APUSH - 13

Tariff of Abominations

(1) An extremely high tariff (45%) that Jacksonian Democrats tried to get Adams to veto. (2) caused a sectional split and began the nullification crisis led by John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. (3) Prelude to the Civil War

South Carolina Exposition

A pamphlet published by the South Carolina legislature, written secretly by Vice President John C. Calhoun. It spoke against the "Tariff of Abominations," and proposed nullification of the tariff. Calhoun wished to use nullification to prevent secession, yet address the grievances of sectionalist Southerners. These sectionalist ideas helped lead to the Civil War

Antislavery

Antislavery was a widespread idea (with most of its supporters being in the New England areas) in the 1800s. The North readily opposed the idea of slavery, because it was abusive and their economy didn't rely on it. But even in the South, in the 1820's, there were numerous antislavery societies. These societies were actually more numerous south of Mason and Dixon line.

Nicholas Biddle

Biddle was nicknamed "Czar Nicholas I" and was president of the Bank of the United States. Jackson wanted to weaken the Bank and Biddle, so Jackson gradually began to withdraw federal money and stowed the money in his "pet banks." Jackson destroyed the Bank in 1832 with his veto of the Bank's re-charter and withdrawals

Henry Clay -

Clay was a National-Republican and chief player in the presidential contest of 1832. He threw himself behind the Senate's move to re-charter the bank. He was able to pass a compromise bill that would slowly reduce the 1832 Tariff. He came from Kentucky and strongly disliked Jackson, his western rival. Clay had 50,000 dollars in funds for "life insurance" with the Bank of the United States. He lost the presidential election in 1832 because the rich people did not create enough support to elect him president. The loss of the election crushed Clay, but his American System and other ideas had helped the United States. Clay had previously been a War Hawk and later formed the "American System." He helped to form the "Whigs" in the Senate to defend the Bank of the United States.

Denmark Vesey

Denmark Vesey was a black man who lived in the Carolinas. Vesey led a slave rebellion in Charleston in 1822. This slave rebellion was part of what led to the anxieties of the South, especially in South Carolina. The Missouri Compromise and the slave rebellion both caused the South to worry about federal government interference in slavery issues.

William Henry Harrison

Harrison was a war hero fighting Indians back in the War of 1812 and was not nominated for president in 1840 based mostly on his war record. He won the 1840 presidential election with his log cabin and hard cider campaign. He became the 1st Whig president & 1st president to die in office.

Corrupt Bargain

Immediately after John Quincy Adams became president in 1824, he appointed Henry Clay as Secretary of State. Jacksonians were furious because all former Secretaries of State became presidents. This "corrupt bargain" occurred after the Election of 1824 when Andrew Jackson had the most electoral votes, but not a majority. Then, Speaker of the House Henry Clay (having the least of the electoral votes and thereby being eliminated) gave his support to John Q. Adams, giving him the winning vote and making him president. Jacksonians question whether John Q. Adams made Henry Clay Sec. of State for payback in giving his votes

Nullification

In the "compact theory," the states said that since the states had formed the federal government, any law passed by the federal government could be declared null and void by the states. The South was extremely upset about the extremely high Tariff of Abominations. "The South Carolina Exposition," written by John C. Calhoun, denounced the tariff as unjust and unconstitutional. The document bluntly proposed that the states should nullify the tariff. The even more dangerous doctrine of secession was foreshadowed.

Specie Circular

Jackson authorized the U.S. Treasury to issue the Specie Circular in 1836. It was a decree which stated that all public lands must be purchased with gold or silver money, because the B.U.S. was collapsing and the paper money floating around was almost worthless. This decree caused a run on the banks for gold and silver and, in turn, ignited the Panic of 1837

Andrew Jackson

Jackson was the seventh president and supported mostly by the West and South (the common people). He had no formal education. His beliefs were simple, and his military background often influenced him. He introduced the spoils system into American government, or rotation in office as he called it. His unofficial advisors were called the "kitchen cabinet" because they were thought of as Jackson's friends, not political office holders. Mostly though, he represented the common man both in his life and presidency

Independent Treasury - Divorce Bill

Martin Van Buren passed the "Divorce Bill" in 1840 which created an independent treasury that took the government's funds out of the pet banks that Jackson had created and put them in vaults in several of the largest cities. This way the funds would be safe from inflation and denied to the state banks as revenue.

King Mob

Nickname for all the new participants in government that came with Jackson's presidency. This nickname was negative and proposed that Jackson believed in too much democracy, perhaps leading to anarchy.

Democratic-Republicans

Once shortened to "Republicans" under Jefferson, when Andrew Jackson came into power he renamed the party "Democrats." The Jacksonian Democrats were very democratic and were opposed to the Whigs. Jackson was a real common man and believed in the common man. They opposed to very strong national bank. When he was president the Whigs called him "King Jackson". This party is the present day Democratic party

Santa Anna

Santa Anna was a Mexican dictator who in 1835 wiped out all local rights in Texas and started to raise an army to put down the Texans. With six thousand men he swept through Texas until he was finally defeated by Sam Houston's army. He then signed two treaties dealing with the border of Texas and the withdrawal of Mexican troops.

Lone Star State

Texas, was first ruled by Spain for over 300. When Mexico became an independent country in 1821, Texas became a Mexican state and new settlers from the United States were welcomed. The large influx of Americans led to skirmishes with Mexican troops. After a successful war of independence against Mexico, Texans raised the Lone Star flag over their own republic in 1836. Their government was recognized by the United States and several other European countries. In 1845 Texas accepted annexation by the United States and was admitted as the 28th state

Anti-Masonic Party

The Anti-Masonic Party was a third political party that developed during the campaign of 1832 because of the fierce debate between Henry Clay and Andrew Jackson. This party also developed as opposition to the Masons (a secret society). It gained support from evangelical Protestant groups and people who were neglected by Jackson. However, it never took a majority position in elections.

Force Bill

The Force Bill was passed by the Congress in 1833. It was also knowns as the "Bloody Bill" to the Southerners. This bill allowed the president to use the Army and the Navy to collect federal tariff duties (if necessary). It was an result to the Nullification Crisis during this time and illustrated the stand-off between the federal government and states.

Whig Party

The Whig party was a party that formed for those who opposed Jackson's views. It was created in the 1830s and the 1840s. When Jackson was elected, Clay and Calhoun formed a party for those who opposed Democratic views. The first Whig to become president was William Henry Harrison in the 1840 election. This fulfilled the re-emergence of the two-party system

Bank of United States

The federal Bank of the U.S. was first created in 1791 under Hamilton's economic plan. In 1816, the Bank of the U.S.'s charter was renewed. Because of the economic recession of the 1810's, the bank suffered great mismanagement until 1822 when Nicholas Biddle, a Philadelphia financier, became its president. Andrew Jackson, in 1831, vetoed the act to renew the bank's charter due to expire in 1836. Jackson then set out to kill the bank by withdrawing money and putting it in his "pet banks." Because of the lack of the federal bank in 1836, the U.S. suffered through its first major economic depression. Banks went bankrupt, paper money became worthless, and the Panic of 1837 struck.

Slavocracy

The term "slavocracy" was the northerners' idea of the South trying to gain slave land. The idea had to do with Texas joining the union. People from the north thought the Southern slavocracy was involved in a conspiracy to bring new slave states to America.

Common Man"

This concept held that a political leader who worked his way up to the top from the bottom was desirable. Andrew Jackson was the model common man. Born in the Carolina backwoods, he had been orphaned, so he fought in the Revolutionary War at age thirteen. In the War of 1812, he became a hero and launched his political career soon after. He was like the rest of the country, and was liked for that fact. The common man began to take over during the Jacksonian Democracy thanks mostly to "universal white manhood suffrage."

Spoils system

This system was set up by Andrew Jackson not long after his election into the presidency in 1828. It had already developed a strong hold in the industrial states such as New York and Pennsylvania. It gave the public offices to the political supporters of the campaign, to those loyal to Jackson. The name came from Senator Marcy's remark in 1832, "to the victor belong the spoils."

Tariff of 1833

This was a compromise bill. It would gradually reduce the tariff of 1832 by 10% over an 8 year period. It would be a 20-25% tax on dutiable goods. Henry Clay wrote the bill. It ended the nullification crisis over the "Tariff of Abominations" when South Carolina accepted the compromise.

Revolution of 1828

This was the election of 1828. The candidates for president were John Q. Adams and Andrew Jackson. The election of 1828 is often called the "Revolution of 1828" because there was an increased turnout of voters at this election (50% of eligible voters, twice the number of four years prior). The large turnout proved that the common people now had the vote and the will to use it for their ends. The results of the election show that the political center of gravity was shifting away from the conservative eastern seaboard and toward the emerging states across the mountains. The revolution was peaceful and achieved by ballots. America had been ruled by the elite brains and wealthy class. In this sense, it was similar to Jefferson's "Revolution of 1800." Jackson's victory accelerated the transfer of national power from the countinghouse to the farmhouse, from the East to the West, and from the snobs to the mobs.

Panic of 1837

This was the nation's first economic depression. Banks loaned too much money out for Western expansion and they began to fail one by one. Hardship was acute and widespread and hundreds of banks collapsed. Martin Van Buren (who was president at the time) tried to "divorce" the government from banking altogether. This idea was not highly supported but the Independent Treasury Bill passed Congress in 1840. Although the Whigs repealed it the next year, the scheme was reenacted by the Democrats in 1846.

Martin Van Buren

Van Buren was Andrew Jackson's own choice as his successor. Van Buren became our eighth president in 1836. He was doomed from the start, though, as the people thought he was only "mediocre" and the Democrats hated him. He was also left to deal with some very difficult situations, such as a developing Panic of 1837 for which he was blamed. Van Buren tried to do his best in the circumstances, as with the controversial "Divorce Bill," but Martin Van Buren's efforts were futile.