Download Jacksonian Democracy

Jacksonian Democracy
1824-1840
Jackson vs. Adams
▫ The Election of 1824
 With the breakdown of the Caucus system for choosing
candidates, four Republican candidates campaigned for
the presidency – John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay,
William Crawford, and Andrew Jackson
 Jackson won more popular and electoral votes than
anybody but did not have the majority of electoral votes
needed to win the election so it went to the house of
representatives
 Main contenders were Adams and Jackson so Henry Clay
used his influence in Congress to give Adams the election
and was later appointed Sec of State
 This is the “corrupt bargain”
President John Quincy Adams
 Angered Congress by asking for money for internal
improvements, to aid manufacturing, and other projects
(a national university and astronomical observatory)
 Seen as a waste of money in Congress and a violation of
the Constitution (not listed under powers of the federal
government)
 Tariff of 1828 – satisfied northern manufacturers but
alienated southern planters – called Tariff of
Abominations by its critics
 Raised tariff to over 45% on average
 Southerners were more likely to purchase imported goods
than northerners because of transportation issues
Revolution of 1828
 Campaigning tactics changed to mudslinging –
including attacking the wives of the candidates –
Adams’ wife supposedly born out of wedlock and
Jackson’s wife having an affair (with Jackson himself
– she was married previously but did not have a
finalized divorce)
 Voter turnout increased 300% for the election
 Jackson won easily – carried every state west of the
Appalachians – reputation as a war hero and a man
of the frontier rather than his positions on the issues
earned him the election
Key parts of the Jacksonian Democracy
▫ Rise of a democratic society
 Informal manners and democratic attitudes existed
across all classes
 Class system difficult to distinguish
 Equality becoming the governing principle of
American society
 Mostly equality of opportunity among white males
 Hero of the age was the self made man
Key parts of the Jacksonian Democracy
▫ Politics of the Common Man
 Universal Male Suffrage
 Indiana (1816), Illinois (1818) and Missouri (1821) allowed all
white males to vote and hold office – no religious or property
qualifications
 Most Eastern states soon changes their constitutions to allow
universal white male suffrage and office eligibility
 In 1824, 350,000 votes cast for president. In 1840, 2.4 million
 Party Nominating Conventions
 King Caucus – a closed door meeting of a party’s leader’s in
Congress is who used to nominate candidates for office
 1830s – caucuses replaced by nominating conventions – party
leaders and voters would gather in a meeting hall to nominated
a candidate
 Anti-Masons held the first
Key parts of the Jacksonian Democracy
▫ Politics of the Common Man (continued)
 “Popular” election of the president
 By 1832 – voters chose presidential electors (only
South Carolina used old system of having state
legislature choose the electors)
 Two-party system
 National campaigns needed to be conducted with the
popular election of electors so large political parties
were needed
 Rise of third-parties
 Anti-Masons
▫ Attacked the secret society of the Mason’s – accusing them of
belonging to a privileged, anti-democratic elite
Key parts of the Jacksonian Democracy
• Politics of the Common Man (continued)
 More elected offices
 Fewer appointments and more elected offices which led
to increased voter interest and participation
 Popular campaigning
 Appealed to the “common man”
 Parades, bands, large rallies – voters were treated to
food and drink
 But, in trying to appeal to the masses, candidates would
often downplay the issues and resort to personal
attacks such as an opponent’s “aristocratic airs” to
make him seem unfriendly to the common man
Key parts of the Jacksonian Democracy
• Politics of the Common Man (continued)
 Spoils system and rotation of office holders
 Under Jackson, federal jobs went to those who had
actively campaigned for the Democratic party –
only non-Democrats were replaced
 To have the maximum number of Democrats in
office, Jackson limited a person’s tenure of office
to one term and when it was up, would appoint
another “deserving Democrat” in his place
 Both served to further the Democratic ideal that
“one man is as good as another” and helped to
further the two-party system
Andrew Jackson’s Presidency
▫ Personal characteristics
 Born on the frontier so seen as a symbol of the working class –
also no college education
 War hero from the Battle of New Orleans
 Plantation and slave owner in Tennessee
 Widower – his wife, Rachel, died after the election but before
he took office – he blamed Adams for her death
▫ Role of the President
 Interpreted the powers of the president very narrowly and
vetoed more bills (12) than all of the previous presidents
 Used a group of advisors that were not a part of his official
cabinet – the “kitchen cabinet” so that the appointed cabinet
had less power and influence than under other presidents
Andrew Jackson’s Presidency
▫ Peggy Eaton
 More mudslinging – wife of Jackson’s sec of war – target of gossip
about her having an affair – Jackson demanded that she be accepted
socially
 In response most of the cabinet resigned and were replaced
 A year later, vice-president John C. Calhoun also resigned (partly due to
this issue, partly to others) and was replaced by Martin Van Buren
▫ Indian Removal Act (1830)
 Sympathized with whites who felt it was their destiny and right to
expand westward
 Jackson thought Indians should give up their traditional homelands
and resettle west of the Mississippi
 Act forced the removal of most eastern tribes (by 1835 most were gone)
 1836 – Bureau of Indian Affairs created to assist those who resettled
Andrew Jackson’s Presidency
▫ Indian Removal Act (1830) (continued)
 States also passed similar laws some of which were challenged
 Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) – Supreme court ruled that the
Cherokee were not a foreign nation and therefore not allowed to sue in
federal court
 Worcester v. Georgia (1832) – Supreme Court ruled that Georgia laws
did not apply in Cherokee territory
 Jackson angered by Supreme Court rulings and sided with the states –
said “John Marshall has made his ruling, now let him enforce it”
 Trail of tears
 Most Cherokees ignore the resettlement order and were left alone until
1838 (after Jackson left office)
 Then US Army forcibly removed 15,000 Cherokees from Georgia and
forced them to march from Georgia to Oklahoma/Kansas area
 Hardships were so great that 4,000 died on the march
Andrew Jackson’s Presidency
▫ Nullification Crisis
 Jackson favored states rights but also favored the union
 1828, SC declared the Tariff of 1828 (the tariff of abominations)
unconstitutional
 John C. Calhoun had said that if a federal law was unconstitutional, then
states did not have to abide by it – nullification theory – they could
declare it null and void
 Webster-Hayne Debates
 Daniel Webster (Mass.) – states could not defy or leave the union
 Robert Hayne (S.C.) – states could because the US was essentially a
confederation of states – the states consented to be a part of the Union
and could reverse their consent
 1832 Convention in S.C. that nullified the Tariff of 1828 as well as the
Tariff of 1832
 Jackson angered and Sec of War prepared for military action
Andrew Jackson’s Presidency
• Nullification Crisis (continued)
 Congress passed a “Force Bill” which allowed the president to take
military action in South Carolina
 Jackson issued the Proclamation to the People of South Carolina
– stated that nullification and disunion were treason
 A compromise was possible – Jackson kept troops out of the issue:
 Congress should lower the tariff
 South Carolina postponed then rescinded the nullification when
congress enacted a new tariff similar to what Jackson had
proposed
 South also gained support when president took a stand against
the anti-slavery movement in the north by prohibiting antislavery literature from being delivered through the mail
 The south could trust the president to NOT extend benefits of
democracy to African Americans