CHAPTER 13 THE AGE OF JACKSON Election of 1824 Four candidates all Republican All nominated in different ways (states, party caucus) John Q. Adams - Sec. of State Henry Clay - Speaker of the House William Crawford - Sec. of the Treasury Andrew Jackson - war hero, politician Election of 1824 No candidate had a majority - AJ led the popular vote Went to the House of Reps. B/n Crawford, Jackson, and Adams Clay out of running but powerful as Speaker Jackson Crawford Adams Clay 1
CORRUPT BARGAIN?? Clay hated Jackson rivals in the west and jealous of his popularity Clay & Adams met and Clay gave his support to Adams Adams won on the first ballot Adams later appoints Clay Secretary of State Jackson s supporters cried Corrupt Bargain!! John Q. Adams Presidency Less than 1/3 of people voted for him - a minority president? Refused patronage - lost him support All his ideas hated or was it him? Lots of great ideas Internal improvements, national university, $ for scientific research Fought with the Gov. of Georgia over the Cherokee To make sure they were treated fairly The Governor threatened him and he backed down ELECTION OF 1828 Jackson s campaign began in 1824 Presented as a hero and a common man (actually a very wealthy planter) Democratic Republican Party formed to support him (Democrats) Lots of mud-slinging Jackson - mom a prostitute, wife an adulteress, killer Adams - gambles, rich off of govt., a pimp (literally) 2
ELECTION OF 1828 - RESULTS Vote split along sectional lines Jackson wins South and West Adams win New England Jackson wins electoral college big Showed how political power was moving west Spoils System First time spoils system used on a large scale The practice of giving govt. jobs to supporters AJ thought it good to bring in new blood Rotation in Office - everyone deserves a turn and no one gets complacent Not all were capable one became the first to steal $1 million form the govt. Very important to politics today - promotes party loyalty Tariffs Jacksonites proposed a disgustingly high tariff towards the end of the Adams adm. Would not pass and would embarrass Adams Did pass and Jackson had to deal with it Tariff of Abominations Very high tariff hurt the South They sold their cotton and food on the world market (unprotected) Were still forced to buy American goods at higher than normal prices 3
Tariffs Led to the South Carolina Exposition Said the tariff was unconstitutional Should be nullified South Carolina tried to and failed New legislature elected in 1832 and they nullified the tariff Threatened to secede if the govt. tried to collect the $ by force Jackson was not one to be bullied and he began to prep the military Civil War???? Clay to the Rescue Again Clay proposed the Compromise Tariff of 1832 Tariffs would be lowered a total of 10% over a span of 8 years Force Bill also passed Authorized the Prez to use military force to collect customs duties if needed South Carolina withdrew their nullification of the Tariff but nullified the Force Bill Native Americans Jackson wanted expansion good for the west Meant had to deal with Indians Assimilation or Extermination 1828 Georgia Legislature declared authority over Cherokee lands and affairs Cherokee fought this before Supreme Court 3 times.. won all 3 times Jackson refused to enforce the decisions Jackson the came up with a third option forced removal 4
Indian Removal Act - 1830 Moved 100,000 Native Americans All tribes east of the Mississippi River Trail of Tears Thousands die en route Supposed to be free from white encroachment Native Americans 1836 - Bureau of Indian Affairs created In Illinois and Wisconsin the Sauk & Fox resisted removal - Black Hawk War Seminole Indians waged a 7-year guerilla war in Florida Their leader Osceola was taken prisoner under a flag of truce led to their defeat Many moved to Oklahoma Election of 1832 Jackson v. Clay Two westerners Vs. Two big firsts Anti-Mason party nominated their candidate in a convention The party also adopted a formal platform Jackson won easily even though Clay had a lot of $ Some of Clay s $ came from the Bank of the U.S. Bank was the big issue 5
Jackson and the Bank War During the election Clay decided to to make the Bank the issue He proposed to renew the bank s charter in 1832 even though it wasn t up until 1836 To bait Jackson because he hated it and its leader Nicholas Biddle Saw it as a tool of the wealthy Jackson vetoed the bill - HUGE Nicholas Biddle Not because it was unconstitutional, but he thought it was a bad idea - huge increase in power for the Prez Jackson took his election as a mandate to destroy the bank now The bank tried to kill me, so I will kill it! In 1833 Jackson removed all the government s $ from the Bank of the U.S. Not at all popular Biddle called in all loans - created a major financial panic The $ was deposited in a number of western banks - pet banks These banks flooded the country with paper $ - became worthless Also began to give out tons of loans to buy land.. Overspeculation AJ issued the specie circular All public land had to be bought with specie (gold or silver) Democrats Followers of Andrew Jackson Party of the common man Got people excited about politics again Wanted to get more involved Still around today NEW POLTICAL PARTY SYSTEM Whigs Started by Clay, Calhoun & Webster Anti-King Andrew I Very diverse States rights American Sys. Internal improvements anti-masons 6
Election of 1836 Whig William H. Harrison Democrat Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren wins An experienced politician, strategist, and spoilsman Hand-picked by AJ Some Dems didn t like him Inherited Jackson s enemies Inherited AJ s economic panic too Texas Land was given to Stephen Austin by Mexico To lure in settlers Supposed to be Catholic and assimilated into Mexican culture By 1835 there were 30,000 Americans there Conflict soon arose over the issue of home rule How much power did the Texans have to govern themselves Slavery, immigration, and other local rights 1830 - Slavery had been forbidden Stephen Austin Van Buren s Presidency Panic of 1837 Caused by land speculation again, along with crop failures and foreign bank closures Banks failed by the hundreds - some had govt. $ deposited in them Whigs called for more credit, higher tariffs, and $ for internal improvements sound familiar? Divorce Bill Est. an independent treasury Put money away in vaults so no one could touch it Around, with a short exception, until 1912 7
Texas Declares Independence 1836 Santa Anna took away all local rights and raised an army TX declared independence led by Sam Houston The Alamo When word got out of this many Americans took up arms to help Houston eventually captured Santa Anna Sam Houston Santa Anna Republic of Texas Santa Anna agreed to: Withdraw Mexican troops Border would be the Rio Grande Later he took it all back Texas soon wanted to be annexed - slavery?? Election of 1840 Van Buren v. Harrison again Harrison was issueless - had no enemies log cabins & hard cider Was a western common man, Van Buren a eastern city boy causing trouble Lots of hoopla from the Whigs Keep the ball rolling Harrison wins Politics never the same since the era of Jackson 8