The Corrupt Bargain of 1824: Rise of a Mass Democracy

1. Chapter 13 The Rise of a Mass Democracy, 1824–1840

2. I. The “Corrupt Bargain” of 1824 • Corrupt bargain (1824) last old-style election • James Monroe, last Virginia dynast, completed his second term; four new candidates: • John Quincy Adams-Mass., highly intelligent, experienced, and aloof • Henry Clay-Kentucky, the gamy and gallant “Harry of the West” • William H. Crawford-Georgia, an able though ailing giant of a man • Andrew Jackson-Tenn., gaunt, gutsy hero of New Orl.

3. I. The “Corrupt Bargain” of 1824(cont.) • Four candidates: • All four rivals professed to be “Republicans.” • Results of the campaign: • Jackson, the war hero, had the strongest personal appeal, especially in the West • Polled as many popular votes as his next two rivals combined, but failed to win the majority of the electoral vote (see Table 13:1) • The deadlock must be broken by the House of Representatives by the 12th Amendment

4. I. The “Corrupt Bargain” of 1824 (cont.) • Twelfth Amendment (see Appendix) • They must choose among the top three candidates • Clay was eliminated, who was Speaker of the House • Clay could throw his vote to whoever he chose • Crawford, felled by a paralytic stroke, out of the picture • Clay hated Jackson, his archrival in the West • Jackson bitterly resented Clay’s public denunciation of his Florida foray in 1818 • The only candidate left was the puritanical Adams

5. I. The “Corrupt Bargain” of 1824(cont.) • Clay and Adams: • Both were fervid nationalists and advocates of the American System • Clay met privately with Adams and assured him of his support • Decision day 1825: on the first ballot Adams was elected president • A few days later Adams announced Clay would be the new secretary of state

6. I. The “Corrupt Bargain” of 1824(cont.) • The office of secretary of state: • The prize office then, even more than today • Three preceding secretaries had reached the presidency • It was considered the high cabinet office on the pathway to the White House • According to Jackson’s supporters, Adams had bribed Clay with the position. • Masses of angry common folk denounce “corrupt bargain”

7. Table 13-1 p247

8. II. A Yankee Misfit in the White House • John Quincy Adams: • Came to the presidency with a brilliant record in statecraft, especially foreign affairs • He ranks as one of the most successful secretaries of state, yet one of the least successful presidents • A man of scrupulous honor • Entering the White House under charges of “bargain,” “corruption,” and “usurpation.”

9. II. A Yankee Misfit in the White House (cont.) • Fewer than 1/3 of the voters voted for him • First “minority president”—having difficulty winning the popular support • He did not possess many of the usual arts of the politician and scorned those who did • He had achieved high office by commanding respect rather than by courting popularity • He resolutely declined to oust efficient officeholders in order to create vacancies for his supporters • He only ever removed twelve public servants

10. II. A Yankee Misfit in the White House (cont.) • Nationalist views: • Most people were swinging away from post-Ghent nationalism and toward states’ rights and sectionalism • He swung against the tide toward nationalism • First annual message urged Congress to the construction of roads and canals • He renewed Washington’s proposal for a national university • Went so far as to advocate federal support for an astronomical observatory

11. II. A Yankee Misfit in the White House (cont.) • Public reaction to these proposals was prompt and unfavorable • His land policy antagonized the westerners • He attempted to deal fairly with the Cherokee Indians of Georgia • Nullification of the national will was another nail driven into Adam’s political coffin.

12. III. Going “Whole Hog” for Jackson in 1828 • Adams’ second presidential campaign started on February 9, 1825: • The day of Adams’ controversial election by the House • And continued noisily for nearly four years • The united Republicans under the Era of Good Feeling split: • The National Republicans with Adams • The Democratic-Republicans with Jackson

13. III. Going “Whole Hog” for Jackson in 1828 (cont.) • Mudslinging reached new lows in 1828 • On election day the electorate split on largely sectional lines: • Jackson supporters came from the West and South (see May 13.1) • The middle states/Old Northwest were divided: • Adams won New England and the Northeast • When the popular vote was converted to electoral vote, General Jackson’s triumph could not be denied • Old Hickory had trounced Adams by an electoral count of 178 to 83.

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15. Map 13-1 p250

16. IV. “Old Hickory” as President • Youthful Carolinian moved “up West” to Tennessee: • There—through native intelligence, force of personality, and powers of leadership—he became a judge and a member of Congress • The first president from the West: • The first nominated at a formal party convention (1832)

17. IV. “Old Hickory” as President (cont.) • Only the second without a college education (Washington was the first) • Jackson was unique: • His university was adversity. He had risen from the masses, but he was not one of them, except insofar as he shared many of their prejudices. • Essentially a frontier aristocrat, he owned many slaves, cultivated broad acres, and lived in one of the finest mansions in America—the Hermitage, near Nashville. • Jackson’s inauguration: • Symbolized the ascendancy of the masses. • The White House, for the first time, was thrown open.

18. V. The Spoils System • Spoils System—rewarding political supporters with public office • Was introduced into the federal government on a large scale • Jackson defined it on democratic grounds: • “Every man is as good as his neighbor, perhaps equally better.” • Washington was due for a housecleaning.

19. V. The Spoils System(cont.) • The spoils system was less about finding new blood than about rewarding old cronies. • Scandal accompanied the new system • Those who openly bought their posts by campaign contributions were appointed to high office • Illiterates, incompetents, and plain crooks were given positions of public trust. • Despite its abuse, the spoils system was an important element of the emerging two-party order.

20. VI. The Tricky “Tariff of Abominations” • Tariffs—problem for John Quincy Adams and now for Andrew Jackson: • Tariffs protected American industry against competition from European manufactured goods • But they also drove up prices for all Americans • And invited retaliatory tariffs on American agricultural exports abroad • The middle states had long been supporters of protectionist tariffs

21. VI. The Tricky “Tariff of Abominations” (cont.) • Daniel Webster gave up his traditional defense of free trade to support higher tariffs • In 1824 Congress had increased the general tariff significantly • Jacksonites supported a high-tariff bill • which surprisingly was passed in 1828 • Andrew Jackson inherited the political hot potato • Southerners were hostile to tariffs and branded it the “Tariff of Abominations”

22. VI. The Tricky “Tariff of Abominations” (cont.) • Why did the South react so angrily? • They believed that the “Yankee tariff” discriminated against them • The Old South was falling on hard times, and the tariff provided a convenient and plausible scapegoat • Protectionism protected the Yankee and middle-state manufacturers • The farmers and planters of the Old South felt they were stuck with the bill

23. VI. The Tricky “Tariff of Abominations “(cont.) • Much deeper issues underlay southern outcry: • A growing anxiety about possible federal interference with the institution of slavery • Kindled by congressional debate on the Missouri Compromise • Further fanned by an aborted slave rebellion in Charleston in 1822, led by a black named Denmark Vesey

24. VI. The Tricky “Tariff of Abominations” (cont.) • Abolitionism in America might use the power of the government in Washington to suppress slavery in the South • Now was the time, using the tariff, to take a stand on principle against all federal encroachments on states’ rights • South Carolinians took the lead in protesting against the “Tariff of Abominations” • They published a pamphlet known as The South Carolina Exposition

25. VI. The Tricky “Tariff of Abominations” (cont.) • The South Carolina Exposition: • It was secretly written by John C. Calhoun, one of the few topflight political theorists ever produced by America • It denounced the recent tariff as unjust and unconstitutional • It bluntly and explicitly proposed that the states should nullify the tariff—that is, they should declare it null and void within their borders.

26. Table 13-2 p253

27. VII. “Nullies” in South Carolina • Nullifiers—“nullies”: • Tried to get the 2/3 vote for nullification in the South Carolina legislature • They were blocked by the Unionists-“submission men” • In Washington, Congress tipped the balance by passing the new Tariff of 1832 • The Nullification Crisis deepened • South Carolina was now ready for drastic action • Nullifiers and Unionists clashed in the election of 1832

28. VII. “Nullies” in South Carolina (cont.) • The Nullification Crisis (cont.) • “Nullies” emerged with 2/3 majority vote • The state legislature called for a special session • Several weeks later the delegates, meeting in Columbia, declared the existing tariff null and void in South Carolina • The convention threatened to take South Carolina out of the union if Washington attempted to collect the customs duties by force.

29. VII. “Nullies” in South Carolina(cont.) • Jackson was neither a supporter of the tariff, nor would he permit defiance or disunion: • He threatened to invade the state and have the nullifiers hanged • He issued a ringing proclamation against nullification • If civil war was to be avoided, one side would have to surrender, or both would have to compromise

30. VII. “Nullies” in South Carolina(cont.) • Henry Clay stepped forward: • Not a great supporter of the tariff • But did influence a compromise bill that would gradually reduce the tariff • Congress passed the Force Bill—which authorized the president to use the army and navy if necessary to collect federal tariff duties. • Facing civil war within and invasion from without, the Columbia convention met again and repealed the ordinance of nullification.

31. VII. “Nullies” in South Carolina(cont.) • Neither Jackson nor the “nullies” won a clear-cut victory in 1833 • Clay was the true hero

32. VIII. The Trail of Tears • Jefferson committed to western expansion: • Meant confrontation with the current inhabitants • 125,000 Native Americans lived east of Mississippi • Federal policy toward them varied • 1790s the federal government recognized the tribes as separate nations and agreed to acquire land only through formal treaty • Many whites felt respect and admiration for the Indians and believe they could be assimilated

33. VIII. The Trail of Tears(cont.) • Energy was devoted to “civilizing” and Christianizing the Indians. • In 1878 The Society for the Propagating the Gospel among the Indians was founded. • The federal government appropriated $20,000 for the promotion of literacy and agriculture and vocational instruction among the Indians

34. VIII. The Trail of Tears(cont.) • The Cherokees of George made remarkable efforts to learn the ways of the white • Missionaries opened schools • 1808 the Cherokee National Council legislated a written legal code • Some Cherokees became prosperous cotton planters and even turn to slaveholding • Nearly 13,000 black slaves toiled for their Native American masters in 1820s

35. VIII. The Trail of Tears(cont.) • “Five Civilized Tribes”—Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Seminoles: • Jackson want to open Indian lands to white settlement, refused to recognize the Court’s decisions • To rescue the Indians, Jackson proposed to a bodily removal of the remaining eastern tribes • Emigration was supposed to be voluntary • Jackson’s policy led to uprooting of more than 100,000 Indians

36. VIII. Trails of Tears (cont.) • Indian Removal Act—1830: • The transplantation of all Indian tribes then resident east of the Mississippi (see Map 13.2) • The heaviest blow fell on the Five Civilized Tribes • Many died of forced migration, most notably the Cherokees along the notorious Trail of Tears • The Bureau of Indian Affairs was established in 1836

37. VIII. Trails of Tears(cont.) • Black Hawk War of 1832 was by regular troops and volunteers • In Florida the Seminole Indians joined runaway black slaves; retreated to the Everglades • For seven years (1835-1842) they waged a war that took 15,000 soldiers’ lives • The sprit of the Seminole was broken in 1837

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40. Map 13-2 p258

41. IX. The Bank War • President did not hate all banks and all business, but he distrusted monopolist banking and overbig businesses: • The federal government minted gold and silver coins mid-nineteenth century, but no paper money • Paper money was printed by private banks. • Their value fluctuated with the health of the bank and the amount of money printed.

42. IX. The Bank War(cont.) • The Bank of the United States: • Most powerful bank • It acted like a branch of the government • Principal depository for government funds • Controlled much of the government’s gold and silver • Its notes were stable • A source of credit and stability, it was an important and useful part of the nation’s expanding economy

43. IX. The Bank War(cont.) • But the Bank was a private institution: • Bank President Nicholas Biddle had immense and, to many, unconstitutional power over the nation’s financial affairs • To some the bank seemed to sin against the egalitarian credo of American democracy • This conviction formed the deepest source of Jackson’s opposition • The banks won no friends in the West • Profit, not public service, was its first priority

44. IX. The Bank War(cont.) • The Bank War erupted in 1832: • When Daniel Webster and Henry Clay presented the Congress with a bill to renew the Bank of the United States’ charter • The charter was not to expire until 1836, but Clay pushed for renewal four years early to make it an election issue in 1832 • Clay‘s scheme was to run a recharter bill through Congress and then send it to the White House

45. IX. The Bank War(cont.) • If Jackson signed it, he would alienate his worshipful western followers • If he vetoed it, he would presumably lose the presidency in the upcoming election by alienating the wealthy and influential groups in the East • The recharter bill slid through Congress, but was killed by scorching veto from Jackson

46. IX. The Bank War(cont.) • The Supreme Court declared the monopolistic bank to be constitutional in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) • Jackson’s veto message reverberated with constitutional consequences • But vastly amplified the power of the presidency. • He was arguing that he vetoed because he personally found it harmful to the nation. • He was claiming for the president alone a power equal to 2/3 of the votes in Congress.

47. X. “Old Hickory” Wallops Clay in 1832 • Clay and Jackson were the candidates for the upcoming election in 1832: • For the first time a third party entered the field—the newborn Anti-Masonic party: • They became a political force in New York and spread to the middle Atlantic and New England states • The Anti-Masons appealed to long-standing American suspicions of secret societies • Since Jackson was a Mason, the Anti-Masonic party was also anti-Jackson

48. X. “Old Hickory” Wallops Clay in 1832 (cont.) • Anti-Masons attracted support from many evangelical Protestant groups seeking to use political power to effect moral and religious reforms • Another novelty of the presidential contest in 1832 was the calling of national nominating conventions (three of them) to name candidates • The Anti-Masons and the National Republicans added the formal platform, publicizing their positions on the issues

49. X. “Old Hickory” Wallops Clay in 1832 (cont.) • Clay and National Republicans’ advantages: • They had ample funds, including $50,000 in “life insurance” from the Bank of the United States • Most newspapers editors dipped their pens in acid when they wrote of Jackson • Yet Jackson, idol of the masses, easily defeated the big-money Kentuckian • The popular vote was 687,502 to 530,189 for Jackson—electoral count was 219 to 49

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