Download Unit Nine: The Nationalist Era

Unit Ten: The Jacksonian Era
Jacksonian Democracy
Election of 1824
• At the end of Monroe’s second term he chose
not to run again and retired to his Mansion at
Oak Hill.
• Since the Democratic-Republicans were the
only major political party the choice of who
was to be the next President went to a list of
candidates representing specific regions or
interests known as “Favorite Sons”.
• These “Sons” chose to run: William Crawford
(South), John Quincy Adams (North), Henry
Clay “Great Compromiser (West), Andrew
Jackson “Hero of New Orleans” (West), and
John C. Calhoun (South).
Favorite “Sons” of 1824
William Crawford
Andrew Jackson
John Q. Adams
Henry Clay
John C. Calhoun
Election of 1824
• The election was a bitter race between all the
candidates, but when the results came in
Jackson carried the popular vote and the
electoral votes with 99 to Adams’s 84,
Crawford’s 41, and Clay’s 37. (Calhoun had
dropped out to be Vice President for Adams or
Jackson).
• Since no candidate had a majority of electoral
votes the election according to the twelfth
Amendment went to the House of
Representatives to be decided.
• Only the highest three went to the House, so
Clay was out of the race, but he was Speaker of
the House.
Corrupt Bargain
• Crawford was also out, due to the fact he had a
stroke that paralyzed him, leaving the election
between Adams and Jackson.
• When the votes were cast Adams won the
Presidency, due to the fact Clay swung his votes
Adams’s way.
• The Jackson people called the election
of Adams the Corrupt Bargain because
Adams got the Presidency and Clay got
to be Secretary of State. (the Jackson
people worked four years to destroy
Adams and Clay’s political careers)
J. Q. Adams Administration
• Adams wanted to keep the nationalist agenda
going with aid to internal improvements, a
national university, legislation aiding
agriculture, commerce, and manufacturing,
and for the advancement of the arts,
sciences, and literature.
• The growing sectional divide and the
Jacksonians kept any of his programs from
developing.
• Adams also hurt himself by believing that
people in government positions should get
them on merit not favor, so many of his
officials constantly disagreed with him.
J. Q. Adams Administration
• Another blow to the Adams administration was
his sympathy for the Native Americans, which
led to an unsuccessful standoff with the state
of Georgia.
• In foreign affairs, relations with Latin America
went sour when the two diplomats Adams sent
to a convention for Latin American countries
called the Panama Congress failed to show up.
• The biggest issue of Adams’s Administration
though was the introduction of the Tariff of
1828 called the “Tariff of Abominations”, which
passed into law as a high protective Tariff.
(favored Northern industry, but disfavored
Southerner agriculture)
Election of 1828
• In the Election of 1828 the
Democratic/Republicans split into two
separate parties: the National Republicans
running John Q. Adams and the Jacksonian
Democrats running Andrew Jackson.
• The election was bitterly fought with much
mudslinging (political technique of only
talking about the negative aspects of an
opponent ) coming from both sides. (Jackson
was accused of being a drunk, gambler, killer,
and an adulterer; while Adams was accused
of being an elitist, Aristocrat, and a hater of
the common man).
Election of 1828
Rachael Jackson
Click on Above Political
Cartoon to hear the song
that won him the election:
Mudslinging
The Hunters of Kentucky
The “Donkey”
Jacksonian Democracy
• Andrew Jackson “Old Hickory” won the
election because he was seen as the
“People’s President” and the “Common
Man’s Candidate”.
• Jackson’s election was a symbol of a new
movement in America known as Jacksonian
Democracy where any ordinary citizen could be
an official and common sense was all that was
required to handle public office or a government
job.
• Jackson himself believed in expanded suffrage,
Manifest Destiny, Patronage, Strict
Constructionism, Laissez-fare economics, and a
strong President (use of veto power).
Jacksonian Democracy
• One reason for Jackson’s win was an expansion
of the franchise/suffrage (civil right to vote), as
new states and old did not require property
qualifications.
• Another reason was the end of “King Caucus” in
favor of nominating conventions where
Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates
were chosen directly by the people for the party
ticket using ballots to be voted on by the
electoral college. (This gave more power to the
popular vote)
• Party candidate’s were fighting over the spoils of
office, which were government positions given to
friends, political allies, or supporters by a
candidate through the spoils system/patronage.
Jacksonian Democracy
• Jackson also believed in rotation in office,
limiting government bureaucrats to a certain
time in office (like elected officials) to allow
for more people to take part in government.
• As soon as Jackson was elected President
he replaced many government jobholders
with people friendly to his own policies.
• The beliefs of Jackson scared the
Washington establishment, and made many
believe “King Mob” now ruled America.
To The Victors Go the Spoils
Trouble in Washington
• Jackson’s election was a bitter sweet victory,
due to the death of his wife, Rachel, which he
blamed his political opponents for during the
election.
• When Jackson setup his administration, he
setup two cabinets, one official and the other
called the Kitchen Cabinet. (Only Martin Van
Buren and John Eaton were part of both).
• The Kitchen Cabinet was were Jackson got
most of his advice and information on
national issues.
Trouble in Washington
• Some trouble developed in Jackson’s
administration due to issues surrounding
the Secretary of War John Eaton’s wife,
Margaret, known as the Petticoat or Eaton
Affair.
• The wives of the cabinet members and key
congressmen wives did not have anything to
do with her, reminding Jackson of the
treatment of his own wife.
• The outcome of the scandal was the
resignation of almost the whole official
cabinet, and led to a close relationship
between Jackson and Van Buren.
The Tariff!!!
• One of the big issues of Jackson’s first term was
the Tariff of 1828/Tariff of Abominations and the
push by the state of South Carolina to nullify (to
cancel) the Law known as the Nullification Crisis.
• In 1828 John C. Calhoun wrote The South
Carolina Exposition and Protest establishing the
doctrine of Nullification ( the idea that the union
was a compact of the states and were created
first, hence the states could nullify any Federal
law that they thought went against the U.S.
Constitution.
• The nullification question was part of a larger
issue of state’s rights vs. Federal power, and if a
state did not agree it could leave the union.
The Tariff!!!
• The question of union led to the HayneWebster Debate (1830) in the Senate, where
Robert Y. Hayne (SC) supporting nullification
went against Daniel Webster (MA) supporting
union; Webster won the debate with his
speech, “Liberty and Union, now and
forever, one and inseparable!”
• The issue of nullification also led to an
exchange of words at the annual Jefferson
Day Dinner, where Jackson and his Vice
President Calhoun split ways.
• Congress then passed the Tariff of 1832 to
lower the tariff, but this still did not satisfy SC
or most of the South.
The Tariff !!!
• South Carolina met in convention and signed
an Ordinance of Nullification on the two Tariffs.
• Enraged by the nullifiers and the thought of
civil war, Jackson asked Congress to enact
legislation called the Force Bill to allow him the
power to use the military to enforce the Tariff.
• As a middle road Henry Clay introduced the
Compromise Tariff of 1833 which lowered tariff
collections over a ten year period; Congress
passed both it and the Force Bill.
• After this South Carolina withdrew nullification,
but it did not completely end the debate of
state’s rights.