Chapter 9 - Jacksonian America
The Rise of Mass Politics
- King “Mob” or pure democracy
The Expanding Electorate
- more white males could and did vote
- property & taxpayer requirements dropped
- led by the western states (Frederick Jackson Turner’s Frontier thesis)
- Rhode Island 1840s > Thomas Dorr & Dorrites wrote a new constitution & formed a second state gov.
- failed, but changes followed
- no women, or slaves could vote; few free blacks (PA repealed votes for blacks)
- no secret ballot
- more electors chosen by popular vote
The Legitimization of Party
- growing interest in politics led to growth of parties
- disregarded Washington
- thought necessary for a democracy
- check & balance each other
- Martin Van Buren led the Albany Regency against De Witt Clinton & his followers from NYC
- loyalty to the party > patronage & power
- anti-Jackson groups > Whigs
- Jacksonians > Democrats
“President of the Common Man”
- equal protection and benefits to white male citizens
- no class or regional differences
- really an attack against the Eastern moneyed &
merchant classes - made the “spoils system” an established part of
Am. Politics
- political conventions replaced congressional caucuses
- an advance of democracy of power from the people
- rhetoric, not reality
“Our Federal Union”
Jackson wanted a weak central gov., but a strong Presidency and to preserve the Union
Calhoun and Nullification
Calhoun led the nullification forces – states formed union & could nullify a federal law it felt was unconst.
- ‘tariff of abominations’ 1828
- secession raised as an issue
- South Carolina stood alone w/o support
The Rise of Van Buren
- from New York (Albany Regency)
- “Kitchen Cabinet”
- Peggy Eaton Affair
The Webster-Hayne Debate
1830 – Hayne from SC hoped to win support for nullification
by supporting land sales in West; against Eastern
interests
- Daniel Webster answered by defending the Union &
debating the issue of states’ rights
o “Second Reply to Hayne”
o “Liberty and Union, now and for ever, one and inseparable!”
- Jackson supported Union “Our Federal Union – It must be preserved.”
- Calhoun – “The Union – next to our liberty most dear.”
o Eaton affair and nullification cost him presidency
The Nullification Crisis - 1832
- SC nullified tariffs
- Jackson took military action
o Force bill
- Clay “The Great Compromiser” – lower rates slowly
The Removal of the Indians
Jackson wanted them moved West out of the way
n White Attitudes Toward the Tribes
- “noble savage” à “savage”
- whites wanted land & feared continuing conflict
- Supreme Court recognized local tribes as sovereign
- Jackson and others refused this idea
- large tribal org. were a new idea to Indians
n The Black Hawk War
- caused by Indians moving back into Illinois; rejecting treaty signed by a rival faction
- whites feared new Indian invasion
n Sauk and Fox Indians Defeated
- vicious treatment eliminated most of them
n The “Five Civilized Tribes”
n Agrarian Tribes of the South
(Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctow)
n Removal Act
- new treaties with remaining tribes to move west
- state and federal gov. wanted them moved
n Cherokee Resistance
- Cherokee Nation v. Georgia and Worcester v. Georgia
- Jackson needed Southern and Western support in Washington
n Trails of Tears
- General Winfield Scott and 7,000 soldiers
n Indian Removal 1838
- some Cherokees fled into North Carolina (Smokey Mtns.)
- fed gov provided a small reservation – still there today
- the rest forced to move to Indian Territory (Oklahoma)
- thousands died
- most of the Five Civilized Tribes were forced to go
n The Seminole War 1835-1842
- many moved to OK
- some under Osceola fought back; aided by escaped slaves
- used the Everglades and guerilla warfare
- costly war
n The Meaning of Removal
n Alternatives to Removal
- living side by side had existed before
- reservations for control and protection
- hard to keep whites from moving west
- attitudes toward Indians had changedà removal
n Jackson and the Bank War
n Jackson’s Opposition to Concentrated Power
- disliked the Eastern aristocracy or the fed gov role in econ.
- Maysville Road Project vetoed
- lay only in Kentucky & expensive
n Biddle’s Institution
- powerful, national institution
- only place that the Fed Gov could deposit money
- Fed Gov controlled 1/5 of the bank
- issued credit(loans) & bank notes (medium of exchange)
- restraining effects on unregulated state banks
- sound financial base for the country
n Nicholas Biddle
n Hard and Soft Money
- state banks wanted more money in circulation without gold or silver
- didn’t like paper money; only specie
n Jackson’s Veto
- personally didn’t like paper money
- politically, needed western support
- Webster and Clay made the Bank’s renewal charter the campaign issue of 1832
n The “Monster” Destroyed
n Removal of Government Deposits
- Fed Gov removed deposits
- two Secretaries of the Treasury refused à lead to economic destabilization
- both fired and replaced by Roger B. Taney (ally and friend)
- money put into state or “pet” banks
n The Taney Court
-Taney appointed Chief Justice after Marshall’s death
n Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge
- changed contract law in the public interest
- economic opportunity was the goal of democracy
n The Changing Face of American Politics
- national political leaders opposed to Jackson’s tyrannical rule
n Democrats and Whigs
n Democrats’ Emphasis on Opportunity
- expanding economic opportunities and pol. opport. for white males
- limited role of gov.
- defending the Union & attacking privilege
“Locofocos” – strong attacks on privilege
n Whigs’ Call for Economic Union
- expansion of fed gov’s power, industrial & commercial dev., uniting the country into one economic system
- fearful of expansion and instability
n Anti-Masons
- democratic and against secret society – Freemasons
- William Morgan’s disappearance