The Jacksonian Era

1. The Jacksonian Era AP History I

2. An Expanding Nation with a Significant Problem • Most Americans were pleased by the nation’s growth and physical expansion in an era a great nationalism. • There was, however, one big problem . . .

3. Missouri Controversy • In 1819, Missouri requested admittance into the union. • NY Congressman James Tallmage moved that slavery be limited and, eventually, outlawed in Missouri. • A debate raged in Congress.

4. Missouri Compromise of 1820 • Missouri admitted as a slave state. • Maine admitted as a free state. • 36 30’ Line • No new slave states above • New states could have slavery below

5. John Qunicy Adams and “Improvement” • As president, the professorial Adams pursued a nationalist program to expand the federal governments contributions to economic development. • Embraced “American System” • Encouraged education, construction of lighthouses, and even an astronomical observatory

6. Election of 1824 Legitimate 5-way race exposed divisions within Jeffersonian Republican Party. Jackson got most popular and electoral votes, but no one got a majority. John Qunicy Adams, with the critical support of Henry Clay, won the election in the House of Representatives. JQA made Clay Secretary of State.

7. A Corrupt Bargain? Jackson’s supporters angrily accused Adams of stealing the election in a “corrupt bargain” with Clay. The Jacksonians formed the Democratic Party in opposition to JQA and the National Republicans.

8. 1828 Election • JQA had a difficult, unpopular presidency, opposed by Jacksonian Democrats in Congress at every turn • The JQA-Jackson match-up was a study in contrasts • Old v. new • Intellectual v. emotional • Aristocracy v. commoners “A man who quotes law, or a man who makes law?” -- Jackson campaign slogan

9. Andrew Jackson the Person • Orphaned at a young age • A “rollicking, cock-fighting” youth • War of 1812 hero – New Orleans • Celebrated Indian fighter • Adopted Creek boy whose parents had been massacred by his own forces • Forced Spanish to give up Florida in 1819 • Dueler • Rose from humble beginnings to become a successful Tennessee lawyer Slave owner – reportedly wagered them on horse races

10. Andrew Jackson the Politician • democratic philosophy – authoritarian style • Demanded strict loyalty from his advisors • Took political battles personally • Refused to pay customary courtesy call on outgoing President J. Q. Adams(JQA, in turn, declined to attend Jackson’s inauguration) • Tended to identify his own will with the will of the people – truly saw himself as the defender of the “common man”

11. The Little Magician • Instrumental in both Jackson’s election and presidency • Devised strategy to help Jackson appeal to Northerners and thereby temper sectionalism in 1828 election • Tariff of 1828 • Engineered resolution of “Peggy Eaton Affair” and became Jackson’s heir-apparent

12. “Jacksonian Democracy” • Popular campaigning • Party politics • Emotional appeal WHY? • Changes in electorate (those who vote) • Universal white male suffrage • Jackson appealed to the average farmer and the working class

13. Jackson’s Inauguration • Jackson’s adoring supporters streamed into Washington to celebrate his inauguration. • A rowdy post-inauguration party at the White House gave further ammunition to Jackson’s detractors who looked down upon the “common” Jacksonian “rabble.”

14. Mob Rule?

15. The “Spoils System” • Name comes from the saying: “To the victor go the spoils.” • Jackson asserted the right to replace all current federal employees (bureaucrats) after taking office. • What reasoning did he give? • Could he have had an ulterior motive?

16. Peggy Eaton Affair Rachel Jackson Peggy Eaton

17. Jacksonian Principles • Majority rule • States’ rights • Defense of common people against “monied aristocracy”

18. Vice President John C. Calhoun • A proud South Carolinian • Published Exposition and Protest, which supported the Doctrine of Nullification, in 1828 “We are not a nation but a Union, a confederacy of equal and sovereign states.” -- John C. Calhoun

19. Webster – Hayne Debate (1830) • The centerpiece of a growing national debate over the concept of nullification • Sen. Daniel Webster (MA) took on Sen. Robert Hayne (SC) in an extended debate on the US Senate floor. • Nothing was settled, but the national debate over states’ rights v. federal power intensified.

20. “Liberty and Union – Now and Forever, One and Inseparable!”

21. Nullification Crisis (1832) • Following the doctrine of nullification supported by Calhoun, South Carolina “nullified” the hated Tariff of 1828 (“Tariff of Abominations”) • Jackson’s Dilemma: • Majority rule v. states’ rights • SC threatened secession • Jackson secured passage of a Force Bill providing for federal enforcement of the tariff. • A compromise was engineered and SC backed down.

22. Second National Bank • Jackson saw the bank as serving the interests of the “monied aristocracy.” • He also saw it as unconstitutional.

23. “Bank War”: National Bank Recharter Battle • Congressional Whigs, led by Clay and Webster, passed a bill to recharter the national bank in 1832. • Whigs hoped to make Jackson’s opposition to the bank a political issue in the 1832 election. • Jackson vetoed the National Bank recharter bill. • Jackson vetoed a total of 12 bills during his presidency. All previous presidents combined had vetoed just 9. Nicholas Biddle

24. Jackson’s National Bank Veto Message It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes. Distinctions in society will always exist under every just government. Equality of talents, of education, or of wealth can not be produced by human institutions. 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.

25. The “Bank War” Continues • Jackson’s veto of the bank recharter bill didn’t put the issue to rest • The old charter didn’t run out until 1836. What did Jackson do? • Declaring “the bank is trying to kill me, but I will kill it,”Jackson withdrew the federal govt’s money from the bank. What effects did Jackson’s action have?

26. Congress’ Censure of President Jackson • The Whig-led Congress probably wanted to impeach Jackson, but he was too popular. • Instead, Henry Clay introduced a censure resolution, which passed the Senate by a vote of 26-20. • It said Jackson had “assumed upon himself power not conferred by the Constitution and laws.”

27. “Oh, if I live to get these robes of office off me, I will bring the rascal to a dear account!” --Andrew Jackson

28. Jacksonian Indian Policy • Jackson, of course, had a history with Indians. • When the State of Georgia tried to evict the Indians of the Cherokee nation, therefore, Jackson’s reaction was predictable. • The Cherokee fought back, however . . .

29. Indian Removal Act (1830) The act provided for the removal of Indians from land that could be used to expand white settlements. In a speech defending the act, Jackson said: “[It] will separate the Indian from immediate contact with settlements of whites, enable them to pursue happiness in their own way and under their own rude institutions, will retard the progress of decay, which is lessening their numbers, and perhaps cause them gradually, under the protection of the government and through the influence of good counsel, to cast off their savage habits and become an interesting, civilized, and Christian community.”

30. Worcester v. Georgia (1834) • Case involved the arrest of missionary Samuel Worcester for violating a GA law against whites living among Indians. • The US Supreme Court ruled that the State of GA had no jurisdiction over the independent Cherokee Nation.

31. The Ongoing Cherokee Controversy • The USSC’s ruling in Worcester v. Georgia appeared to mean that the Cherokee could not legally be removed since they were an independent nation. • How did Jackson respond?

32. Trail of Tears (1838)

33. Jackson’s Specie Circular (1836) • After Jackson “killed” the National Bank, smaller banks (no longer being regulated by the National Bank) printed excessive amounts of paper money. • Serious inflation problem resulted • Jackson’s “Specie Circular” required payment for public lands to be in hard currency only. • What effect did the Specie Circular have?

34. Panic of 1837 • The Specie Circular resulted in Americans turning in their paper money for hard currency. • Banks failed when the demand became too great. • The worst economic collapse in the country’s short history ensued. • Unemployment rose to near 50% in some areas. Who was blamed?

35. Martin van Buren • New Yorker and Jackson’s hand-picked successor • popularly referred to as Martin “van Ruin” as Panic of 1837 intensified

36. Second Two-party System • DEMOCRATS – limited government • Jacksonians • dominated much of South and West • pro-slavery • suspicious of “wealthy elite” • anti-moralist • states’ rights advocates

37. Second Two-party System • WHIGS – activist government • most popular in Northeast • more supportive of federal govt. measures designed to encourage economic growth like the national bank and internal improvements (Henry Clay’s American System) • moralism (“Conscience Whigs” supported moral reforms like temperance and anti-slavery measures.)

38. Election of 1840 • Van Buren v. William Henry Harrison • Indian-war-hero Harrison (“Old Tippecanoe”), with his “Log Cabin and Hard Cider” campaign, was able to beat the Jacksonian Democrats at their own game.

39. Harrison Campaign Poster How is Harrison being presented? What does the symbolism mean?

40. Harrison Campaign Poster What message does this poster convey?

41. Transcendentalism • An American philosophical movement • led by Ralph Waldo Emerson • To find truth, look inward and to nature. • Emphasis on the significance and the personal growth of the individual (but not in a selfish or materialistic sense) • Can be seen as a reaction against the man-made shallowness of the new industrial world. What does “individualism” mean to you?

42. Random Emerson Quote

43. Henry David Thoreau • Follower/student/houseguest of Emerson • Sought to put Emerson’s philosophy into action • Walden, published in 1854

44. Henry David Thoreau I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. -- from Walden, 1854

45. Hudson River School Thomas Cole • A “school” of American artists who painted the American landscape • Influenced by Transcendentalism

46. Hudson River School Frederic Church, Twilight in the Wilderness Frederic Church, Niagara Falls Asher Durand, Kindred Spirits

47. Emerson’s “American Scholar” • How does Emerson view Europe? • How does he view America? • What, to Emerson, is “freedom”? • What act of scholarly bravery or “manliness” does Emerson urge American intellectuals to perform?

48. Second Great Awakening • C. 1840 • Charles G. Finney, Rochester Revival • Collective Salvation • save all of society in order to save self • Milennialism • society’s ills must be cured to pave the way for second coming of Christ What effects might the philosophy of collective salvation have?

49. Charles Grandison Finney and the Second Great Awakening Philosophy • What, according to Finney, is the primary trait of a sinner? What is the primary trait of a faithful person? • Why does Finney use the language of democracy to make his religious points? • How would you expect a follower of Finney to affect American politics and government?

50. Utopian Communities How unusual were utopian communities? Why did so many develop in the Antebellum era? Why did they develop in America? • The reformist impulse of the Second Great Awakening era spawned a variety of Utopian communities. • These communities sought, each in their own way, to establish an ideal society.