson for removing federal deposits from

BoU.S.

• Wanted internal improvement over expansion

• Claim to be defenders of the common man and declare the Democratic party to corrupt

• Whigs choose William Henry Harrison as candidate for 1836 election but defeated by Martin VanBuren (170-124)

VanBuren Takes Office

• First to be born under the American flag

• Educated and experienced in both legislation and administration

• Inherited anti-Jackson hate

• Left to focus on the panic setting in from Jackson leaving the nation on brink of depression when he left office

• Panic of 1837• Speculation and “get-rich-quickism”, Bank War, financial stress overseas

• Whigs come up with a solution:• Expansion of bank credit, higher tariffs, and internal improvements

(ignored by Van Buren)

• VanBuren’s idea was to take gov’t out of banking all together (Divorce Bill)

All My Ex’s Live in Texas

• Spain wanted to populate the region but Mexico gained it’s independence before this could happen

• Mexico grants land to Stephen Austin• Agreed that he would bring 300 American families and then become

“Mexicanized” • These requests were ignored

• 30k Texan Americans by 1835 (Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, Sam Houston)

• Begin to have disagreements • Slavery, immigration, local rights, etc. • Mexico emancipated their slaves and forbid importation (Americans ignored

this)

• Stephen Austin tries to negotiate peace (thrown in jail by Santa Anna)• Wipe out all local rights and begin raising an army

Lone Star Rebellion

• 1836 -> Texans declare their independence under Sam Houston• 6k Mexicans flood Texas under Santa Anna

• 200 Americans trapped by Mexican forces in the Alamo • All dead but 1

• Another victory for Mexican army at Goliad

• “Remember the Alamo!”, “Remember Goliad!”, “Death to Santa Anna!”

• Americans rally and lure Santa Anna to San Jacinto • Capture Santa Anna force him to sign treaty: remove all Mexican troops

and recognize Rio Grande River as extreme Southwestern border of Texas

• 1837 -> Texas petitioned for annexation• Resistance by the Northern states

• Van Buren re-nominated in 1840 and again faced William Henry Harrison of the Whigs

• Harrison wins (234-60)

• Voting based on how they wanted to deal with the depression• Whigs wanted to expand and stimulate the economy• Democrats wanted to end “high-flying” banks and aggressive corporations

Politics and the Two Party System

• Major change after 1840 election was the emergence of the two-party system• Democrats

• Glorified liberty of the individual• Clung to states’ rights / federal restraint

• Whigs• Natural harmony of society and value of community• Renewed national bank, protective tariffs, internal improvements