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A White Man’s Country. The Contradictions of Jacksonian E ra. Example: The Dorr War (1841) Most states remove property qualifications Meaning most white men can vote Not Rhode Island Site of growing factory production Many propertyless workers. Reformers call a “People’s Convention”
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The Contradictions of Jacksonian Era • Example: The Dorr War (1841) • Most states remove property qualifications • Meaning most white men can vote • Not Rhode Island • Site of growing factory production • Many propertyless workers
Reformers call a “People’s Convention” • Gives all white men right to vote • Takes away right from black men • They elect lawyer Thomas Dorr governor
Pres. John Tyler crushes rebellion • Dorr goes to jail for treason • Legislature removes property qualifications for black and white
Conundrum of Jacksonian Democracy • Expanding democracy • Expanding slavery in the cotton kingdom • Racist Andrew Jackson icon of the era • By 1840, 90% of white men could vote
Big Picture • Jefferson succeeded by Madison and Monroe • Still from the revolutionary generation • Decolonization in South America • Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, etc. get independence
Big Picture • Bank of United States acts as government’s financial arm • Semi-private institution • Akin to Federal Reserve today • Prints, lends money
Problems with the Bank • Constitutional doubts • Helps fuel boom/bust, lending to fund western expansion • Panic of 1819 • Debtors over-extended • Want relief • Some states help debtors at expense of creditos • Raises suspicion of banks
Problems with Expansion • Missouri fiasco splits North and South • Problem of dividing up Louisiana Purchase • Slave or free? • Already slaves there
The Missouri Compromise • Compromise: • Maine admitted as free state • Missouri as slave • Slavery prohibited in all territory north of 36°30′ latitude • Guys like Jefferson and John Quincy Adams knew it was a danger to the Union
Andrew Jackson • Hero of New Orleans/War of 1812 • Ran for president in 1824 • Won popular vote but failed to win majority in Electoral College
Lost to John Quincy Adams • Son of 2nd president • aristocratic New Englander • intellectual • not a very good politician • wanted the govt to do a lot
Jackson Strikes Back • 1828 victory revolutionizes politics • Well-organized political parties • Founding of Democratic Party • Most white men can vote • Patronage
Jackson’s Ideas • Limited government • Popular participation in govt for white men • Opportunity for whites, but definitely not Indians and blacks
Democrats Worry about Inequality • Industrialization, growing commerce • Suspicion toward bankers, merchants, speculators • Supported by small farmers, aspiring businessmen, urban workers
New Opposition: the Whig Party • Believed in progress • Tariff to protect industries • Active federal govt • Tended to be supported by rich planters, already-successful merchants and bankers, Northerners
Battles of the Jackson Era • Southerners didn’t like tariff, threaten “nullification”
Indian Removal • Expansion of cotton production • Pushes into Indian lands in the South • Cherokees, Choctaws and other “civilized tribes” screwed • Georgia expels them
The Trail of Tears • Supreme Court (1832): removal violates treaties with federal govt • “John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it” – Jackson • 18,000 Cherokees forced to move in 1838-9 • 1/4 die on the wayto Oklahoma
Seminoles in FL Keep Fighting • Second Seminole War (1835-1842) • Indians, escaped slaves join forces • 1,500 US soldiers die • Similar # of Seminoles • Most forced to leave
The Bank War • Bank of US helped finance expansion • People suspicious of its power and authority • Led by a big snob from Philly named Nicholas Biddle
Bank charter to expire in 1836 • Jackson vetoed bill to extend it • Saw it as tool of the “rich and powerful”
Jackson puts $$$ into state banks w/ political connections • They start printing money recklessly, causing speculation and inflation • Economic crash in England causes Panic of 1837 • Followed by deep depression
First Whig president elected in 1840 • Another military hero: William Henry Harrison • Dies in office after thirty days • Total fiasco • His successor disagrees with Whigs on everything
Recap: What the Hell Happened? • Democratization mostly benefits white men • Economic growth, westward expansion on the backs of Indians and slaves