Age of Jackson
- 1. A New Kind of Politics in America Created by: Mark Freeman and Eric Haggard, O’Banion M.S.
- 2. AGE OF JACKSON POLITICS • In 1819, members of Congress began to meet in the new capital. The British had burned down the previous capital five years earlier. • It appeared that new arguments would soon take the place of the “Era of Good Feelings”. • The differences between those which represented the different regions of the country was widening. Inside the Rebuilt Capital in 1819 The Capital Today
- 3. SECTIONALISM • Sectionalism is a loyalty to local interest, and in 1820s, it began to replace nationalism as the mood of congress. • Whether it was the south’s farming, the north’s manufacturing, or the West’s desire for cheap land, congressional representatives for each region began to maneuver and push for their region’s short term goals. The long term care of the nation was of little concern.
- 4. • The debates of Sectionalism came to a head with the Missouri Compromise of 1820. • The were 11 slave states and 11 free states (states were slaves were not allowed) in 1820, when Missouri applied to be a state. • Congress argued and debated for months, until Maine also applied to be a state. Henry Clay proposed that Maine be a free state and Missouri be admitted as a slave state. • In addition, slavery would be banned to the north of Missouri’s southern border. Henry Clay MISSOURI COMPROMISE
- 7. ELECTION OF 1824 • As James Monroe left office, the republican party split apart as four men fought for the presidency. • As the election ended, Andrew Jackson had the most electoral votes, but he did not have a majority. Therefore the vote went to the House of Representatives. • The Constitution orders that when this happens, the House of Representatives must vote from the top 3 vote getters. • The 4th place finisher was Henry Clay. Clay, like Jackson, was from the West, and most expected him to support Jackson. However, he shocked Jackson by supporting John Quincy Adams (who named him Secretary of State). • Throughout his presidency, John Quincy Adams fought and argued with congress. He was able to do very little as president. He was a stubborn man, much like his father, and he was easily defeated in the next election.
- 8. ELECTION OF 1828 A D A M S V S J A C K S O N II • The election of 1828 was a rematch between John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson. • Supporters of Jackson portrayed Adams as corrupt and only helping the rich. In contrast Adams Supporters portrayed Jackson as a gambler and a drunk. • Jackson won the election in a landside. • Common people from all over had suddenly started to participate in their right of suffrage. • Jacksonian Democracy had begun.
- 9. JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY • As Andrew Jackson prepared to take office, a fresh democratic spirit began to grip the country. • In previous elections many states demanded land ownership before voting was allowed. (See next slide.) Laws such as this began to change. Electors in the Electoral College began to be chosen by people instead of legislators. • A new trust in common people began to grow in the country. For the first time, Americans began to think of themselves equal to those which they used to consider their “betters”.
- 10. 1790 WMA 21 yrs. old, educated and property owner……. voting Land easy to obtain, property qualifications and education dropped.
- 11. • • • • JACKSON’S INNAUGURATION On March 4, 1829, Andrew Jackson was sworn in as President. He was the first president from West, and he had been nominated by a national convention. Many say he was the first president truly elected by the people. Jackson had risen up from a hard childhood. He had not always been wealthy. People truly identified with him. The inauguration was held outside because so many had attended to see the hero take office. He had been a farmer, a lawyer, a congressman, a general, a hero and now he was president.
- 12. • As Andrew Jackson became president he began a new era in politics. • He began by firing hundreds of government employees. • He then replaced all of those jobs with friends and supporters. This method of rewarding supporters is called: The Spoils System. ( “To the victor goes the spoils”) • He also had an informal group of advisors that served as a kind of cabinet that Congress did not approve known as “The Kitchen Cabinet” by Jackson’s critics. ANDREW JACKSON’S PRESIDENCY
- 13. INDIAN POLICY UNDER JACKSON • For many years, the government had made treaties and agreements with Indian tribes. Some Indian even agreed to settle down and become farmers and adopt the “white man’s way of life”, even owning slaves in some cases. Soon however, the white settlers wanted the Indian land. They rarely accepted the Indians as equals, so they sought out a way to get the land. • When Jackson became President, many tribes were forced to go West, past the Mississippi. Some tribes went, but others resisted. The Sauk and Fox Indians fought, but they were defeated by the U.S. army during the Black Hawk War. The U.S. army even tricked the Seminole chief Osceola and his warriors into being captured under a white flag.
- 14. TRAIL OF TEARS •When the Cherokee were forced to leave, instead of fighting, they appealed to the supreme court because of a treaty they signed which gave them the land. •The Supreme Court sided with the Indians and said they could not be removed. Jackson, however, ignored the supreme court, and forced them to move anyway. •The Cherokee were forced to move in the middle of winter to Oklahoma. The forced trip became known as the “Trail of Tears” because more than 3,700 Cherokee died. John Marshall
- 15. • John C. Calhoun was Vice President under Jackson. DOCTRINE OF • Because many people in the South NULLIFICATION were so angry about government tariffs that supported the North, he proposed the doctrine of nullification. • This doctrine stated that Congress could not pass laws which favored any one area of the country over another. • When it did, he said, that state had the right to declare the law “null and void” in that state. John C. Calhoun • The Doctrine of Nullification was another challenge of state vs. federal power.
- 16. THREATS TO THE UNION •Political Cartoon drawn by an 8th grader, about the Nullification Crisis of 1832. • Andrew Jackson suggested that the tariffs be lowered. • Congress did lower the tariffs, but South Carolina and Calhoun felt they were still too high. • South Carolina threatened that if the tariffs remained, they would secede, or leave the U.S. • Jackson said he would send troops to South Carolina, and the country came close to civil war over states rights. • However, Henry Clay stepped in with a compromise. He proposed a lowering of the tariffs over 10 years. • South Carolina stayed in the Union and no blood was shed.
- 17. SECTIONALISM AND FINANCES Even though the different areas of the country were having political differences, they still depended upon or were affected by each other. Here are a few examples NORTH The north needed the raw materials from the South and the West to produce goods in their factories. SOUTH The South needed those in the North to purchase raw materials and keep tariffs low so they could trade with other countries as cheaply as possible. WEST The West needed transportation lanes to be expanded with government money. This money came primarily from the tariffs charged to the south.
- 18. • The greatest controversy of Jackson’s Presidency was his fight against the United States Bank. • Jackson felt that the bank was great evil, so when Congress passed the renewal of the bank, Jackson vetoed the bill. • To starve the national bank out of existence, Jackson created 29 little “pet” banks and took all federal money out of the national bank. • These banks had mixed results. It caused much more expansion to the West, but land speculation / credit loans and badly managed pet banks caused problems with U.S. economy that would soon cause hard times. THE BANK DEBATES King Andrew I, political cartoon of Andrew Jackson
- 19. JACKSON LEAVES OFFICE Martin Van Buren • Andrew Jackson was nearly 70 when he left office. His last act in government was to use his popularity to help win the 1837 election for a supporter named Martin Van Buren. • Jackson said he had only two regrets in office. He regretted that he had not shot Henry Clay and hung John Calhoun. • However, he was able to retire knowing that his political party, the democrats (formerly the democratic republicans) were still in power.