The Age of JacksonThe Age of Jackson

Champion of the Common Man? Or King Andrew?

Voting requirements: early 19century

Why increased Democratization?

White male suffrage increased Party nomination committeesVoters choose their states Presidential electors Spoils system Rise of third partiesPopular campaigning

Jackson’s First RunJackson’s First Run

1824 ElectionJohn Quincy Adams v Andrew

Jackson

1824 ElectionJohn Quincy Adams v Andrew

Jackson Jackson won popular vote

No majority in electoral vote Decision made by House of Reps.

Henry Clay & Adams make a deal Adams elected president Clay appointed Secretary of State

Election of 1824: A corrupt bargain?

Jacksonians claim: political corruption

Withdraw from Republican Party Form Democratic- Republican Party

Today’s Democrats

1828 Election 1828 Election

Smear Campaign Focused on personal lives & character flaws not political issues

Jackson appealed to common citizen Issues:

Hero of New OrleansRevolution Veteran Conqueror of Florida

Won by a landslide

1828 Election 1828 Election

1828 Inauguration

"Ladies fainted, men were seen with bloody noses and such a scene of confusion took place as is impossible to describe."

Spoils System Spoils System

To give common people the chance to participate in government

Federal jobs serve 4 yr. term maximum Turnover would avoid corruption Jobs given to friends & family Fired 10% of Adams appointments and gave jobs to loyal Jacksonians

His friends became political advisors“Kitchen Cabinet”

Jackson’s Native American Policy

Some Southern tribes adopted European culture The Five Civilized Tribes

Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole,Creek & Chickasaw

Cherokee: took English names & formed a government modeled after America’s

Jackson did not believe that assimilation could work

Believed the only solution was to move Natives west

Indian Removal Act

Federal gov’t. would provide money to negotiate treaties & move tribes west

Any tribe living east of Mississippi90 treaties signed

Jackson believed Natives could maintain their way of lifeSupposed to voluntary & peaceful

Trail of Tears

Cherokee Nation forced to give up lands east of Mississippi

Migrate from Georgia to present day Oklahoma

Faced hunger, disease & exhaustion

4,000 out of 15,000 died

Indian Removal

Political Cartoon- What does it mean??

Tariff & States’ Rights

Congress passed a tariff in 1828 in order to protect American industriesVice-president John C. Calhoun called it the “Tariff of Abominations”

reduced the cotton Britain bought from the SouthForced the South to buy more expensive Northern manufactured goods

Calhoun’s home state of South Carolina nullified the Tariff citing that states have the right to do soJackson disagreed with South Carolina and ordered that they pay the tariff by force, if necessaryHenry Clay urged compromise and war was avoided (for now)

Renewing the First National Bank Charter

Renewing the First National Bank Charter

Waged a personal war against the Bank of the United StatesCharter supposed to come up in 1836

Daniel Webster & Henry Clay hoped Jackson would veto & lose popularity

National Bank National Bank DebateDebate

CharterCharter

Jackson view banks as an agent of the wealthy and a threat to democracy

Federal tax dollars were deposited there BUS stockholders earned interest not American taxpayers Nicholas Biddle (president) extended low interest loans to congressmen

Pet Banks Pet Banks

Jackson forced all federal deposits transferred from BUS to certain state banks

“pet banks” because of loyalty to Democratic Party 1836 - lost charter and 5 years later closed

Jackson’s Consequences Jackson’s Consequences

After collapse of “pet banks” New York banks picked up pieces and became financial capital Former supporters called Jackson “King Andrew the First”

1834: Henry Clay and Daniel Webster formed the Whig Party Whigs: tried to avoid excessive power

1832 Cartoon: “King Andrew”

1836: Election

Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren

Inherited Jackson’s bank war & problems

Many pet banks became wildcat banks- printed more bank notes than gold & silver Doomed to fail

Specie Circular

Required payment of public land be made in gold or silver only

Prevented working-class Americans from purchasing western landsDid not want to accept paper currency- was not worth enough

Panic of 1837

Economic crisis caused by Jackson’s attack on the BUSNew York banks stopped accepting paper currency

Other banks followed banks began closing Credit system collapsed People lost jobs & went bankrupt 1/3 population out of work

Panic of 1837

Homework 1. How was the nullification theory an expression of state’s rights? 2. What the reasons Jackson opposed the BUS? 3. Why was the Whig Party formed? 4. Why did Van Buren win the Election of 1836 so easily? 5. What is the Specie Circular? What did it lead to?