age of andrew jackson. introduction 1.) how was american politics democratized between 1800 and...
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AGE OF ANDREW JACKSON
Introduction 1.) How was American politics democratized
between 1800 and 1840?
2.) Why was Andrew Jackson so popular with voters?
3.) How and why did the Democratic and Whig parties emerge?
4.) What new assumptions about human nature did religious reform leaders of the 1830’s make?
The Rise of Democratic Politics, 1824-1832
Introduction In 1824, only one political party existed
Republican
It was breaking up Pressures produced by the industrialization of the
Northeast
The spread of cotton growing in the South
Westward expansion
2 new political parties developed Democrats
Whigs
Introduction (cont.) Democrats
Kept Jefferson’s distrust of strong federal government
Preferred states’ rights
Whigs Favored an active federal govt.
Encourage economic development
Both Democratic and Whig politicians had to adapt to the democratic idea of politics as the expression of the will of the common man
Rather than “an activity that gentlemen conducted for the people”
Democratic Developments
Politics became more democratic property qualifications for voting were eliminated
Written ballots replaced voting aloud
Appointive offices became elective
Presidential electors were chosen by the people
Each party sought to increase its voter base
Increasing the number of eligible voters in the process
The Election of 1824 4 Republicans ran for office
Each represented a faction of the Republican Party
Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, William Crawford, Henry Clay
The Election of 1824 Jackson received the most popular and
electoral votes but not a majority
Therefore, as the Constitution requires, the House of Representatives had to choose among the three top candidates (Jackson, Adams, Crawford)
Clay (who was 4th) used his considerable influence with Congress to gain the selection of Adams
The Election of 1824 President Adams in turn appointed Clay as his
secretary of state
Jackson supporters charged that a “corrupt bargain” had been made
That charge hung like a cloud over the Adams administration
John Quincy Adams as President
President Adams tried to encourage economic growth through federal internal improvement projects
He remained aloof to the political games of the age
His programs suffered a lack of support
Single-term presidency
The Rise of Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson’s
victory over the British in the Battle of New Orleans in 1815 made him a popular hero
It was a time of “vague but widespread discontent” with Washington In part because of the
Panic of 1819
The Rise of Andrew Jackson Jackson’s position as a political outsider
endeared him to the public and supporters
Began to build a strong political organization Called themselves the Democratic Party Also led by Martin Van Buren
In 1828 the Democrats nominated Jackson for president Those who remained loyal to Adams called
themselves National Republicans and renominated Adams
The election of 1828 Democrats portrayed Jackson as a man of the
people (even though he was a wealthy farmer)- Common Man
And they portrayed Adams as the aristocrat
Jackson won the election with the common-man appeal
His victory also showed a clear sectional split South and Southwest for Jackson
New England mostly for Adams
Jackson in Office Spoils system
Jackson immediately fired 1/2 of the civil servants on the federal payroll Most in the Northeast
Replaced them with supporters Jackson did not initiate the spoils system
He defended it and practiced it
Frequent rotation in office gave more people a chance to serve
President Jackson and the Nullification
Crisis
The Tariff of 1816o The first tariff in American history passed for
protection
o About 20 to 25 %
o Not high enough to provide protection
o It started a protective tariff trend Protected northern manufacturers and western
farmers from foreign competition
But raised the price that southerners had to pay for finished products
Tariff of 1824o Congress increased the tariff significantly,
but wool manufacturers wanted more
o S.C. leaders didn’t want a higher tariff, they said European wool owners would punish cotton growers by paying a lower price for cotton
o Raised the duty from 25% to 33.3%
o After this tariff, the price of cotton in Europe fell from 32 cents a pound to 13 cents
Tariff of 1828o In 1827 manufactures in the North asked for an
even higher tariff
o There were protests all over S.C.
o In 1828 the tariff passed, which raised the duty to 50%
o Southerners were shocked at the rates, called it the Tariff of Abominations
o Calhoun writes The South Carolina Exposition and Protest secretly because he is still Vice President. Argued protective tariffs were unconstitutional
States had the right to nullify federal laws that violated the U.S. Constitution
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNgIUUD7i-A
Why were the southerners so angry?
o Believed the “Yankee tariff” discriminated against them
o Southerners sold their cotton in an unprotected tariff market, but bought manufactured goods in an American market heavily protected by tariffs
o The South wanted to protect themselves from the federal government interfering with state’s rights—saw the tariff issue as a way to take a stand
Nullifiers vs. Unionistso Calhoun: (States Rights)
• States created the Federal government.
• If a state believed the government had passed an unconstitutional law, then the state could nullify it.
• The state would not have to obey the law
o Webster: (Unionist)
• The people, not the states, created the Federal government
• A state could not nullify a law nor secede
o How are the above ideas examples of sectionalism?
The Tariff of 1832
• 1832: Tariff reduced to 35%South was still not satisfied
1832- Ordinance of Nullification
• In 1832 S.C. “Nullifiers”:
• had enough votes (2/3rds) to nullify the Tariff of 1832
• Nullified with the Ordinance of Nullification
• Calhoun has resigned and now a senator from SC leading the nullification fight
Jackson’s Response Dec. 1832
Jackson denounced the state’s defiance threatened to use the army and navy to enforce
federal laws
• Said nullification was treason and would use force to collect the tariffs
• Congress passed the Force Bill, which gave Jackson the power to use the army and navy to enforce laws, specifically the tariffs.
Compromise Tariff of 1833
• Created by Calhoun and Henry Clay
• Attempt to resolve Nullification Crisis
• Gradually reduce tariff rates for next 10 years until they reached 20% (the 1816 tariff rate) by 1842
South Carolina’s Response
• S.C. accepts the new tariff
• SC rescinded it nullification
• War is avoided
• S.C. repeals the Ordinance of Nullification, and nullifies the Force Bill
The Bank Veto and the Election of 1832
Jackson disliked all banks and the issuance of paper money
He particularly hated the Second Bank of the Untied States Controlled the nation’s credit
Depository for federal govt. monies
Run by its private stockholders “Monied Capitalist”
Little control from the federal govt.
Jackson regarded it as a privileged monopoly
The Bank Veto and the Election of 1832 (cont.)
In 1832, Nicholas Biddle (pres. of the Second Bank) applied for its recharter The recharter bill passed Congress
Jackson vetoed it
Denouncing the bank for making “the rich richer and the potent more powerful”
1832 election Democrats nominated Jackson and Van Buren for
president and VP
National Republicans nominated Henry Clay
Clay opposed Jackson’s record
Clay advocated instead his American System of protective tariffs, recharting of the national bank, and federally supported internal improvements
Jackson won easily
Jackson was ready to complete his destruction of the Second Bank
The Bank Veto and the Election of 1832 (cont.)
The Bank Controversy and the Second Party System, 1833-1840
The War on the Bank Jackson quickly tried to bankrupt the Second
Bank by removing govt. deposits
He distributed them to accounts in state-chartered banks
The “pet banks” that received the deposits extended much more credit and issued many more bank notes (paper money) They had no restraints on them from the defunct
national bank
This loosening of credit touched off a period of reckless economic expansion and speculation, and rapid inflation
The Rise of Whig Opposition During Jackson’s 2nd term, the National
Republicans changed their name to Whigs
Began to attract broader support Southerners angry over Jackson’s denunciation of
nullification
Temperance reformers
Public-school reformers
Anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic Protestants
Followers of the Anti-Masonry movement
The commercial community of merchants, manufactures, and bankers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beN4qE-e5O8