The Jacksonian Era

The Jacksonian Era The Age of Democracy and The Common Man

Timeline of Events • 1824 • Owen’s New Harmony founded • 1826 • American Temperance Society founded • 1828 • Andrew Jackson elected President • Tariff of Abominations • Railroad construction begins • American Peace Society founded

Timeline of Events • 1830 • Indian Removal Act • Webster-Hayne Debate • Mormon Church founded

Timeline of Events • 1833 • Jackson destroys the Second Bank of the United States • Beginning of the penny press • American Antislavery Society founded • Force Bill

Timeline of Events • 1836 • Texas gains independence • Charter of BUS expires • Martin Van Buren elected President • Alamo

Timeline of Events • 1837 • Panic of 1837 • Plank Roads built • Steam powered threshers in use • John Deere’s steel plow in use • Horace Mann begins school reform

Election of 1828 • Opponents • Andrew Jackson 178 • John Quincy Adams 83 • Jackson wins the election and becomes the 7th President of the United States

Election of 1828 • Jackson felt Adams was an intellectual elitist • Jackson portrayed himself as a “common man” • Jackson in reality was a wealthy plantation owner • Record number of people went to Washington, D.C. to see the inauguration of “Old Hickory”

Spoils System • Jackson knew how to inspire loyalty and enthusiasm • He knew how to use the powers of the presidency • “To the victor belong the spoils of the enemy”

Andrew Jackson

Appointed people to federal jobs for a maximum of 4 years otherwise they may become corrupt or inefficient Jackson replaced officials of the federal government with his own friends Spoils System

He fired about 10% of the federal employees (mostly people appointed during the Adams administration) He gave the jobs to loyal Jacksonians He also had the “kitchen cabinet”, his loyal friends who would advise him on presidential matters Spoils System

Jackson & Native Americans • Who were the five civilized tribes? • Creek • Choctaw • Chickasaw • Cherokee • Seminole

Jackson & Native Americans • What areas did they occupy? • Large areas of Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Florida

Jackson & Native Americans • What were Jackson’s views concerning the Native Americans? • He believed that the tribes could never be assimilated into European ways • By allowing the Native Americans to live in their original areas would require too many troops to protect them • The only possible solution was to move them to areas in the west

Indian Removal Act • 1830 • Passed by Congress • Provided federal funds to negotiate treaties that would force Native Americans to move west • 90 treaties were signed • Jackson forced the Choctaw to sign a treaty that required them to move from Mississippi

Indian Removal Act • 1831 • Jackson ordered U.S. troops to forcibly remove the Sauk and Fox from their native lands in Illinois and Missouri • 1832 • Jackson forced the Chickasaw to leave their lands in Alabama and Mississippi

Cherokee Fight Back • Cherokees led by John Ross take the fight to the Supreme Court • In Worcester v. Georgia, 1832, the Cherokee won recognition as a distinct political community • The Court ruled that Georgia was not entitled to regulate the Cherokee nor to invade their lands

Cherokee Fight Back • Jackson refused to abide by the Court’s ruling stating “John Marshall has made his decision: now let him enforce it.”

Cherokee Fight Back • 1835 • John Ross, the Cherokee leader, still tried to fight in court • Some Cherokee promoted relocation and federal agents chose to recognize those that did as the true representatives of the tribe

Cherokee Lose the Battle • Treaty of New Echota • Cherokees’ last 8 million acres are given to the federal government for $5 million and • land west of the • Mississippi River

Cherokee Lose the Battle • 1838 • About 20,000 Cherokee are still living in Georgia • Jackson’s successor, Martin Van Buren orders their forced removal

Trail of Tears

Trail of Tears • October and November 1838 • Cherokee were sent off in groups of 1,000 • 800 mile trip was made partly by steamboat, railroad and mostly by walking • Many Cherokee died on the trip

Trail of Tears • Government officials stole their money • Bandits made off with their livestock • About 25% of the people who made the journey died • Cherokee receive inferior land when they reached their destination

Tariff and State’s Rights • Tariff of 1816 was passed to protect American goods • 1824 was raised • 1828 was raised again • John C. Calhoun, Jackson’s vice president, called the 1828 tariff a ”Tariff of Abominations” because it hurt the south economically by making them have to purchase the more costly Northern goods

Nullification Theory • Developed by John C. Calhoun as a response to the Tariff of Abominations • This theory questioned the legality of applying some federal laws to the sovereign states

Nullification Theory • Calhoun believed that since the Constitution had be ratified by “sovereign states” then they also had the right to nullify, or reject, a federal law they considered unconstitutional • This theory was part of The South Carolina Exposition and Protest, a document to which Calhoun conveniently did not sign his name

Webster-Hayne Debate Daniel Webster Robert Hayne

Webster-Hayne Debate • One of the greatest debates in American history • January 1830 • Opponents • Robert Hayne of South Carolina • Daniel Webster of Massachusetts • Debate was over the tariff question and the underlying states’ rights issue

Nullification Issue • Congress passes the Tariff of 1832 • South Carolina declares the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 “null” and therefore “void” • South Carolina threatens to secede from the Union if customs officials try to collect duties • Jackson is furious, threatens to place South Carolina under federal troops if they did not comply

Nullification Issue • Congress passes the Force Bill of 1833 - allowed the federal government to use the army and navy against South Carolina if states authorities resisted paying the duties • Henry Clay – “The Great Compromiser” steps in and proposed a tariff which would reduce duties over a ten year period

National Bank Controversy

National Bank Controversy • Jackson vetoes the bill to recharter the Second Bank of the United States (BUS) - 1832 • He opposes the bank because he believes it to be a privileged institution • Second Bank had an unfair advantage over other banks (state banks) • BUS extended courtesies to the “privileged few” usually congressman

Pet Banks • BUS was a “monster” that corrupted “our statesmen” and wanted “to destroy our republican institution” • Jackson had his secretary of the treasury take the money from the BUS and place it in state banks or “pet banks” • 1836 – charter runs out and BUS becomes another Philadelphia bank • 5 years later it goes out of business

Wildcat Banks • Jackson deposited federal money in pet banks – some were “wildcat” banks • Wildcat banks printed money in excess of what gold and silver they had on hand • Notes printed by these banks were practically worthless • Federal government lost money when people used the notes to buy land

Panic Begins • Jackson has Treasury Department issue an order that made “specie” (gold or silver) the only acceptable form of payment for government land • Order goes into affect of August 15, 1836 • Banks could not handle the flow of people wanting gold and silver so they suspended redemption of bank notes

Panic of 1837 • May 1837 • New York banks stop accepting paper currency • Banks begin closing • Credit system collapses • People lose their entire savings • Hundreds of businesses go bankrupt • 1/3 of the population ends up out of work

Whig Party Forms • Formed in 1834 by Henry Clay, John Quincy Adams and Daniel Webster • Backed the ideas of the American System • Wanted a protective tariff • Wanted to use federal money to build roads and canals • Backed federal control of the national banking system and a national currency

Whig Party Forms Henry Clay Daniel Webster John Quincy Adams

Van Buren Becomes President • Jackson will not run for a 3rd term • Martin Van Buren is Jackson’s hand picked choice to become president • Whig Party runs 3 different candidates from the different regions • Van Buren win easily

Van Buren Tries to Help • Van Buren reduces government spending • Declining prices drop even further • Set up an independent treasury that would use only gold and silver coin • 1840 Congress creates this treasury but it only makes matters worse

“Tippecanoe and Tyler, too” William Henry Harrison John Tyler

“Tippecanoe and Tyler, too” • Election of 1840 • William Henry Harrison 234 • Martin Van Buren 60 • James G. Birney 0 • Harrison a war hero is portrayed as a man of the people even though he was from a wealthy family • Harrison wins

Harrison’s Short Presidency • Harrison takes steps to revitalize the economy • Harrison rides to inauguration without a coat on and catches pneumonia • Harrison dies one month into his presidency • John Tyler becomes president

Tyler’s Presidency • Opposes many of the ideas put forth in the Whig program • Obtained the nickname “His Accidency” because he disagreed with the Whig program for economic reform

Second Great Awakening • Charles Grandison Finney, a preacher, was one of the most fervent leaders of this religious revival • Emphasized individual responsibility for seeking salvation • Insisted people could improve themselves and society • 4 to 5 day revivals were held so that participants could study the Bible and examine their souls

Second Great Awakening Charles Grandison Finney

African-American Churches • Second Great Awakening brought Christianity on a large scale to slaves • Belief that all people – black or white – belonged to God • Baptists and Methodists opened their churches to blacks and whites • Slaves listened to the same messages as their masters but interpreted it differently – as a promise for freedom for their people

AME Church • Richard Allen opens the Bethel African Church in Philadelphia in 1816

The Jacksonian Era