Andrew Jackson, Van Buren, Election of 1840

Whigs on Jackson's use of veto

Whigs insisted that Congress not the president represented will of the people and that veto power, even though created by Constitution, should only be used in extraordinary circumstances

William Henry Harrison (election)

- Main claim to fame was military success against British and Indians in War off 1812 - Whigs promoted Harrison as "log cabin" candidate = champion of common man - Very effective even tho Harrison actually very wealthy

What was the Whig belief of liberty?

- Liberty and power reinforced each other - Liberty required prosperous and moral America - Government should create conditions for balanced and regulated economic development to promote prosperity that all classes and regions would share

Tariff of 1828

- Known as tariff of abominations - A legacy of JQA administration - At its peak, 45% import tax on certain imported materials, designed to protect home industry in US (New England manufacturers - JQA supporters) - Political miscalculations on part of Jacksonian democrats leads to a failure of the tariff's sinking/repeal

The Bank War

- 2nd Bank of US set to need to be re-chartered in 1836 --> Not liked in many areas: Westerners thought it kept credit low, Workers in north blame it for inflation, West and south feel dependent and at mercy of northern financiers --> Blamed for panic of 1819 - Nicolas Biddle (Bank president) acts - Gets Congress to re-charter in 1832 (goes above Jackson's head) - Doesn't think Jackson will veto - Jackson vetoes - Comments Jackson critics bc abusing his power

Democrats

- Alarmed by widening gap between social classes - Warned that "nonproducers" (bankers, merchants, speculators) were seeking to use connections with government to enhance their wealth to the disadvantage of the "producing classes" (farmers, artisans, laborers) - Believed government should adopt a hands-off attitude toward economy and not award special favors to entrenched economic interests -- If national government removed itself from economy, ordinary Americans could test their abilities in the fair competition of self-regulating market - Aspiring entrepreneurs who resented government aid to established businessmen, farmers and city workingmen suspicious of new corporate enterprises - Poorer farming regions isolated from markets like lower NW and southern backcountry unusually voted democratic - Many slaveowners supported democrats bc believed states' rights to be slavery's first line of defense

Force Bill (Force Act of 1833)

- Allows him to use military to enforce the law (tariff) - SC ends nullification on March 11, 1833 - Henry Clay with assistance of Calhoun draws up Tariff of 1833 with a graduated rate of reducing tax duties

Biddle's Bank

- Bank symbolized hopes and fears inspired by market revolution - Many including Jackson distrusted bankers as "nonproducers" who contributed nothing to nation's wealthy but profited from labor of others - Tendency of banks to overissue paper money -- deterioration in value decreased wages - Jackson believed "hard money" (gold and silver) was the only honest currency - Nicholas Biddle of PA led Bank -- snobbish, stubborn aristocrat -- Said Bank could destroy any state bank - Democrats wondered whether any institution should have that much power - Called it Monster Bank -- illegitimate union of political authority and entrenched economic privilege

Biddle vs. Jackson

- Biddle's allies persuaded Congress to approve bill extending Bank's charter another 20 years in 1832 even though charter did not expire until 1836 - Jackson saw it as blackmail -- if he did not sign the bill, Bank would use its considerable resources to oppose his reelection - Jackson vetoed bill -- Argued that in a democratic government, it was unacceptable for Congress to create a source of concentrated power and economic privilege unaccountable to the people

Jackson after Revolutionary War

- Bops around staying with different family members - Moves to Salisbury, NC in 1784 - Studies law with local attorney Spruce Macay - Qualifies for bar in 1787 - Jackson and friend John McNairy move to western Carolina (future TN) in 1788 - Buys first slave November 17, 1788 - Becomes reasonably successful state prosecutor in the lawless frontier -- Has 62% conviction rate (Mainly for robberies)

Andrew Jackson's youth

- Born 1767 in Waxhaws region of Carolinas -- Straddles two Carolinas - Father also named Andrew died 3 weeks before his birth - Mother Elizabeth Hutchinson moved in with Jackson's aunt and uncle in heavily Scots-Irish community in and around the Waxhaws - Some evidence he was a bully with a tough childhood but also known to care for weaker children in his community - Jackson and brother serve in American militia against British in 1781 bc mother wanted them to - Older brother died of heat exhaustion after Battle of Stono Ferry 1779 & British carry out massacre in Waxhaws in 1780 -- Contributed to anti-British sentiment and caused Jackson and brother to take up mother's suggestion to get involved in militia

Cherokee Chief Intervenes

- Cherokee Chief John Ross made appeal to Scott requesting that the general let his people lead the tribe west -- Scott agreed - Ross organized the Cherokee into smaller groups and let them move separately through the wilderness so they could forage for food - Although the parties under Ross left in early fall and arrived in OK during the brutal winter of 1838-39, he significantly reduced the loss of life among his people

The "Five Civilized Tribes"

- Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole, Cherokee - 1830: Some were still living east of MS and other had already moved to new territory Called "civilized" bc many tribesmen had adopted various aspects of European-American culture including Christianity - Cherokees had system of writing their own language - Cherokees had also formed Constitution in 1827 based on US constitution

Independent Treasury

- Congress approved 1840 - Completely separated federal government from nation's banking system - Repealed in 1841 when Whigs took power - Reinstated under President James K. Polk in 1846 - Making federal funds unavailable for banks to use for investment would have dampened future economic growth if it wasn't for the discovery of gold in CA in 1848 that poured new money into the economy Independent Treasury split democrats - Business-oriented democrats often connected with state banks opposed it and shifted to Whigs - Agrarian democrats (small farmers and urban landowners opposed to all banking and paper money and uncomfortable with market revolution) supported it

Worcester v. Georgia 1832

- Court changed its mind bc believed in supremacy of federal government over the states - Declared Indian nations as distinct people with right to maintain a separate political identity Indians must be delt with by federal government, not the states - Georgia's actions violated Cheokees' treaties with federal government - Jackson refused to recognize this decision

Calhoun's political theory

- Defended southern sectionalism - Calhoun had less influence over Jackson than Secretary of State Van Buren - Led by Calhoun's wife, Washington society women ostracized Peggy Eaton bc was daughter of Washington tavern keeper and allegedly woman of "easy virtue" → split between Calhoun and Jackson

Democratic view on individual morality

- Democrats considered individual morality as private not public matter - Opposed attempts to impose unified moral vision on society such as "temperance" legislation that restricted or outlawed production and sale of liquor - Test of public policies was whether they allowed for "free agency" = for individuals to make their own decisions without interference -- Not tested by how much enhanced public good

William Apess (descendent of Metacom/King Philip) A Son of the Forest 1831

- First significant autobiography of a Native American - Son of white man and Indian woman - Appealed for harmony between white Americans and Indians

Treaty of New Echota (1835)

- Following a winding trail of treaties designed to dispossess the Cherokee Nation of various parts of their land, Treaty of New Echota represented the final blow to traditional Cherokee land rights by providing Jackson the legal document he needed to remove them - Dripping with paternalism ("Daddy knows best...") , New Echota ceded all land possessed by the Cherokee Nation east of the Mississippi to the US - In an impassioned letter to Congress, Chief John Ross exposed the illegitimacy of the Treaty of New Echota and described its consequences on the people of the Cherokee Nation

Jackson builds his case for the White House

- Gets help from his friend John Henry Eaton (other senator from TN) - Eaton frames the strength of Jackson candidacy around his military heroism and connection to common man thru series of letters - Speaks of Jackson's true nature -- not a political mastermind and not given to overlong speechifying, simply representing what he thinks is great about the authentic nature of Jackson - Ideas build democratic party

Second Seminole War

- In 1835, the Seminoles refused to leave FL, leading to the Second Seminole War - The most important leader in the war was Osceola, who led the Seminoles in their fight against removal - While based in the Everglades of FL, Osceola and his band used guerilla warfare to defeat US army in many battles - In 1837, Osceola was seized by deceit upon the orders of US General T.S. Jesip when Osceola came under a flag of truce to negotiate peace --Died in prison - Seminoles continued to fight until 1842

Build up to Trail of Tears

- In 1838 and 1839, Cherokee Nation was finally forced to give up its lands east of the MS River for an area in present-day OK - With treaty signed, US Army was ordered to begin process of removing the Cherokee - General John Wool resigned his command in protest, delaying action - His replacement, General Winfield Scott, arrived at New Echota on May 17, 1838 with 7000 men - Early that summer General Scott and the US army began invasion of Cherokee Nation

Indian policy during Jackson presidency

- In spite of this acculturation and acceptance of the law, the position of the "five civilized tribes" was not secure - Many white settlers and land speculators simply desired the land that was occupied by the tribes and would do anything to get it - Others believed that the presence of the tribes was a threat to peace and security based on previous wars waged between US and Native Americans, some of whom had been armed by enemies of the US such as Britain and Spain - Governments of several US states desired all tribal lands within their boundaries be places under state jurisdiction

Jefferson's birthday dinner

- Jackson and Calhoun publicly spar over competing toasts about the country, tariff, and nullification - Jackson's toast suggests that Union is the most important feature of the US - Calhoun's toast argues that the union is second to liberty -- Implied that the tariff is an affront to American liberty, particularly in the south

What led to the The Indian Removal Act of 1830?

- Jackson and other candidates of new Democratic Party had made Native American removal a major goal in campaign of 1828 - In first annual message to congress Jackson laid out policy for relocating Indians east to territories west of the Mississippi - The policy becomes law as the Indian Removal Act by his next annual address, passed by congress in 1830

Pet Banks

- Jackson did not wait for charter of Bank to expire -- authorized removal of federal funds from Bank and their deposit in local banks -- Political and personal connections determined these pet banks - Two secretaries of the treasury refused to transfer federal money to the pet banks since the law creating the Bank had specified that government funds could not be removed except for a good cause as communicated to Congress - Jackson appointed Attorney General Roger B. Taney to treasury post -- carried out order

Election of 1828

- Jackson pushed his idea of being the common man and war hero - 1828 campaign slogan = "Adams can write, but Jackson can fight!" - Deeply personal campaign - JQA targeted Jackson's unrefined character and war record - JQA campaign targeted Rachel Jackson's bigamy - Jackson essentially comes to believe that campaign kills Rachel bc she dies before Jackson take office - By 1828 Van Buren had established the political apparatus of Democratic Party --Local and state party units overseen by national committee --Network of newspapers - Adams hated political organization and did little to promote his re-election - Jackson won 650,000-500,000

Martin Van Buren

- Martin Van Buren (senator from NY) oversaw Jackson's 1828 campaign - JQA typified old politics as son of president and man of intellectual accomplishments like Jefferson and Madison - Van Buren represented new political era - not person of great vision of intellect

Andrew Jackson and Rachel

- Meets Rachel Donelson Robards after moving to Nashville later in 1788 bc living with her mother - Rachel was married to Lewis Roberts unhappily (was raging alcoholic) - Rachel separates with husband 1790 - Jackson marries her in Natchez, MS in 1791 - Believe that Robards has successfully secured paperwork for a divorce but he did not - After they learn the divorce has been finalized, remarry in 1794 to correct problem of her being married to two men at once - Problematic for the overall narrative is that Rachel's letters indicate that she was living with Jackson and referred to herself as Mrs. Jackson before the start of the divorce proceedings

Trail of Tears

- Men, women, and children were taken from their land, herded into makeshift forts with minimal facilities and food - Many suffered from hunger, disease, and exhaustion on the forced march - They were then forced to march 1000 miles, some part of the trip made by boat in equally horrible conditions - Under the generally indifferent army commanders, human losses for the first groups of Cherokee removed were extremely high - Over 4000 Cherokee died as a result of the removal out of 15,000 - The route they traversed and the journey itself became known as "The Trail of Tears" or as a direct translation from Cherokee "The Trail Where They Cried"

Specie Circular

- Only hand currency could be used to buy land - Bursts speculative bubble in West -- drained specie from eastern banks - People lose confidence in paper bank notes

The Party System

- Politics was a spectacle - Public debates, speeches - Parties offered jobs to ppl who helped others get to polls - Jackson believed government posts should be open to the people not reserved for privileged group of permanent bureaucrats - Jackson introduced the principle of rotation in office into national government making loyalty to the party the main qualification for jobs like postmaster and customs official -- Called spoils system by opponents - National conventions where state leaders gathered now chose candidates

Election of 1832

- Referendum on the Bank - Anti-Masonic party hurts Clay - Jackson re-elected

South Carolina and nullification

- SC leaders no longer thought it was possible or desirable to compete with north in industrial development - Tariff on imported manufactured goods raised prices paid by southern consumers to benefit north - SC legislation threatened to nullify it = declare it null and void within state - SC had highest proportion of slaves -- behind tariff uprising was their desire to weaken federal government so they wouldn't later be able to outlaw slavery

The Nullification Crisis

- SC stood alone during nullification crisis - Several southern states passed resolutions condemning SC's action - Calhoun denied that nullification was step towards disunion - Believed the only way to ensure stability of large, diverse nation was for each state to be assured that national actions woul denver trample on its rights or interests - Calhoun's theory of "concurrent majority" = each major interests should have a veto over all measures that affected it - Including slaveholders - Henry Clay and Calhoun made new tariff in 1833 further decreasing cost - SC rescinded ordinance of nullification - SC did nullify Force Act (ironic hahaha) - Calhoun left democratic party and joined whigs

Webster-Hayne Debate

- Senators Daniel Webster of MA and Robert Hayne of SC - Debate over nullification and rights of states - Webster argued that people, not the states, created the constitution and the government and thereby gave the federal government sovereignty - "Liberty and union, now and forever, one and inseparable" - Informs Jackson's view of the crisis who decides more important to protect union that individual freedoms of states) and eventually (likely) inspires Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

Peggy Eaton affair

- She is looked down upon by public for sexual history - Defended by Jackson bc reminds him of Rachel's situation - Jackson requests resignations of all of his cabinet members who were not supporting him -- All except for postmaster general - Now less support for Calhoun in cabinet

Indian Removal Act of 1830/Trail of Tears

- Signed into law by Jackson on May 28, 1830 - Authorized Jackson to grant unsettled lands west of MS to Native Americans in exchange for the land they resided on within existing state borders - A few tribes went peacefully but many resisted the relocation policy and wanted to remain in their homes - During the fall and winter of 1838 and 1839 the Cherokees were forcibly moved west by the US government - Approximately 4000 Cherokees died on this forced march that became known as the "Trail of Tears"

Jackson speech on Nullification and SC

- Speaks out against them - Nullification essentially the same as disunion - Governor Hayne of SC dismissed his speech and pushes ahead with plans for nullification - Calhoun resigns as VP by end of 1832

The Panic of 1837

- Speculative boom collapsed - Government sold 20 million acres of federal land in 1836 (10x amount in 1830) -- Almost all bought in paper money - Specie Circular -- now only accept gold and silver for land payments - Bank of England demanded American merchants pay creditors in London in gold or silver bc suspicious of their paper money - Economic downturn in Britain made less demand for American cotton = country's major export These events together → economic collapse called Panic of 1837 - Followed by depression that lasted until 1843

Whigs

- Supported American System - Strongest in Northeast (most rapidly modernizing region) - Established businessmen and bankers supported their program of government-promoted economic growth -- So did farmers in regions near rivers, canals, Great Lakes who benefited from economic changes - Counties of upstate NY along Erie Canal was Whig stronghold - Largest southern planters generally voted Whig

Tariff of 1832/SC Declaration

- Tariff of 1832 reduces the tariff rate to 35% but southerners and south carolinians have already had enough - In late 1832, SC Nullification Convention meets and declares that the tariff is unconstitutional and that SC will not enforce tariff collection as of March 1833

Indian Removal Act 1830

- The Removal Act provided for the government to negotiate removal treaties with the various tribes - Many of the treaties were misleading and resulted in Natives being forced from their homes and deported to lands west of the MS - The Treaty of the Dancing Rabbit Creek with the Choctaw was the first removal treaty implemented - Not really negotiations -- Indians forced to move

Tyler in office

- Tyler succeeded Harrison and vetoed almost every measure of Whig majority Congress to enact American System into law - Most of his cabinet resigned - Hated by his party -- "His Accidency", "The Executive Ass" - Pretty much accomplished nothing while in office - Without a party behind him, a president cold not govern

John Tyler (election)

- VP for Harrison - Was states' rights democrat who had become a whig after nullification crisis and did not go back to democrats - Disagreed with whigs on most important issues - Hoped would expand their base in south

Van Buren in office

- Van Buren elected 1836 -- forced to deal with depression - Believed in hard-money, anti-bank - Independent Treasury

The election of 1840

- Van Buren unable to hold democrats together without personal popularity of Jackson - 1840: discovered Whigs had mastered political techniques that he helped pioneer - Whigs had unprecedented opportunity for victory bc of continuing economic depression - Abandoned leader Henry Clay and nominated William Henry Harrison - Whigs denounced Van Buren as aristocrat who had spent people's hard-earned money on expensive stuff to adorn the White House - Harrison won by a lot

Inflation in 1837

- Without government deposits, Bank of US lost ability to regulate activities of state banks - State banks issued more and more paper money To finance: 1. Rapid expansion of industrial development in New England 2. Agriculture in south and west 3. Canal and railroad systems planned by states - Value of bank notes in circulation increased from $10 million in 1833 to $149 million in 1837 - Prices rose dramatically, so did wages but not fast enough to keep up - Workers "real wages" (actual value of their pay) decreased - Many labor unions emerged to protect earnings of urban workers - Speculators hastened to cash in on rising land prices Bought huge amounts of public land using paper money - Resold land to farmers or eastern purchasers of lots in entirely nonexistent western towns

Jackson in Revolutionary War

- Worked as courier in Rev War -- deliver messages - April 1781: taken as prisoner of war along with brother by British - Has incident with official bc refuses to polish boots and gets slashed with sword -- has scars for the rest of his life - Mother was able to arrange for their release (she was working to help rehabilitate Rev War soldiers) - Andrew and brother got smallpox while in captivity, Robert (bro) very sick on 40 mile trip back to Waxhaw - Robert died 2 days after returning - Elizabeth dispatched to Charleston, SC in November 1781 to treat soldiers with cholera -- she gets it and died

Impact of Panic of 1837

1. Many businesses failed 2. Many farmers lost their land bc unable to meet mortgage payments bc of declining income 3. Tens of thousands of urban workers lost their jobs 4. Labor movement collapsed bc strikes became impossible given the amount of unemployed laborers 5. By 1842: 9 states were unable to pay their debts, mainly bc of ambitious internal improvement projects 6. 1840s: states amended their constitutions to prohibit legislatures from borrowing money, issuing corporate charters, buying stock in private enterprises 7. Jackson got his way -- separated federal and state governments from economy

Jackson military career after Rev War

1. Responded to the outbreak of war with Britain 1812-1815 by volunteering 2000+ TN militiamen for excursion to South 2. From 1813-1815 makes war with Creek and Muscogee Indians and secures portions of AL and GA thru Treaty of Fort Jackson (approved by Madison) 3. After 1815 victory at New Orleans, commands forces for the seizure of Floridian land and the prevention of FL becoming haven for runaway slaves -- Does so recklessly without approval of Congress

Groups that liked Jackson's bank veto

1. State bankers who wished to free themselves from Biddle's regulations and issue more paper money (soft money) 2. Hard money advocates who opposed all banks, whether chartered by the states or the federal government, and believed that gold and silver was the only reliable currency

When did Jackson pay off the national debt, and what was the impact of this?

1835 states replaced federal government as country's main economic actors

How did Jackson expand the power and significance of the presidency?

By claiming to wield power on behalf of the people

Formation of Democratic Party

Created over Jackson and his supporters' anger with Corrupt Bargain

What made Andrew Jackson unique?

First president to come from common people, not educated elite First to have group of advisors -- called his "kitchen cabinet" → cabinet

Harrison in office

Harrison got pneumonia and died a month after taking office

Cherokee Nation v. Georgia 1831

Indians deserved paternal regard and protection but lacked standing as citizens that would allow the Supreme Court to enforce their rights so Court could not block GA's effort to extend its jurisdiction over the tribe

Johnson v. M'Intosh 1823

Indians not owners of their land but had a "right of occupancy"

Jackson duel with Charles Dickinson

Jackson becomes involved in a dispute with Charles Dickinson in 1806 over fact that Charles's father in law was Joseph Erwin who pulled out of horse race vs Jackson and needed to pay him $800 forfeit fee - Disagreement of how to settle debt - Kentucky dueling (May 30, 1806) - Jackson challenges Dickinson to a duel bc Dickinson makes argument personal by saying bad things about Rachel bc was bigamist - Can't have duel in TN bc illegal - Dickinson allowed to fire first bc Jackson considered an expert shot -- Shoots Jackson directly in the chest -- Narrative that he doesn't even flinch even as wound bleeds out -- Jackson then immediately shoots Dickinson dead

Jackson and the veto

Jackson wields veto power of president forcefully and regularly as sign that the executive should represent the will of the people not an overpowered congress (only one elected by everyone so should have more power) Used veto power more frequently than previous 6 presidents combined First to make use of pocket veto where president ignores a bill presented to him and refuses to act within 10 days of the end of congressional session thus making the bill unable to pass

Jackson's Presidency: timeline

March 4, 1829 - inaugurated April 13, 1830 - Jackson and Calhoun (VP) spar over Tariff of 1828 and SC rejection of that tariff January 1830 - Webster-Hayne Debate April 13, 1830 - Jefferson's birthday dinner May 26, 1830 - Indian Removal Act May 27, 1820 - Jackson vetoes Maysville Road Bill April 1, 1831 - Peggy Eaton affair July 10, 1831 - opposed Second Bank of the US Tariff of 1832/SC Declaration December 10, 1832 - Jackson speech on Nullification and SC November 1, 1832 - Jackson wins reelection against Clay November 24, 1834 - Ordinance of Nullification in SC March 1, 1833 - Force Bill (Force Act of 1833) July 11, 1836 - Specie Circular 1831-1838 - Indian Removal/Trail of Tears

Jackson gets higher in politics

Retires from military and becomes fist territorial governor of FL (only in 1821) Persuaded by superior court judge and political advisor John Overton of TN, accepts nomination to Senate for TN from which he launches his campaign for presidency

Corrupt bargain

Refers to the presidential election of 1824 in which Henry Clay, the Speaker of the House, convinced the House of Representatives to elect Adams rather than Jackson (even though Jackson won on popular and electoral vote) and became Adams's Secretary of State as a result

Jackson climbs the political ranks

Through business deals and legal relationships, Jackson climbs the political ladder of TN influence and eventually participates in Constitutional Convention of TN and serves as Congressional Representative and eventually a justice on the TN supreme court (ending in 1804)

Why did Whigs reject the idea that government must not interfere in private life?

To function as free moral agents, individuals required certain character traits that government could help install

Exposition and Protest 1828

VP Calhoun urging southerners (especially SC) to nullify tariff of 1828 bc puts too much burden on them Calhoun revisits concept of nullification - introduced by American discourse by Jefferson and Madison in KY and VA Resolutions in response to Alien and Sedition Acts Calhoun argued that states had the right to reject federal laws In this case, unfairly burdened southern agrarian states in more need of importing goods from Europe

Van Buren's View on Political Parties

Van Buren believed that political parties were necessary and desirable element of political life rather than dangerous like founding generation believed - Party competition provided a check on those in power and offered voters a real choice in elections - By bringing together political leaders from different regions in support of common candidates and principles, could counteract sectionalism - Formed a bond of unity in divided nation

What did Democrats believe was the root cause of social inequality?

government-granted privilege

Jackson's kitchen cabinet

informal group of advisors who helped write his speeches and supervise communication between the White House and local party officials -- Mostly newspaper editors bc newspapers had huge effect on politics

Democratic view of liberty

liberty = private entitlement best secured by local governments and endangered by powerful national authority Weak national authority essential to state and individual freedom