The Rise of a Mass Democracy

1824 – 1830

Politics for the People

• By 1820s, aristocracy was frowned upon & democracy was respectable

• Emphasis on common people– Davy Crockett – (semiliterate & elected to

Congress)

• However, most high offices continued to be filled by “leading citizens”

Views of Democracy• Jeffersonian

– People should be governed as little as possible

• Jacksonian – Whatever governing was to be done

should be done directly by the people

• The New Democracy– Gov’t in the hands of the

common people– Based on universal white

manhood suffrage

Causes of this New Democracy

• Panic of 1819– Resentment at the gov’t–granted

privileges of the banks • Wanted gov’t to stop “embracing” banks,

substitute hard money for bank notes, & even to abolish banks completely

• Missouri Compromise– Awakening of many Southerners to the

importance of politics• Wanted to protect their interest

Immediate Results

• Strong political parties emerge & viewed as necessary

• Voter turnout increased– 1840 – 78% of voters voted

• New style of politicking emerged– Banners, badges, parades, etc. . .

Changes in Politics

• More democratic methods of nominating presidential candidates1. Nominating conventions v caucuses

Election of 1824

• Four Republican candidates – Andrew Jackson– Henry Clay– William Crawford– John Quincy Adams

• John C. Calhoun was the vice presidential candidate on both Adams & Jackson tickets

• Jackson won the popular vote but not a majority of the electoral votes– Vote goes to the House of

Representatives (12th Amendment)

House of Representatives• House would have to choose from the

top 3 candidates– Clay was eliminated / Crawford suffered a

stroke– Clay was Speaker of the House so he

presided over the hearings

• Clay met privately with Adams and assured him of his support - supposedly

• Adams becomes president in 1825

“Corrupt Bargain”• Adams selects Clay as his Sec of State• Secretary of state

– 3 of the 4 preceding sec had become president

• Adams, the 2nd choice of the people, defeated the 1st choice of the people,

Jackson • Jackson condemned Clay – “Judas of the

West”• No clear proof that agreement was made

– If so, not necessarily corrupt

Yankee in the White House

• Better Sec of State than President• “Minority president”

– Hard to get things accomplished• Political spoilsmen annoyed Adams • Proposals to Congress

– Construction of roads & canals– National university – Astronomical observatory

** If federal gov’t could meddle in local concerns like education & roads, what

about slavery?**

Campaign of 1828

• National Republicans – Adams

• Mudslinging / about Jackson– Mother prostitute– Coffins / duels– adulterer

• Democratic-Democratic-Republicans – Republicans – JacksonJackson

• Mudslinging / about Adams– Gambling– Large sums of money– Pimp

“Revolution of 1828”

• Jackson – 178 / Adams – 83 (p. 261)

• Jackson– Support from West & South/ common people

• Political revolution– Increased voter turnout– Political center of gravity was continuing

to shift away from the eastern seaboard to the emerging states across the mountains

• Peaceful Revolution– Achieved by ballots instead of bullets

“Old Hickory”

• Jackson personified the new West– Individualism, jack-of-all trades,

opportunism, etc…

• Background– Orphaned, brawler, no college

education– Born in the Carolinas/ moved to

Tennessee

• 1st president from the West

Jackson’s Political Beliefs

• Suspicious of the federal gov’t as a bastion of privilege

• Sacredness of the Union & the ultimate supremacy of federal power over that of the states• Demanded prompt & loyal support from his subordinates • Ignored the Supreme Court on several occasions• Frequently used his power of veto

Jackson & the Spoils System

• Spoil System introduced into the federal gov’t on a large numerical scale– “To the victor belong the spoils of the

enemy.”– No party overturn had occurred since the

defeat of the Federalists in 1800• Lead to corruption & incompetence

– “Rotation in Office”

More Victors than Spoils

• Elected as a reformer– Swept out the Adams-Clay gang– Insecurity replaced security &

discouraged many able citizens from entering public servant

– Men bought their positions• Unqualified

– Built a political machines

“Tariff of Abominations”

• Congress had already increased the tariff of 1824 from 23% to 37%– Woolen manufacturers wanted more

• Tariff of 1828 – tariff increased to 45%– Supported by Jacksonites – manufacturing a

president– Jacksonites believed that it would not pass;

however, it passed– Southerners were shocked

» “I am made of wool, look at me!”

Reaction of the Tariff of 1828

• Southern beliefs– Discriminated against them

• Cotton was unprotected & manufactured goods were protected

– Higher prices lead to a reduced volume of purchases, in both directions• South would suffer both as consumers & as

producers

• “The South Carolina Exposition”– John C. Calhoun – Proposed that the states should nullify the tariff because it was unjust & unconstitutional

“Nullies” in South Carolina

• Southerners were still angry over the Tariff of 1828– Were trying to get the 2/3 vote for

nullification

• Tariff of 1832 – passed by Congress– Reduced tariff by 10%– SC still threatening nullification & possible

secession

– SC Flag

SC’s Response

• Clash of Nullifiers & Unionists– Nullifiers received more than 2/3 majority

• Declared Tariff of 1832 “null and void” in SC

• Called upon state legislature to take any military preparations necessary

• Threatened to secede from the Union if Washington regime attempted to collect customs duties by force

Jackson’s Response

• Privately threatened to hang nullifiers

• Dispatched naval and military reinforcements to SC

• Issued proclamation against nullification --Gov Hayes issued counter-proclamation

• Civil War?

The Great Compromiser

• Henry Clay (KY)• Tariff of 1833

– Reduced the Tariff of 1832 by about 10% over a period of 8 years

– Squeezed through Congress– Favored by Calhoun & the South – Opposition from New England & the middle

states

• Force Bill (“Bloody Bill”) also passed– Authorized the president to use the army &

navy, if necessary, to collect federal tariff duties

Issue of Slavery• Southern reaction to the tariff

– Anxieties about possible federal interference with the institution of slavery

• Charleston 1822- Denmark Vesey– Free black who plotted a slave rebellion

• Washington could next take a stand on slavery– Strong stand against all federal

encroachments on states’ rights– South was not developing like other regions

• Overcropped land & cotton prices had fallen

Cabinet Crisis

• Official Cabinet of 6 – Sec of State – Martin Van Buren

• “Kitchen Cabinet”– 13 ever-shifting members– Informal meetings with advisors

• Group did not gather in the kitchen• Influence was exaggerated • Not unconstitutional

Land & Indian Problems• Adams’s land policy

– Tried to curb speculation in the public domain

• Angered Westerns

• Cherokee Indians & Georgia– Georgians wanted Indians out– Adams tried to deal with friendless Indians– Georgian governor threatened to use arms

to prevent federal gov’t from helping the Indians

Transplanting the Tribes

• 1790s – gov’t recognized tribes as separate nations & agreed to acquire land from them only through formal treaties

• Indians were repeatedly coerced or tricked into ceding huge tracts of territory to whites

• Census in 1830 – 13 million people in US• 1820s - 125,000 Native Americans lived

east of the Mississippi

Dealing with the Indian Problem

• “civilizing” & Christianizing the Indians– Society for Propagating the Gospel Among

Indians– Congress appropriated $20,000 for

promotion of literacy & agricultural & vocational instruction among the Indians

Cherokee Indians

• Made remarkable efforts to learn the ways of whites– Agriculture & private property – Cherokee National Council – written legal code– Cotton planters & slave owners

• Five Civilized Tribes– Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws,

Seminoles

• 1828 - Georgia legislature declared council illegal & asserted its own jurisdiction over affairs & lands

• Cherokees applied to Supreme Court

Jackson & the Indians

• Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Indians– Jackson refused to recognize their decision– “John Marshall made his decision; now let him

enforce it.”• Jackson proposed removal of Native

Americans– Uproot more than 100,000 Indians

• 1830 – Indian Removal Act– Transplanting of all Indian

tribes east of the Mississippi

Trail of Tears

• Countless Indians died• Forced to newly established Indian

Territory (Oklahoma), where they were to be free of white encroachments

• 1836 - Bureau of Indian Affairs – Administer relations

with Indians

Movements

Conflicts Begin

• Sauk & Fox braves from Illinois & Wisconsin lead by Black Hawk resisted– Crushed in 1832 by regular troops (Jefferson

Davis & Abraham Lincoln)

• Florida – Seminole Indians (1835 – 1842)– Guerrilla war in the Everglades - 1500

soldiers dead– Costliest Indian conflict in American history– Leader Osceola – captured

Nationalism & Jackson

• Jackson dealt nationalism a blow– Hostile towards roads & canals

• State’s rights - federal money should not be used for roads built entirely within individual states

• Vetoed the Maysville Rd. (KY)

Webster – Hayne Debate (1830)

• Robert Hayne – SC– Condemned

disloyalty of New England during War of 1812 & tariff

– Nullification was the only means of safeguarding interest of the South

– Protecting southern rights within the Union

• Daniel Webster – Represented New

England – Against nullification– “people & not the

states had framed the Constitution”

– “Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable.”

Peggy Eaton Affair - 1831• Sec of War – John H. Eaton

– Wife, Peggy Eaton, was looked down upon because of her background• Especially by VP Calhoun’s wife

– Jackson eventually turned against Calhoun• Calhoun resigned as VP & entered Senate

– “Great Nullifier”– Became a defender of states’ rights

Cement for the Union

• Each section was satisfied with its champion

• Jefferson Day Banquet (1830)– Jackson – “Our union, it must be

preserved.”– Calhoun – “The Union, next to our

liberty, most dear!”