Andrew Jackson: The Common Man’s President

Please pick up a copy of the following from the cart: *Class Notes #15: Andrew Jackson (2nd block has it) *unit test preview *unit binder guide Please also take out the Jackson political cartoon from last class and turn in Homework #8 if you have it done We will: *preview the unit test (December 4) *evaluate how Andrew Jackson helped to shape American politics and the presidency Andrew Jackson: The Common Man’s President

Andrew Jackson *born on the South Carolina frontier in 1767 *scarred by a British officer during the American Revolution for refusing to shine the officer’s boots *orphaned at the age of 14 *trained to be a lawyer in North Carolina *moved to Tennessee - became a judge and served in Congress *became Major General of the Tennessee militia *fought the Creek Indians and the British in the War of 1812; defeated a British force at New Orleans (January 1815) *fought against the Seminole Indians and Spanish in Florida

Elections of 1824 & 1828: What happened in each election? How is that Jackson could have lost to John Quincy Adams in 1824?

Jackson Runs for President:The Election of 1824 • many Jackson supporters could not vote because of property requirements for voting • Jackson still gained the most popular votes of all five Democratic-Republican candidates • he did not win a majority of electoral votes though, so the choice of president was left to the House of Representatives • Henry Clay (one of the top three candidates) gave his support to John Quincy Adams in exchange for a position as Adams’ Secretary of State • Jackson’s supporters referred to this deal as the “corrupt bargain” because it put Adams in the White House with fewer popular votes; Clay and Jackson became political enemies

The Election of 1828 Rematch: Jackson vs. Adams • from 1825 to 1828, Jackson’s supporters created the Democratic Party in opposition to J.Q. Adams and his more conservative supporters • the Democrats portrayed themselves and Jackson as the party of the “common man” • many states lifted property requirements for voting in recognition of growing social and economic equality • Jackson won a big victory by capturing the South, the West, and even much of the North • Adams’ support was limited to New England

Spoils System • Jackson opened his inauguration party to everyone on March 4, 1829, confirming his image as a man of the common people • Jackson believed that his Democratic supporters should be entitled to federal jobs because of their loyal support • he valued loyalty more than experience and overturned Jefferson’s “meritocracy” system that had produced a highly competent bureaucracy for nearly thirty years Above: Jackson’s inaugural party in 1829; Below: cartoon critical of Jackson’s spoils system

“King Andrew” (1833)http://10.120.2.41/SAFARI/montage/play.php?frompage=play&keyindex=120843&location=005849&chapterskeyindex=396628&sceneclipskeyindex=-1 What symbols and text stand out? What is the cartoonist’s perspective on Jackson’s presidency? Can the source be trusted to provide an objective viewpoint? What does the cartoon tell you about Jackson’s approach to the presidency? Jackson’s political enemies, including Clay and Webster, united together by the 1830s to create the Whig Party in opposition to Jackson’s “tyrannical” policies

Major Issues in Jackson’s Presidency Working with your table team, read the background in the textbook on your assigned issue (see below) and create a poster that answers the questions posed to your table. Use the instructions provided on the back of the political cartoon handout. Tables 1 & 4: Indian Removal Tables 2 & 5: Tariffs & Nullification Crisis Tables 3 & 6: Second Bank of the United States Be prepared to present details related to your issue and discuss your opinions of Jackson’s decisions with the class.

Indian Removal: The Issue • planters wanted more land out west to plant cotton and other profitable crops • the “Five Civilized Tribes” (Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole) owned much of the sought after land in the Old Southwest (Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee) • What did Jackson do? Left: Benjamin Hawkins, one of the first U.S. Indian agents, teaches Creek Indians how to farm (c. 1805) Right: Sequoyah, Cherokee chief, who developed a Cherokee alphabet and encouraged his people to become farmers

Tariffs & Nullification: The Issue • Following the War of 1812, Congress raised tariffs to protect U.S. industry against foreign competition • Congress passed the highest tariff yet in 1828, called the “Tariff of Abominations” in the South, where people opposed it because they believed it only helped the North and hurt the Southern economy • South Carolina threatened to nullifythe law, stating that it was a violation of states’ rights The tariff issue pitted two of Jackson’s political rivals against each other – Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky (left), who helped to draft and pass tariff legislation through Congress, and Jackson’s first Vice-President, John C. Calhoun of South Carolina (right). Who would Jackson support?

Second Bank of the U.S.: The Issue • Henry Clay wanted to re-charter the Second Bank of the U.S. for another 20 years (starting in 1836) • He pushed for the vote earlier than necessary in order to make it an election issue in his presidential race against Jackson in 1832 • Many Americans distrusted the Bank because it pursued a tight credit policy that had helped to prevent inflation but also made it harder to borrow money Left: The Second Bank of the U.S. headquarters in Philadelphia Right: Bank president Nicholas Biddle symbolized the elite class of Northern bankers and merchants who many Americans perceived as controlling the Bank for their own selfish interests

Indian Removal – Jackson’s Views The waves of population and civilization are rolling to the westward, and we now propose to acquire the countries occupied by the red men of the South and West by a fair exchange, and, at the expense of the United States, to send them to land where their existence may be prolonged and perhaps made perpetual. … How many thousands of our own people would gladly embrace the opportunity of removing to the West on such conditions! If the offers made to the Indians were extended to them, they would be hailed with gratitude and joy. …Rightly considered, the policy of the General Government toward the red man is not only liberal, but generous. He is unwilling to submit to the laws of the States and mingle with their population. To save him from this alternative, or perhaps utter annihilation, the General Government kindly offers him a new home, and proposes to pay the whole expense of his removal and settlement.

Indian Removal – Cherokee View …we are despoiled of our private possessions … We are stripped of every attribute of freedom and eligibility for legal self-defense. Our property may be plundered before our eyes; violence may be committed on our persons; even our lives may be taken away, and there is none to regard our complaints. We are denationalized; we are disenfranchised; we are deprived of membership in the human family; we have neither land, nor home, nor resting-place, that can be called our own. Memorial presented to Congress by Chief John Ross (1836)

Indian Removal

Tariffs & Nullification – Jackson’s Views Whereas the said ordinance prescribes to the people of South Carolina a course of conduct in direct violation of their duty as citizens of the United States, contrary to the laws of their country, subversive of its Constitution, and having for its object the destruction of the Union… I, Andrew Jackson, President of the United States, have thought proper to issue this my proclamation… If this doctrine had been established at an earlier day, the Union would have been dissolved in its infancy.… I consider, then, the power to annul a law of the United States, assumed by one State, incompatible with the existence of the Union, contradicted expressly by the letter of the Constitution, unauthorized by its spirit, inconsistent with every principle on which it was founded, and destructive of the great object for which it was formed….

Tariffs & Nullification – South Carolina’s View In the great struggle in which we are engaged for the preservation of our rights and liberties, it is my fixed determination to assert and uphold the sovereign authority of the State, and to enforce … her sovereign will. I recognize no allegiance as paramount to that which the citizens of South Carolina owe to the State of their birth … South Carolina is solicitous to preserve the Constitution as our fathers framed it – according to its true spirit, intent, and meaning; but she is inflexibly determined never to surrender her reserved rights, nor to suffer the constitutional compact to be converted into an instrument for the oppression of her citizens. Governor Robert Hayne (December 1832)

Tariffs & Nullification

Second Bank of the U.S. – Jackson’s Views It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes. … In the full enjoyment of the gifts of Heaven and the fruits of superior industry, economy, and virtue, every man is equally entitled to protection by law; but when the laws undertake to add to these natural and just advantages artificial distinctions, to grant titles, gratuities, and exclusive privileges, to make the rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble members of society-the farmers, mechanics, and laborers-who have neither the time nor the means of securing like favors to themselves, have a right to complain of the injustice of their Government. There are no necessary evils in government. Its evils exist only in its abuses. If it would confine itself to equal protection, and, as Heaven does its rains, shower its favors alike on the high and the low, the rich and the poor, it would be an unqualified blessing. In the act before me there seems to be a wide and unnecessary departure from these just principles….

Boston Newspapers Support the Bank The national bank, though not properly a political institution, is one of the most important and valuable instruments that are used in the practical administration of the government.... As the fiscal agent of the executive, it has exhibited a remarkable intelligence, efficiency, energy, and above all, INDEPENDENCE. This...has been its real crime. As the regulator of the currency, it has furnished the country with a safe, convenient and copious circulating medium, and prevented the mischiefs that would otherwise result from the insecurity of local banks. As a mere institution for loaning money, it has been...the Providence of the less wealthy sections of the Union....Through its dealings in exchange at home and abroad, the bank has materially facilitated the operations of our foreign and domestic trade. The important advantages which have thus been derived from this institution have been unattended by any countervailing evil. Boston Daily Advertiser (1832)

Second Bank of the U.S.

Before we leave… • Be sure to complete Homework 8 for next Monday’s lesson if you have not already done so • Plan on retaking quiz #3 on the day of the unit test (December 4) and begin reviewing for the test over the Thanksgiving break

Andrew Jackson: The Common Man’s President