Download Politics of the Jacksonian Era Even though Andrew Jackson was

Politics of the Jacksonian Era
Even though Andrew Jackson was president only from 1829 to 1837, his influence on American politics was
pervasive both before and after his time in office. The years from about 1824 to 1840 have been called the “Age of
Jacksonian Democracy” and the “Era of the Common Man.” By modern standards, however, the United States was
far from democratic. Women could not vote and were legally under the control of their husbands; free blacks, if not
completely disenfranchised, were considered second-class citizens at best; slavery was growing in the southern
states. Moreover, the period witnessed the resettlement of Native Americans west of the Mississippi River and the
concentration of wealth in fewer and fewer hands. But changes did occur that broadened participation in politics, and
reform movements emerged to address the inequalities in American society.
Even while states were moving toward denying free blacks the right to vote, the franchise was expanding for
white men. All states admitted to the Union after 1815 adopted white male suffrage, and between 1807 and 1821,
others abolished the property and tax qualifications for voting. These developments had a dramatic effect on national
elections. Measuring voter turnout before the presidential election of 1824 is impossible because only electoral votes
were counted, but in the 1824 presidential election, 355,000 popular votes were cast, and the number more than
tripled—to more than 1.1 million—just four years later, in large part due to the end of property requirements.
The method of voting also began to change. Until the 1820s, a man voted by going to his precinct's voting
place and orally stating his choices. The absence of a secret, written ballot allowed intimidation; few would vote
against a particular candidate when the room was crowded with his supporters. Printed ballots gave the voter a more
independent voice, even though the first ballots were published by the political parties themselves. A ballot printed
by the government, the so-called Australian ballot, was not introduced until the late nineteenth century.
Furthermore, many political offices became elective rather than appointive, making office holders more accountable
to the public. By 1832, almost all the states (South Carolina was the sole exception) shifted the selection of members
of the Electoral College from their legislature directly to the voters. In 1826, the provisions of the Maryland
constitution that barred Jews from practicing law and holding public office were removed.
The election of 1824. The Era of Good Feelings came to an end with the presidential election of 1824.
Although Republicans dominated national politics, the party was breaking apart internally. Monroe's cabinet
included no fewer than three men with presidential ambitions, each representing sectional interests. John C. Calhoun
and Secretary of the Treasury William Crawford contended for the role of spokesperson for the South, while
Secretary of State John Quincy Adams promoted the interests of New England. Outside the cabinet, Speaker of the
House Henry Clay stood for his “American System,” and the military hero Andrew Jackson, the lone political
outsider, championed western ideas.
Party leaders backed Crawford. Although a paralyzing stroke removed him from an active role in the
campaign, he received almost as many votes as Clay. Calhoun removed himself from the race, settling for another
terra as vice president and making plans for another run at the presidency in 1828 or 1832. Jackson received 43
percent of the popular vote compared to Adams's 31 percent, and he won 99 electoral votes to Adams's 84. Because
Jackson did not receive a majority in the Electoral College, the election was decided by the House of
Representatives, where Speaker Clay exercised considerable political influence. With no chance of winning himself,
Clay threw his support to Adams, who shared his nationalist views. Thirteen of the twenty-one states voted for
Adams, and he became president. When Adams appointed Clay his secretary of state, Jackson's supporters angrily
charged that a “ corrupt bargain” had been made between the two men. Although there is no firm evidence to
support the charge, it became an issue that hounded Adams during his presidency and was raised by Jackson himself
during the next presidential campaign.
The Adams presidency. Few candidates were as qualified as John Quincy Adams to be president, yet few
presidents have had such a disappointing term. In his first annual message to Congress (1825), he laid out an
extensive program of federal spending that stretched even the most liberal definition of internal improvements.
Among other things, Adams called for the creation of a national university and a national observatory. But the
president faced determined opposition everywhere he turned, both from Jackson's backers and Calhoun, who filled
Senate committees with men who did not support the administration's policies. When Adams asked Congress for
funds to send a delegate to the Congress of Panama, a meeting of the newly independent nations of Latin America,
southerners argued so vociferously against the idea that the conference had ended by the time money was actually
appropriated. Adams did not help his own cause. Refusing to engage in partisan politics, he did not remove
opponents from appointed office when he became president and thereby alienated his own supporters. His rather
idealistic position earned him little backing for a second term.
Politics had an impact on one of the most important domestic issues—protective tariffs. The Tariff of
1824 imposed duties on woolen goods, cotton, iron, and other finished products to protect textile mills in New
England and industries in the mid-Atlantic states. Four years later, Congress raised tariffs to the highest level before
the Civil War and increased taxes on imports of raw wool. The Jacksonians included the duties on raw material in the
legislation to weaken Adams's support from the mid-Atlantic and northern states in the upcoming election. Indeed,
Jacksonians believed the bill to be so onerous to different interest groups in different parts of the country that it had
no chance of passing. But the Tariff of 1828 did become law, and it was soon called the Tariff of Abominations.
The election of 1828. The factionalism within the Republican ranks led to a split and the creation of two parties—
Jackson's Democratic Republicans (soon shortened to “Democrats”) and Adams's National Republicans. Martin Van
Buren of New York, who preferred rivalries between parties to disputes within one party, masterminded the
emergence of the Democrats.
The campaign itself was less about issues than the character of the two candidates. Jacksonians denounced
Adams for being “an aristocrat” and for allegedly trying to influence Russian policy by providing Tsar Alexander I
with an American prostitute during Adams's term as ambassador. Supporters of Adams vilified Jackson as a
murderer (he had fought several duels), an adulterer (he and his wife had mistakenly married before her divorce from
her first husband was final), and an illiterate backwoodsman. These attacks by the National Republicans did little to
detract from Jackson's popularity. Ordinary Americans admired his leadership qualities and decisiveness; they
preferred to remember Jackson the Indian fighter and hero of the Battle of New Orleans and forget about the
important role Adams played in negotiating the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812. Jackson also had
clear political advantages. As a westerner, he had secure support from that part of the country, while the fact that he
was a slave owner gave him strength in the South. Conversely, Adams was strong only in New England. Jackson was
swept into office with 56 percent of the popular vote from a greatly expanded electorate.